Trump Reclassifies Medical Marijuana: From Schedule I to Schedule III

In a landmark shift, the Trump administration has moved state-licensed medical marijuana out of the same federal category as heroin and the ripple effects are already being felt from Washington state medical license holders to New York and beyond.

On April 22, 2026, President Donald Trump’s acting attorney general signed an order reclassifying state-licensed medical marijuana as a less-dangerous drug a major policy shift long sought by advocates who said cannabis should never have been treated like heroin by the federal government. The move, executed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, is being called the most consequential federal action on cannabis in over half a century.

From Schedule I to Schedule III: What Changed

The Trump administration officially reclassified state-licensed medical marijuana products under the Controlled Substances Act. The move removes these products from the Schedule I category which includes what the government considers high-risk and dangerous drugs such as heroin, LSD, and ecstasy to the lower-risk category of Schedule III.

Critically, the order does not legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use under federal law. But it does change the way it’s regulated, shifting licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I reserved for drugs without medical use and with high potential for abuse to the less strictly regulated Schedule III. It also gives licensed medical marijuana operators a major tax break and eases some barriers to researching cannabis.

In accordance with President Trump’s December 18, 2025, Executive Order on Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research, the Justice Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration also announced the initiation of an expedited administrative hearing process to consider the broader rescheduling of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, with a new hearing beginning June 29, 2026.

What It Means for State Medical License Holders

For patients and providers across states with established medical marijuana programs including those looking up a Washington state medical license, verifying a New York state medical license, or navigating a PA state medical license the practical impact is significant, though immediate access remains governed by state frameworks.

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The final order establishes an expedited DEA registration pathway for holders of state medical marijuana licenses. Applicants may submit their existing state credentials as conclusive evidence of state-law authorization, and the DEA must grant registration unless doing so would be inconsistent with the public interest. Entities that submit applications within 60 days of publication by Monday, June 22, 2026 may continue operating under their state licenses during the pendency of review.

For patients, existing medical cards and physician recommendations remain fully valid and unaffected. The practical change is that state-licensed medical marijuana now has federal recognition as having accepted medical use a historic first

In Washington state, which in 2012 became one of the first states to legalize adult-use marijuana, 302 of 460 licensed stores have endorsements allowing them to sell tax-free cannabis products to registered patients.

A Major Win for Researchers and Cannabis Businesses

Scientists have faced strict approval processes, limited supply access, and heavy compliance requirements when attempting to examine cannabis for therapeutic use, including chronic pain, PTSD, and neurological disorders. Those federal barriers remained in place even as roughly half of states had legalized marijuana for recreational use.

For cannabis operators, one of the most immediate financial impacts is the end of Internal Revenue Code Section 280E a 1982 tax provision that blocked businesses selling Schedule I or II substances from deducting ordinary expenses or claiming tax credits.

“Today’s order marks a historical reversal in federal cannabis policy. It validates the experiences of tens of millions of Americans, as well as those of tens of thousands of physicians, who have long recognized that cannabis possesses legitimate medical utility,” said one cannabis policy advocate.

The president of the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp, Michael Bronstein, called it “the most significant federal advancement in cannabis policy in over 50 years,” adding: “This action recognizes what Americans have long known cannabis is medicine.”

Trump’s Position: Medical Yes, Recreational No

Trump’s Donald Trump news on cannabis has been careful to draw a clear line. The president stressed that he was not lifting the federal ban on marijuana, warning of negative effects of recreational use during the signing ceremony for the executive order last year. “If it’s abused, it’s never safe to use powerful, controlled substances in recreational matters,” Trump said.

On Donald Trump Truth Social, the administration framed the decision as a patient-first healthcare win. Acting Attorney General Blanche wrote: “These actions will enable more targeted, rigorous research into marijuana’s safety and efficacy, expanding patients’ access to treatments and empowering doctors to make better-informed healthcare decisions.”

What Comes Next and Who’s Still in Limbo

The industry is now split into two tiers. Other businesses especially operators that hold both an adult-use and medical license remain in a state of limbo until the broader DEA hearing concludes. The DOJ has also ordered a new, expedited hearing to reschedule all marijuana, beginning June 29, to provide a “pathway to evaluate broader changes” to the drug’s status under federal law.

Critics from the prohibition camp expressed concern, while some legal analysts questioned the method used to bypass the standard rulemaking process. But for the 40 states with active medical marijuana programs and for millions of patients whose doctors have long recommended cannabis for pain, anxiety, and other conditions Thursday’s order represents a seismic shift in how America’s federal government views the plant.

For anyone navigating a state medical license in Washington, New York, or Pennsylvania, the message is clear: the federal government has, for the first time in more than 55 years, acknowledged that marijuana has accepted medical use. The rest, as the June hearings will reveal, is still being written.