Federal Cannabis Law: Comprehensive Reference Guide

Cannabis is regulated at two levels in the United States, and the two do not agree. Every state page on this site describes what a given state permits. This page describes what federal law does, which applies everywhere regardless of state law. Federal law changed materially in 2026, but the change is narrower than most coverage suggests, and the parts that did not change are the parts that most often affect individuals.

For state-by-state rules, see the U.S. Cannabis Law Map. Nothing here is legal advice.

Where Federal Law Stands Today

• Most marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance. An April 2026 order moved only two narrow categories to Schedule III.
• Adult-use marijuana is still Schedule I. A separate proceeding on broader rescheduling has produced no decision and was paused on September 29, 2026.
• There is still no legal interstate cannabis commerce, and no federal banking safe harbor has been enacted.
• The federal definition of hemp is being rewritten in two stages, on November 12 and December 11, 2026.
• Cannabis use still bars firearm purchase under federal law, though the Supreme Court narrowed how that prohibition may be applied.

Controlled Substances Act Scheduling

The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 placed marijuana in Schedule I, the most restrictive category, defined as a drug with a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision. That classification is the source of nearly every federal consequence discussed on this page, including the tax treatment of state-licensed businesses, the banking difficulties the industry faces, and the firearms prohibition.

Schedule I status has never been affected by state legalization. A business operating lawfully under a state license is still, as a matter of federal law, manufacturing or distributing a controlled substance. What has changed over time is federal enforcement posture and, in 2026, the scheduling of two specific categories.

The April 2026 Rescheduling Order

The Department of Justice issued a final rule signed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on April 22, 2026, filed April 27 and published in the Federal Register on April 28, 2026, at 91 FR 22714, where it took effect immediately^[1]. The rule added three entries to the Schedule III list at 21 CFR 1308.13(g):

• Marijuana, as defined in 21 U.S.C. 802(16), when in an FDA-approved drug product or when subject to a state-issued license to manufacture, distribute, or dispense marijuana for medical purposes.
• Marijuana extract, as defined in 21 CFR 1308.11(d)(58), on the same two conditions.
• Naturally derived delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinols in an FDA-approved drug product, or in marijuana subject to a state medical marijuana license.

Everything outside those categories remains in Schedule I. That includes adult-use and recreational marijuana, marijuana held or sold without a state license, and extracts not tied to an FDA-approved product or a state medical license. The rule says so directly, stating that any form of marijuana other than in an FDA-approved drug product or marijuana subject to a state medical marijuana license remains a Schedule I controlled substance. Marijuana also continues to appear in Schedule I at 21 CFR 1308.11(d)(23).

The rule also created an expedited registration path under 21 CFR part 1301 for entities holding state medical marijuana licenses, and added the newly scheduled substances to the import and export permit requirements at 21 CFR 1312.30. Several petitions challenging the order have been filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and consolidated under SAM, Inc. v. Department of Justice, No. 26-1106. On September 9, 2026 the court denied a motion to stay the order while the challenge is decided; that ruling does not decide the merits. The rule remains in force.^[2]

The practical shorthand that “marijuana is now Schedule III” is inaccurate. The accurate statement is that FDA-approved cannabis drug products and marijuana handled under a state medical license moved to Schedule III, and nothing else did.

The Pending Broader Rescheduling Proceeding

A separate administrative proceeding is considering whether all marijuana should be moved out of Schedule I. A hearing before a DEA administrative law judge opened on June 29, 2026 and concluded on July 15, 2026. Post-hearing briefs were filed on August 17, 2026, with the DEA itself arguing that marijuana no longer fits the statutory requirements for Schedule I because it has a currently accepted medical use and an accepted safety profile for use under medical supervision. Opposing briefs were filed by several organizations and by the states of Idaho, Indiana, and Nebraska.

On September 29, 2026 Chief Administrative Law Judge Derek Julius stayed the proceeding while he considers a motion by three rescheduling opponents to add a September 23 Government Accountability Office report on scheduling procedures to the record, and ordered the DEA to respond by October 13, 2026. The order sets no end date. As of early October 2026 the judge has issued no recommended decision, the DEA Administrator has taken no action, and nothing further has been published in the Federal Register. Until a final rule issues, the broader scheduling of marijuana is unchanged.^[3]

Federal Taxation and Section 280E

Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code denies ordinary business deductions and credits to any trade or business trafficking in a Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substance. Because state-licensed cannabis businesses have been treated as trafficking in a Schedule I substance, they have generally been unable to deduct ordinary operating expenses such as rent, payroll, and marketing, while still owing tax on gross income less cost of goods sold. The result has been effective federal tax rates far above those of comparable businesses in other industries.

