Acting Attorney General Moves Cannabis From Schedule I To Schedule III

If your policy has been to smoke a joint every time a state or local government allows a new cannabis product for medical or recreational use or every time someone in the federal government says that it is time that federal law stopped counting cannabis as a Schedule I controlled substance, you have probably been consistently high since sometime during the second Obama administration. Over the past decade, state medical cannabis programs have grown and changed shape until nearly everyone has a qualifying condition that would enable them to get a medical cannabis card. Some states have decriminalized the possession of small quantities of cannabis, as have some cities and counties in states that have not implemented such laws. In Florida, you can smoke a joint near most of the major universities and tourist attractions without worrying about getting criminal charges, although this is not true in rural areas of the state. Throughout all of this, federal law refused to budge, at least until now. The Acting Attorney General recently signed an order recategorizing cannabis as a Schedule III controlled substance. Since cannabis is still a controlled substance, it is still possible to get criminal charges for possessing it illegally, even under the new law. If you are facing criminal charges related to cannabis, contact a Tampa drug crime lawyer.

4-23 Is the New 420

Members of the federal government have been saying a lot of things about removing cannabis from Schedule I for the past few years, but the Acting Attorney General’s order is different. Most of the schedules of controlled substances include pharmaceutical drugs that, because of their abuse risk, are subject to tighter controls than medications such as antibiotics and blood pressure medications, for example. Schedule I drugs are different, though. They do not have any legally accepted medical uses. This means that it is also illegal to conduct medical research on them.

Presidents have issued several executive orders encouraging the rescheduling of cannabis to another drug schedule, most recently President Trump’s executive order in December 2025. Presidents do not, by themselves, have the authority to add or remove drugs from schedules of the Controlled Substances Act. Therefore, the order signed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on April 23 recategorizes cannabis instead of just talking about recategorizing it. This means that, since last month, cannabis has been a Schedule III controlled substance according to federal law; it is now in the same legal category as anabolic steroids and ketamine. The change enables clinical trials on the medical applications of cannabis. It does not change any state or local laws about cannabis decriminalization, nor does it decriminalize cannabis at the federal level.

Contact Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Bryant Scriven

A criminal defense lawyer can help you get justice if you are facing criminal charges for possession of Schedule III controlled substances, including but not limited to cannabis.  Contact Scriven Law in Tampa, Florida to schedule a consultation.

Sources:

msn.com/en-us/news/us/trump-administration-eases-regulation-on-state-licensed-marijuana/ar-AA21yZiP?ocid=msedgntp&pc=ACTS&cvid=69e975cef44a4541905e104dd6477412&ei=11

theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/23/trump-administration-reclassify-marijuana-schedule-iii