No. Cannabis remains a Schedule I controlled substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act, and the DEA has not finalized any change to that status. What the agency did was publish a proposed rule that would move marijuana to Schedule III. That proposal is still inside the federal rulemaking process, which means the answer to "did the DEA reschedule cannabis" is simple today: not yet, and possibly never in this rulemaking. The sections below cover what rescheduling means, what the DEA proposed and when, why the health agencies were involved, what would change for legal-market shoppers if Schedule III took effect, and what would stay the same.
Cannabis Schedule III DEA Decision Guide
What rescheduling actually means
The Controlled Substances Act places every controlled drug or substance into one of five schedules based on abuse potential and accepted medical use. Schedule I is the most restrictive category and covers drugs with no accepted medical use under federal law and a high potential for abuse. Cannabis sits there alongside heroin and LSD.
Rescheduling is an administrative act, not a new law. The DEA, working with the Department of Justice, can move a substance between schedules through formal rulemaking. Congress could also do it by statute, or remove the substance from the CSA altogether. Those are three different outcomes with very different consequences.
Descheduling is the third option and it is not the same thing as rescheduling. Descheduling would remove cannabis from the CSA, which is the outcome many advocates and industry groups want. Moving to Schedule III keeps the drug controlled and regulated, just less strictly than Schedule I.
What the DEA proposed, and when
The DEA published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register in May 2024 that would transfer marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. It was a proposal, not an order. A proposed rule creates a public comment period, and commenters can request a hearing. Both happened.
Because the matter was contested, the DEA moved the question into its administrative hearing process, where a DEA administrative law judge oversees evidence and argument. That process produces a recommended decision. The recommendation goes to the DEA Administrator, who issues the final decision on the schedule placement. Until a final order publishes in the Federal Register, cannabis stays where it has been since 1970.
Why health agencies were involved first
Scheduling decisions under the CSA rest on a scientific and medical review, and that review belongs to the Department of Health and Human Services. In August 2023, HHS completed its evaluation and recommended that cannabis be placed in Schedule III. That recommendation is what gave the DEA the basis to propose a change at all.
Schedule III is defined for drugs with moderate to low physical dependence potential and a currently accepted medical use with severe restrictions. That framing is why the proposal matters for medical research and federal tax treatment, and also why it does not create a national retail market.
What would change under Schedule III
- Federal tax treatment. Section 280E of the tax code denies deductions to businesses trafficking in Schedule I or II substances. Moving to Schedule III would remove that barrier for state-licensed cannabis operators, which is the single largest financial consequence of the proposal.
- Criminal exposure. Federal penalties for cannabis offenses would drop, though cannabis would still be a controlled substance.
- Research access. Registration and supply barriers for researchers studying cannabis would ease.
- Perception of legitimacy. Federal recognition of medical use would shift how banks, insurers, and courts treat cannabis businesses.
What would not change
- State law still governs sales. Licensing, possession limits, testing rules, packaging, and state excise taxes would stay exactly as they are.
- Adult-use sales would not become federally legal. Schedule III drugs are handled as prescription medicines, not consumer products.
- Interstate commerce would stay unsettled. State programs would remain walled off from one another until Congress acts.
- Banking access would not be fixed on its own. That requires federal legislation, not just a schedule change.
Why the distinction matters for people buying legal cannabis
If you buy from a licensed dispensary in a state with a regulated program, your purchase is legal under state law today and has been for years. The federal schedule does not make those products illegal at the state level, and a Schedule III decision would not suddenly legalize them nationwide either. The practical effects you would notice first are business-side: lower federal tax bills for operators, easier capital access, and more clinical research on cannabinoids.
Until a final rule publishes, treat every headline about DEA rescheduling as a status update on a pending proposal. The answer to the question is unchanged: cannabis is still Schedule I, the DEA proposed Schedule III in 2024, and the decision now rests with the agency's final order.