The April 2026 rule addresses this directly. It states that as a consequence of the rule, state licensees will no longer be subject to the deduction disallowance imposed by Section 280E, which applies only to businesses trafficking in a Schedule I or II substance. The Administrator separately encouraged the Secretary of the Treasury to consider providing retrospective relief for taxable years in which a state licensee operated under a state medical marijuana license. Both passages carry the same caveat: nothing in the rule constitutes a determination regarding federal tax liability, and licensees should consult tax counsel.

The Treasury Department and the IRS have announced, but not yet issued, implementing guidance. An April 23, 2026 Treasury release said rescheduling is expected to apply first for a business’s full taxable year that includes the order’s effective date. Guidance under Section 280E is listed in the IRS 2026-2027 Priority Guidance Plan, released September 29, 2026, with no deadline.^[4] Businesses whose products remain in Schedule I, which includes all adult-use operations, are unaffected and remain subject to Section 280E.

Hemp and the Federal Definition

The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, commonly called the 2018 Farm Bill, removed hemp from the Controlled Substances Act by defining it as cannabis containing no more than 0.3 percent delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol on a dry weight basis. Because that threshold measured only delta-9 THC, it left room for an industry built on intoxicating cannabinoids that are not delta-9 THC, including delta-8 THC and high-THCA hemp flower, and for finished products containing substantial total THC.

Congress closed that gap in section 781 of Public Law 119-37, enacted November 12, 2025^[5]. Section 781 is expressly effective 365 days after enactment, which is November 12, 2026. It rewrites the hemp definition to use a total THC standard that accounts for THCA, excludes cannabinoids not capable of being naturally produced by the plant as well as cannabinoids synthesized or manufactured outside the plant, and caps finished consumable hemp products at 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container.

That single deadline has now been split in two. On September 2, 2026 the President signed H.R. 6500, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027, as Public Law 119-103^[6]. Section 2019 of that act provides that until December 11, 2026, the section 781 amendments apply only to products described in two specific subparagraphs of the amended definition^[7]. Both of those subparagraphs concern cannabinoids that are not capable of being naturally produced by a cannabis plant. The result is a two-step schedule:

• November 12, 2026. Only the synthetic exclusion takes effect. Cannabinoids not capable of being naturally produced by the plant lose federal hemp status.
• December 11, 2026. The remainder of section 781 applies, including the total THC standard that counts THCA, the 0.4 milligram per container cap on finished products, and the separate provision reaching cannabinoids that are naturally producible but were synthesized or manufactured outside the plant.

December 11, 2026 is also the date the continuing resolution expires, so the hemp restrictions and the next government funding deadline fall on the same day. Section 781 also directed the Food and Drug Administration to publish lists identifying which cannabinoids are naturally producible and which fall within the THC class, and to give detail on the term container. Those lists have not been published, which leaves the precise scope of the November 12 change unsettled.

Federal hemp law does not displace state law. Several states have enacted their own intoxicating hemp restrictions on independent timetables, and a few of those happen to share the November 12, 2026 date without being connected to the federal provision. State pages describe those separately.

Firearms and the Second Amendment

Under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3) it is unlawful for any person who is an unlawful user of, or addicted to, a controlled substance to possess a firearm. Because marijuana remains federally controlled, this provision has applied to cannabis consumers even in states where their use is fully legal, and it is the reason ATF Form 4473 asks about unlawful drug use. Answering that question falsely is itself a federal felony.

Two developments have narrowed how the prohibition operates, without repealing it.

In January 2026, ATF revised the regulatory definition of an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance, published at 91 FR 2698^[8]. The revision excludes drug use that is isolated or sporadic.

In United States v. Hemani, decided June 18, 2026, the Supreme Court held that the government’s prosecution of the defendant under the unlawful user provision of section 922(g)(3) was inconsistent with the Second Amendment^[9]. Justice Gorsuch wrote for the Court and there were no dissents. Two points about the decision matter for readers:

• It was an as-applied ruling, and the statute was not struck down. Section 922(g)(3) remains on the books and remains enforceable. The Court held it could not constitutionally be applied to this defendant on these facts.
• The Court expressly reserved most of the related questions, including whether the government could prosecute with individualized proof that a person’s drug use makes them dangerous, and whether people who are addicted rather than merely users may be disarmed.

Lower courts have read the decision narrowly since. The conservative assumption remains that an active cannabis consumer cannot lawfully purchase a firearm under federal law, because the Form 4473 question is unchanged.

