Justice Department eases medical marijuana restrictions, opening door to research

The Justice Department moved to loosen federal restrictions on medical marijuana on Thursday, placing FDA-approved marijuana products and state-licensed medical marijuana products in Schedule III and setting up a new federal hearing for June 29, 2026. The change is aimed at widening access for researchers and patients without dismantling the federal ban on illicit trafficking, a sign that the administration is trying to change drug policy through administrative steps instead of a sweeping legalization fight.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is carrying out the move under his authority to reschedule drugs to meet U.S. obligations under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. The department tied the action to President Donald Trump’s December 18, 2025 executive order on Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research, which pushed the issue back onto the federal agenda after years of review across the Biden and Trump administrations.

The first barriers likely to fall are in research. Marijuana’s move from Schedule I, where it had been classified as a drug with no currently accepted medical use, to Schedule III would ease the path for scientific studies and give researchers a clearer regulatory framework. Federal officials have long said that rescheduling would not legalize marijuana nationwide, but it would add the controls that apply to Schedule III drugs and remove some of the obstacles that have slowed studies of medical use, dosing and safety.

Even so, the federal limits that matter most to doctors, companies and patients would remain in place. The Justice Department’s 2024 proposed rule said a Schedule III designation would still leave marijuana subject to federal criminal prohibitions and Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act restrictions. The Drug Enforcement Administration has also said the rescheduling process must remain a formal rulemaking under federal law, which means the June 29 hearing is a step in a longer administrative process, not the end of it.

The federal review that led to Thursday’s move began under former President Joseph R. Biden, who asked the Department of Health and Human Services and the Justice Department on October 6, 2022 to review marijuana’s scheduling. On August 29, 2023, HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel L. Levine recommended that marijuana be placed in Schedule III after the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institute on Drug Abuse weighed in. The Justice Department published its proposed rule on May 21, 2024, with public comments due July 22, 2024, and the issue has remained one of the most closely watched cannabis policy fights in Washington.