The federal government's effort to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III just submitted its fourth consecutive status report saying, essentially, nothing has happened. The DEA and reform advocates filed a joint update this week confirming that an interlocutory appeal — one that challenges alleged agency bias during the rescheduling review — is still sitting on someone's desk with no briefing schedule in sight. The agency has the power to set that schedule. It has not.
Executive Order, Meet Administrative Reality
President Trump signed an executive order just weeks ago directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to finalize marijuana rescheduling in the "most expeditious manner." That sounds urgent. What happened next was the DEA filing paperwork that reads almost word-for-word the same as the three previous status reports. DEA Administrator Terrance Cole had told senators during his confirmation hearing that rescheduling would be "one of my first priorities." Nearly a year into that role, the appeal clock is still frozen.
To be fair, this particular delay involves a side dispute — an allegation that the agency had improper back-channel communications with anti-rescheduling parties during the review process. That is not a minor procedural footnote. If true, it goes directly to whether the whole review was compromised. Still, the lack of any movement on scheduling a briefing is hard to read as anything other than foot-dragging.
The Opposition Is Not Waiting Around
While DEA takes its time, the prohibitionist camp is moving fast. A prominent anti-legalization group has reportedly retained former Attorney General Bill Barr — yes, that Bill Barr — to sue and reverse rescheduling if and when it gets finalized. They are also preparing a parallel petition through the administrative process to keep cannabis in Schedule I.
On the other side, a conservative agriculture nonprofit praised the rescheduling push, arguing it would undercut the illicit market and help veterans and seniors access cannabis. A coalition of Republican state attorneys general fired back, calling Schedule I the correct classification. A group of Republican lawmakers sent Trump letters urging him to pump the brakes. Trump dismissed them, pointing to overwhelming public support and people in his personal circle who benefit from cannabis.
What Schedule III Actually Means
It bears repeating because it gets lost in the noise: moving cannabis to Schedule III does not legalize it. What it does do is formally acknowledge the plant has medical value, let cannabis businesses finally deduct normal business expenses on federal taxes, and lower the barriers on research. That is genuinely significant, even if it falls well short of what many in the industry and advocacy space are pushing for.
The Congressional Research Service has noted the DOJ could theoretically walk away from rescheduling entirely or restart the clock from zero. So the finish line exists, but the path to it has more detours than a road trip with no GPS.
Until DEA actually sets a briefing schedule and lets this appeal move forward, the executive order is just a piece of paper with good intentions attached to it.
Source: Marijuana Moment