Schedules of Controlled Substances: Rescheduling of Marijuana

The Department of Justice ("DOJ") proposes to transfer marijuana from schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act ("CSA") to schedule III of the CSA, consistent with the view of the Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") that marijuana has a currently accepted medical use as well as HHS's views about marijuana's abuse potential and level of physical or psychological dependence. The CSA requires that such actions be made through formal rulemaking on the record after opportunity for a hearing. If the transfer to schedule III is finalized, the regulatory controls applicable to schedule III controlled substances would apply, as appropriate, along with existing marijuana-specific requirements and any additional controls that might be implemented, including those that might be implemented to meet U.S. treaty obligations. If marijuana is transferred into schedule III, the manufacture, distribution, dispensing, and possession of marijuana would remain subject to the applicable criminal prohibitions of the CSA. Any drugs containing a substance within the CSA's definition of "marijuana" would also remain subject to the applicable prohibitions in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act ("FDCA"). DOJ is soliciting comments on this proposal.