Clinical marijuana may just quickly be reclassified right into a clinical class that comes with pharmaceuticals like Tylenol with codeine, ketamine and anabolic steroids.
That’s as a result of in December 2025, President Donald Trump signed an government order to reschedule marijuana to a much less limited class, proceeding a procedure initiated through President Joe Biden in 2022.
Lately, marijuana is in probably the most restrictive elegance, Time table I, the similar class as side road medication like LSD, ecstasy and heroin.
For years, many researchers and clinical mavens have argued that its present classification is a hindrance to much-needed clinical analysis that may resolution lots of the urgent questions on its doable for medicinal use.
In January 2026, Republican Senators Ted Budd, of North Carolina, and James Lankford, of Oklahoma, presented an modification to investment expenses seeking to block the rescheduling, claiming that it “sends the wrong message” and can result in “increased risk of heart attack, stroke, psychotic disorders, addiction and hospitalization.”
As a thinker and drug coverage professional, I’m extra all in favour of what’s the most logical marijuana coverage. In different phrases, is rescheduling the fitting transfer?
Extensively talking, there are 3 alternatives to be had for marijuana law. The U.S. may just stay the drug within the extremely limited Time table I class, transfer it to a much less restrictive class or take away it from scheduling altogether, which might finish the struggle between state and federal marijuana rules.
As of January 2026, hashish is prison in 40 of fifty states for clinical use and 24 states for leisure use. Rescheduling would simplest practice to clinical use.
Let’s read about the arguments for each and every choice:
Proponents of rescheduling marijuana say that it might be a boon to clinical analysis at the plant, particularly in states like Colorado, the place there’s a thriving clinical marijuana trade.
The Managed Components Act
The Managed Components Act puts each and every prohibited drug into certainly one of 5 “schedules” in keeping with confirmed clinical use, addictive doable and protection.
Medication categorised as Time table I – as marijuana has been since 1971, when the Managed Components Act was once handed – can’t be legally used for clinical use or analysis, although an exception for analysis may also be made with particular permission from the Drug Enforcement Management. Time table I medication are believed to have a prime doable for abuse, to be extraordinarily addictive and to have “no currently accepted medical use.”
As a Time table I drug, marijuana has been extra tightly managed than cocaine, methamphetamine, PCP and fentanyl, all of which belong to Time table II.
Marijuana’s present classification places it in a better class than dangerously addictive side road medication like fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine.
Johnrob/iStock by way of Getty Photographs
The established order choice
Some coverage analysts and anti-marijuana activists argue that marijuana must stay a Time table 1 drug.
A commonplace objection to rescheduling it’s the statement that 1 in 3 marijuana customers increase an dependancy to the drug, which stems from a big learn about referred to as a meta-analysis.
A cautious studying of that learn about unearths the issues in its conclusions. The researchers discovered that about one-third of heavy customers – which means those that use marijuana weekly or day by day – suffered from dependence. But if they checked out marijuana customers extra typically – which means individuals who attempted it once or more, the way in which dependancy charges are most often measured – they discovered that simplest 13% of customers increase a dependency on marijuana, which makes it much less habit-forming than maximum leisure medication, together with alcohol, nicotine and caffeine, none of that are scheduled below the Managed Components Act.
Additional, if the 1-in-3 determine have been correct, then marijuana can be extra addictive than alcohol, crack cocaine or even heroin. This defies each commonplace sense and well-established research at the comparative chance of dependancy.
Critics of rescheduling additionally deny that there’s convincing proof that marijuana or its compounds have any official clinical use. They cite analysis like a 2025 overview paper that assessed 15 years of clinical marijuana analysis and concluded that “evidence is insufficient for the use of cannabis or cannabinoids for most medical indications.”
This declare is problematic, on the other hand, for the reason that the Meals and Drug Management has already licensed a number of medications which might be in keeping with the similar energetic compounds present in marijuana. Those come with the medication Marinol and Syndros, that are used to regard AIDS-related anorexia and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. Either one of those comprise delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the substance this is answerable for the marijuana prime.
If the energetic substances of marijuana have official clinical use as established through the FDA, then it stands to explanation why that so should marijuana.
Choice 2: Shifting marijuana to agenda III
Shifting marijuana to agenda III would make it prison on the federal point, however just for clinical use. Leisure use would stay federally prohibited, although it’s prison in 24 states as of early 2026.
The obvious get advantages to rescheduling, famous above, is that it might make analysis on marijuana more straightforward. The device of cannabinoid receptors during which marijuana confers its healing and psychoactive results is a very powerful for just about each and every facet of human functioning. Thus, marijuana compounds may provide efficient medications for all kinds of diseases.
Opposite to the 2015 overview discussed previous, research have proven that hashish is valuable for treating nausea and AIDS signs, continual ache and a few signs of more than one sclerosis, in addition to many different stipulations.
Rescheduling may just additionally beef up clinical marijuana steering. Beneath the present device, clinical marijuana customers don’t seem to be supplied with correct, evidence-based steering on how one can use marijuana successfully. They should depend on “bud tenders,” dispensary staff without a clinical coaching whose activity is to promote product. If hashish have been moved to Time table III, docs can be educated to advise sufferers on its correct use. However, clinical colleges needn’t stay up for rescheduling. For the reason that many of us are already the usage of clinical marijuana, some clinical mavens have argued that clinical colleges must supply this coaching already.
Rescheduling, on the other hand, isn’t with out headaches. To conform to the legislation, clinical marijuana systems must get started requiring a physician’s prescription, similar to with all different scheduled elements. And it may well be allotted simplest through approved pharmacies. That may well be a excellent factor, if marijuana is as bad and addictive as critics declare. However advocates of clinical marijuana may well be involved that this could building up prices to the patron and limit get right of entry to. That fear may well be mitigated, on the other hand, if medical insurance corporations are required to hide the prices of clinical marijuana as soon as it’s rescheduled.
As well as, it’s unclear how rescheduling would have an effect on state-level bans on clinical marijuana. Normally talking, states can not legally limit get right of entry to to prescribed drugs which have been licensed through the FDA. On the other hand, this concept of federal preemption is these days being challenged through six states claiming they’ve the authority to limit get right of entry to to the abortion medicine mifepristone.
Choice 3: Unscheduling marijuana
The talk over rescheduling ignores a 3rd choice: that marijuana may well be got rid of completely from the Managed Components Act, giving states the authority to permit clinical marijuana to be allotted with no prescription.
One of the most objections to rescheduling come from marijuana advocates. For the reason that marijuana is more secure and not more addictive than alcohol – which isn’t scheduled below the Managed Components Act – a case may well be made for taking away it completely from the record of scheduled elements and permitting states to legalize it for leisure use, as many states have already.
Actually, many medication as, or extra tough than, marijuana also are now not scheduled. For instance, maximum over the counter cough medications comprise dextromethorphan, a hallucinogenic dissociative, which in massive doses reasons results very similar to PCP.
Eliminating marijuana from the record of managed elements would additionally decriminalize the drug. Over 200,000 American citizens have been arrested for marijuana in 2024, over 90% of them for mere ownership.
These days, the 0.33 choice turns out impossible. Even though over 60% of American citizens are in want of complete marijuana legalization, it lacks beef up in Congress.
Clinical marijuana rescheduling appears more likely to happen in 2026. In any case, it’s been proposed through each Biden and Trump. Whether or not it’s the proper transfer, simplest time will inform.
This text contains parts of a prior article at first printed on Oct. 9, 2024.
