United States: cannabis heading to federal Schedule III

On December 18, 2025, President Donald Trump signed the executive order "Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research", which directs the Department of Justice to speed up the transfer of cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the federal controlled substances law. On April 23, 2026, the Department of Justice placed state-licensed medical cannabis and FDA-approved products in Schedule III. The rescheduling of all cannabis was still under review in early October 2026. None of this legalizes recreational use.

What happened

Under U.S. federal law, Schedule I includes substances considered to have no accepted medical use, such as heroin and LSD. Cannabis had been there for more than fifty years. Schedule III includes substances with recognized medical use and lower potential for abuse, such as ketamine.

The December 2025 order, published in the Federal Register on December 23, made three moves, according to the White House's official summary:

• it directed the Attorney General to expedite completion of the rescheduling process to Schedule III;
• it called for work with Congress to allow access to full-spectrum CBD products, while restricting those that pose health risks;
• it directed the Department of Health to develop research methods using real-world evidence on hemp-derived products.

The document recalls that, in 2023, the FDA completed a review that found scientific support for the use of cannabis for anorexia associated with illness, nausea and vomiting, and pain. It also cites 40 states, plus the capital's district, with medical cannabis programs and more than 6 million patients.

On April 23, 2026, the Department of Justice took a partial step: it placed cannabis subject to a state medical license and FDA-approved products in Schedule III, and scheduled an expedited DEA hearing, held between June 29 and July 15, to discuss broad rescheduling. Recreational cannabis and unlicensed extracts remained in Schedule I.

Why it matters

For science, the change is significant. Researching a Schedule I substance in the United States requires licenses and controls that kept universities and laboratories away for decades. With medical cannabis in Schedule III, the path to clinical studies becomes shorter. The order's emphasis on research and real-world evidence points in the same direction.

There are also economic and tax effects for licensed companies, which the American press, such as CNBC, highlighted on the day of the signing. But the same coverage recalled the limit: rescheduling is not legalizing, and use outside state programs remains prohibited at the federal level.

The move adds to another order, from April 2026, which directed faster research on psychedelics. In both cases, the U.S. government did not approve treatments: it ordered faster research, with rules.

In Bairo's view

For Bairo Leandro Gonzalez Martinez, the American rescheduling is a sign of the times: subjects that were taboo reaching the table of those who decide. In his reading, what matters is not the noise around the decision, but the criterion behind it. The U.S. government did not say cannabis works for everything. It said it has recognized medical use and needs to be studied more.

Bairo sees in this the same line he advocates for Brazil and for Xperienc: research with method, graded evidence and clinical decisions in the hands of professionals. For him, when the world's largest economy makes research easier, the responsibility of those who inform the public to separate what is already known from what is still a promise grows.

Where this meets the ecosystem

Xperienc Global Labs, founded by Bairo in London, is a biotechnology research and development company that has medical cannabis as a scientific field. More research in the world means more evidence to organize, translate and bring to doctors and patients. That is the proposal of the Global Language translator and of teleconsultation with a clinical assistant validated by a professional, always as a second clinical opinion, not a medical report.

What science already knows is in The plant and the science. A U.S. decision does not change Brazilian law; here, the one who guides you is a qualified professional, within Anvisa's rules.

Sources

• The White House, executive order "Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research", 12/18/2025: whitehouse.gov
• The White House, official fact sheet on the order, 12/18/2025: whitehouse.gov
• CNBC, "Trump signs executive order reclassifying cannabis, opening door to broader weed access", 12/18/2025: cnbc.com
• Foley Hoag, on the Department of Justice order of 04/23/2026: foleyhoag.com
• The Marijuana Herald, on the status of the process in September 2026: themarijuanaherald.com

Read also

• What the US government changed on psychedelics
• United Kingdom: medical cannabis on prescription since 2018
• What science says about medical cannabis