DOJ Reschedules Cannabis to Schedule III: What the Change Means and What Remains Unclear

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche issued an Order that confirms the rescheduling of cannabis products from Schedule I to Schedule III. The Order is effective April 22, 2026, and the DOJ press release is found here. The Order does not solve all questions in the regulatory world. State legal and FDA‑approved cannabis products are included, but questions remain for non-regulated cannabis products.

As I’ve written about before, this rescheduling likely eliminates the application of Internal Revenue Code Section 280E and will provide significant tax relief in the cannabis market.   

This rescheduling is an expected and nonetheless massive shift at the federal level.  How it exactly filters out to the masses remains to be seen.  We need to wait for guidance from the relevant agencies and look for indications of how the new status will be enforced. For example, the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) and the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) still apply.  Therefore, cannabis will need FDA approval for interstate commerce.