What Is New With the DEA and Cannabis

Answer first

The main change is a pending federal rule. On April 30, 2024, the Drug Enforcement Administration published a proposed rule to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. The rule is not final. A DEA administrative law judge hearing opened on January 21, 2025. No final order has been issued. Marijuana remains Schedule I today.

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What the proposal says

Schedule I covers drugs with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Schedule III covers drugs with accepted medical use and moderate to low physical dependence risk. DEA acted after the Department of Health and Human Services sent a scheduling recommendation in August 2023. DEA then opened a public comment period. About 43,000 comments arrived.

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What changes if the rule is final

• Section 280E of the tax code bars deductions for businesses that traffic in Schedule I or II drugs. Schedule III would remove that bar for state-licensed cannabis businesses.
• FDA prescription drug rules would apply to cannabis products sold as medicine.
• Researchers would register under Schedule III rules instead of Schedule I rules.
• DEA registration, recordkeeping, and security rules would still apply to manufacturers and distributors.

The hearing record

DEA scheduled the hearing before administrative law judge John J. Mulrooney II. It was set for December 2, 2024 and postponed. It opened January 21, 2025. Designated participants include state agencies, physician groups, and cannabis businesses. Terry Cole became DEA Administrator in 2025. The hearing schedule has moved before and can move again.

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Rescheduling is not legalization

A Schedule III drug is still a controlled substance. Federal trafficking penalties still apply outside a registered supply chain. Possession on federal land stays illegal. Interstate transport stays illegal. State-licensed stores operate under state law, not federal permission.

DEA and hemp

The 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp from the CSA. Hemp means cannabis with 0.3 percent or less delta-9 THC by dry weight. DEA has stated that intoxicating cannabinoids produced by chemical conversion can fall back under the CSA. Congress has not passed a federal rule on intoxicating hemp products. State laws differ.

Research and quotas

DEA sets yearly aggregate production quotas for Schedule I and II substances, including marijuana and THC used in studies. DEA has registered additional cannabis growers for research since 2021. Schedule III would change the registration path for researchers.

State law and federal enforcement

24 states and the District of Columbia allow adult use. Most states allow medical use. Since 2014, a congressional appropriations rider has blocked the Justice Department from spending funds to stop states from carrying out their medical cannabis laws. That rider must be renewed each year.

What is not known

The date of a final rescheduling decision is unknown. DEA has not published a final rule. A final rule would face court challenges. Anyone who needs a firm answer on federal status should treat marijuana as Schedule I until a final rule appears in the Federal Register.