Marijuana Rescheduling
Schedule III would not make marijuana legal. It would hand Big Marijuana a tax break and call today’s high-potency THC “medicine.” SAM is fighting it on four fronts.
HHS recommends Schedule III
DOJ proposes rule
April 2026 order: state medical marijuana to Schedule III
DEA decision on all marijuana pending
D.C. Circuit ruling
The federal government is moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. Marijuana rescheduling would not make marijuana legal, but it hands the industry a major tax break and sends the false message that today’s high-potency marijuana is medicine. SAM is fighting it in court, before the DEA, in Congress, and in the states.
Four fronts against marijuana rescheduling
The courts
SAM has retained former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr’s firm, Torridon Law, to challenge the rescheduling order in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The attorneys general of Nebraska, Louisiana, and Indiana filed their own challenge, consolidated with SAM’s petition.
Active appeal
The DEA
SAM participated in the 2026 rescheduling hearing, making the case that today’s marijuana is more dangerous than ever and still meets the criteria for Schedule I. SAM presented testimony and evidence on marijuana’s harms.
Hearing closed, decision pending
Congress
The House Appropriations Committee’s FY2027 Commerce, Justice, Science bill would prohibit the Justice Department from rescheduling marijuana, and its Labor-HHS bill would bar workers’ compensation funds from paying for marijuana if it moves to Schedule III.
Passed committee
The states
Many state drug laws automatically follow federal scheduling changes. SAM is helping lawmakers write a firewall that keeps marijuana in Schedule I under state law.
Model language ready
What marijuana rescheduling does and does not do
It does not
- Legalize recreational marijuana under federal law
- Legalize marijuana in your state
- End federal laws on scheduled drugs, including transport across state lines
- Create an FDA-approved marijuana medicine or put marijuana in your pharmacy
It does
- Free marijuana businesses from Section 280E, letting them deduct advertising and expansion costs
- Boost industry profits and fuel more marketing and commercialization
- Send the false message that today’s high-potency marijuana is safe medicine
- Lean on weak state rules for certifications, labeling, and packaging
What the science says about “medical” marijuana
Rescheduling rests on the claim that marijuana has an accepted medical use. The randomized trials say otherwise, and today’s marijuana is far stronger than the drug studied a generation ago.
A major review found that “evidence from randomized clinical trials does not support the use of cannabis or cannabinoids for most conditions” for which they are promoted.
Hsu et al., JAMA, November 2025
People randomly assigned a medical marijuana card saw no significant improvement in pain, anxiety, or depression, and developed more marijuana use disorder.
Gilman et al., JAMA Network Open, 2022
“There is no universally safe level of cannabis use; thus, the only reliable way to avoid any risk for harm from using cannabis is abstinence.”
The Lancet Psychiatry, 2026 review
Average THC in seized marijuana quadrupled from 1995 to 2022. Concentrates and vapes run 55 to 99 percent.
DEA potency monitoring via NIDA, 2024
Daily users of high-potency marijuana had 4.8 times the odds of a psychotic disorder compared with people who never used.
Di Forti et al., The Lancet Psychiatry, 2019
Americans met clinical criteria for marijuana use disorder in 2025, up 2.6 million since 2021.
SAMHSA, 2025 National Survey on Drug Use and Health
The road to Schedule III
- 2023 to 2024The Biden administration’s Department of Health and Human Services recommended Schedule III, and the Justice Department proposed a rule to do it.
- December 2025President Trump moved by executive order to advance rescheduling.
- April 2026A Justice Department order moved state-licensed medical marijuana and FDA-approved marijuana drugs to Schedule III and created a DEA registration pathway for state licensees. SAM condemned it and went to court.
- May 2026The attorneys general of Nebraska, Louisiana, and Indiana filed their own challenge, consolidated with SAM’s petition in the D.C. Circuit.
- June to July 2026The DEA held a hearing on moving all marijuana to Schedule III. SAM presented testimony and evidence. A decision is pending.
The No Deductions for Marijuana Businesses Act
Under Section 280E of the tax code, businesses trafficking in Schedule I or II drugs cannot deduct ordinary business expenses. The April 2026 order already ended that penalty for state medical licensees. Rescheduling all marijuana would end it for the whole industry, letting companies write off their marketing and expansion costs.
The No Deductions for Marijuana Businesses Act denies federal tax deductions for marijuana businesses regardless of how marijuana is scheduled, so rescheduling does not become a taxpayer-subsidized boost for Big Marijuana. Introduced in February 2025, it has 14 cosponsors across both chambers.
Senate: S. 471
Sponsor Sen. James Lankford (R-OK)
Cosponsors Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC)
House: H.R. 1447
Sponsor House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX)
Cosponsors Reps. Chuck Edwards (R-NC), Greg Murphy (R-NC), Vern Buchanan (R-FL), Blake Moore (R-UT), Gary Palmer (R-AL), Pete Sessions (R-TX), Andy Harris (R-MD), Adrian Smith (R-NE), Andrew Clyde (R-GA), Nathaniel Moran (R-TX), Mike Lawler (R-NY), and Paul Gosar (R-AZ)
Is your member of Congress on the list? If not, ask them to sign on.
Keep marijuana in Schedule I at the state level
With state medical marijuana already in Schedule III and a broader federal decision pending, an old provision in state law could hand the industry a change no legislator voted for. SAM’s model language keeps marijuana in state Schedule I unless the legislature itself votes to move it.
See state policy resourcesDeep dive: marijuana and rescheduling
Marijuana rescheduling: frequently asked questions
Is marijuana legal now that it is being rescheduled?
No. Schedule III is still a category of controlled substances. Recreational marijuana remains illegal under federal law.
Why does the industry want rescheduling so badly?
Money. Rescheduling frees marijuana businesses from Section 280E of the tax code, letting them deduct business expenses and sharply increasing their profits.
Can my state keep marijuana in Schedule I?
Yes. States set their own drug schedules. Lawmakers should check whether their state law automatically follows federal changes and, if so, act to prevent it.
Does rescheduling mean marijuana is medicine?
No. Rescheduling does not create an FDA-approved marijuana product. Doctors cannot prescribe marijuana; they can only recommend or certify it under state programs.
Resources
- Talking points: Marijuana in Schedule III (PDF)
- Marijuana in Schedule I vs. Schedule III (PDF)
- Why Marijuana Should Remain in Schedule I (The Drug Report)
- U.S. Department of Justice and DEA, final order placing FDA-approved marijuana products and marijuana subject to a state medical marijuana license in Schedule III (April 2026).
Rescheduling is a tax break for Big Marijuana dressed up as medicine.
Help us stop it.
