The Justice Department moved Thursday to immediately reclassify state-licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act, acting on a December executive order from President Donald Trump, while the administration separately fast-tracked federal review of psychedelic drugs, including psilocybin and ibogaine, as potential treatments for mental illness.
The twin actions mark the most substantive changes to federal drug policy in decades and reflect a striking shift within a Republican Party once defined by its opposition to drug liberalization.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed the rescheduling order on Thursday, placing both FDA-approved marijuana products and state-licensed medical marijuana into Schedule III, a category defined as carrying moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.
The DOJ also announced an expedited administrative hearing beginning June 29 to evaluate broader changes to cannabis' federal status, replacing a prior process that had stalled under the Biden administration.
Neither action legalizes marijuana at the federal level; recreational cannabis and any marijuana not covered by state medical licensing remain Schedule I.
The practical effects are immediate for the cannabis industry.
State-licensed operators, barred under IRS Code Section 280E from deducting standard business expenses even when operating legally under state law, would now qualify for those deductions.
Researchers now face fewer federal barriers to studying cannabis.
But the industry remains split: operators holding both adult-use and medical licenses remain in legal limbo until the June 29 hearing resolves the broader rescheduling question.
The cannabis action came four months after Trump signed the rescheduling executive order, and only after he publicly complained at the April 18 psychedelics ceremony that officials were "slow-walking" the process.
CNN reported that the White House and Justice Department faced increasing pressure from the cannabis industry in the weeks before the announcement.
On April 18, Trump signed a separate executive order directing the FDA to prioritize review of psychedelics that have received federal Breakthrough Therapy designations and to issue Commissioner's National Priority Vouchers to qualifying compounds.
The order also allocates at least $50 million through the federal ARPA-H program to support state-level psychedelic research initiatives.
Vouchers can compress FDA review timelines from months to weeks, and it is the first time the agency has offered expedited review to any psychedelic, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said.
The FDA announced the following week it would issue national priority vouchers to companies studying psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression and methylone, a compound related to MDMA, for post-traumatic stress disorder.
The agency also cleared an early-stage clinical trial for noribogaine hydrochloride, a derivative of ibogaine, as a potential treatment for alcohol use disorder, the first such authorization in the United States.
All psychedelics remain Schedule I controlled substances; the orders direct expedited review but do not guarantee FDA approval.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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