A related change took effect on September 21, 2026. The Department of Justice published a final rule on August 20, 2026, at 91 FR 54054, creating 28 CFR part 107 and setting criteria for applications for relief from firearms disabilities under 18 U.S.C. 925(c)^[10]. The rule defines controlled substance for that part to exclude marijuana, and defines an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance to exclude those whose only unlawful use or addiction is marijuana. The preamble states the Department made this change in recognition of the Supreme Court’s decision in Hemani. The effect is that marijuana use alone no longer creates a presumption of ineligibility when applying for relief. It does not repeal section 922(g)(3), and it does not change the Form 4473 question. The Department opened applications to invited candidates on September 25, 2026 and plans to open them to the first 5,000 members of the public on November 4, 2026^[11].

Banking and Financial Services

No federal statute provides a safe harbor for financial institutions serving state-licensed cannabis businesses. Legislation to create one, commonly known as SAFE Banking, has been introduced in successive Congresses without being enacted. Companion bills are pending in the current Congress and have not received committee or floor action.

In the absence of a statute, banks and credit unions that choose to serve the industry do so under 2014 guidance from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which sets out enhanced due diligence and suspicious activity reporting expectations. Many institutions decline the sector, which is why parts of the industry continue to operate substantially in cash.

Interstate Commerce

There is no lawful interstate commerce in marijuana. Transporting cannabis across a state line remains a federal offense even when both states have legalized it, and state licensing systems are therefore self-contained: cannabis sold in a state must generally be grown and processed in that state. Several states have enacted contingent interstate commerce statutes that would authorize transfers if federal law changes, but none is operative.

Challenges arguing that federal prohibition can no longer be justified as a regulation of interstate commerce have not succeeded. The April 2026 rescheduling order did not create interstate commerce authority.

Federal Employment, Immigration, and Veterans

Federal employment. Federal employees and contractors remain subject to the Drug-Free Workplace Act and to agency drug testing policies. State legalization is not a defense, and a state medical card is not an accommodation. Security clearance adjudication continues to treat cannabis use as relevant conduct.

Immigration. Cannabis conduct continues to carry immigration consequences. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services policy guidance, current as of August 31, 2026, still describes marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance and still treats cannabis-related conduct as a potential conditional bar to establishing good moral character, including where the conduct was lawful under state law. Non-citizens, including lawful permanent residents, face risk from conduct that carries no state penalty.

Veterans. Department of Veterans Affairs policy continues to bar VA providers from completing state medical cannabis program forms. Veterans are not denied VA benefits for participating in a state program, but they cannot obtain a recommendation from a VA clinician. Legislation to change this has passed one chamber without being enacted.

How Federal Law Interacts With State Law

States are not required to criminalize what federal law prohibits, and the federal government cannot compel states to enforce the Controlled Substances Act. That is why state legalization can coexist with federal prohibition. What state law cannot do is confer immunity from federal law.

In practice, federal enforcement against individual consumers in legal states is rare, and enforcement has concentrated on interstate trafficking, organized illicit cultivation, and conduct involving other offenses. Medical marijuana operators have also had some protection from an appropriations rider that bars the Department of Justice from spending funds to interfere with state medical cannabis programs. That protection is renewed through the appropriations process rather than permanent law, it has never covered adult-use programs, and it does not protect against the non-criminal consequences described above.

Rescheduling does not change any of this by itself. Moving a substance from Schedule I to Schedule III alters its regulatory treatment, most consequentially for taxation and research, but it does not legalize it, does not create interstate commerce, and does not displace state licensing.

Key Dates Ahead

• October 13, 2026. The DEA must respond to the motion that paused the broader rescheduling proceeding; the proceeding stays paused until the judge rules.
• November 4, 2026. Applications for relief from firearms disabilities under 28 CFR part 107 open to the first 5,000 members of the public.
• November 12, 2026. The synthetic cannabinoid exclusion in section 781 takes effect.
• December 11, 2026. The remainder of section 781 takes effect, including the total THC standard and the 0.4 milligram per container cap. The continuing resolution expires the same day.
• Pending, no date set. A recommended decision in the broader rescheduling proceeding, any subsequent action by the DEA Administrator, Treasury guidance on Section 280E, the FDA cannabinoid lists required by section 781, and a D.C. Circuit ruling on the merits of the April 2026 order.

This page is reviewed monthly alongside the 51 state and district pages. For state-level rules, start at the U.S. Cannabis Law Map.