DEA Agrees To Reschedule Marijuana Under Federal Law In Historic Move Following Biden-Directed Health Agency’s Recommendation

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has made a historic decision—agreeing with the top federal health agency and proposing to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

The decision comes more than 50 years after cannabis was first listed as a strictly prohibited drug, on par with heroin and defined as a substance with no known medical value and a significant abuse potential.

Moving marijuana to Schedule III, as recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), also carries major implications for state-legal cannabis businesses. If it’s ultimately implemented, it will mean that marijuana firms can officially take federal tax deductions that they’ve been barred from under an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code known as 280E.

The proposed rescheduling determination, first reported by the Associated Press, would also free up research barriers that are currently imposed on scientists who wish to study Schedule I substances.

The next step in the rescheduling process is for the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to review the rule. If approved, it would go to public comment before potentially being finalized.

DEA and the Justice Department declined to comment on reporting about the scheduling determination in response to inquiries from Marijuana Moment on Tuesday. The White House did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

Moving cannabis to another schedule will not legalize it, however. Participants in state cannabis markets would continue to run afoul of federal law, and existing criminal penalties for certain marijuana-related activity would remain in force.

DEA’s decision means it has generally accepted the findings from a nearly year-long scientific review into cannabis that HHS carried out before sharing its scheduling recommendation.

HHS determined that cannabis “has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States” and has a “potential for abuse less than the drugs or other substances in Schedules I and II.”

The next step in the rescheduling process is for the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to review the rule. If approved, it would go to public comment before potentially being finalized.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

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