The Schedule I Status of Marijuana

The Schedule I Status of Marijuana

INSIGHTi

The Schedule I Status of Marijuana
Updated October 7, 2022
The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) places various substances in one of five schedules based on their
medical use, potential for abuse, and safety or risk for dependence. The five schedules are progressively
ordered with Schedule V substances regarded as the least dangerous and addictive and Schedule I
substances considered the most dangerous and addictive. Schedule I substances are considered to have a
“high potential for abuse” with “no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.” The
CSA prohibits the manufacture, distribution, dispensation, and possession of Schedule I substances except
for federal government-approved research studies.
Marijuana is listed as a Schedule I controlled substance under the CSA, and has been on Schedule I since
the CSA was enacted in 1970 (P.L. 91-513). For background on how marijuana came to be placed on
Schedule I, see CRS Report R44782, The Evolution of Marijuana as a Controlled Substance and the
Federal-State Policy Gap.
The Schedule I status of marijuana means that the substance is strictly regulated by federal authorities.
Yet, over the last several decades, most states and territories have deviated from across-the-board
prohibition of marijuana, and now have laws and policies allowing for some cultivation, sale, distribution,
and possession of marijuana.
On October 6, President Biden announced reform to federal marijuana policy. First, he stated he would
“pardon ... all prior Federal offenses of simple possession of marijuana.” Second, he urged all governors
“to do the same with regard to state offenses.” Finally, he requested that the Department of Justice (DOJ)
and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) “initiate the administrative process to review
expeditiously how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.” He also noted that “important limitations on
trafficking, marketing, and under-age sales should stay in place.”
Simple Possession of Marijuana
As a Schedule I controlled substance, the simple possession of marijuana is a violation of the CSA;
however, most convicted federal drug offenders are sentenced for violations of CSA drug trafficking laws
rather than simple possession. In FY2021, 149 federal offenders were sentenced for marijuana possession,
while 1,005 federal offenders were sentenced for marijuana trafficking, according to the U.S. Sentencing
Commission. In response to President Biden’s announcement, DOJ stated it would “expeditiously
administer the President’s proclamation, which pardons individuals who engaged in simple possession of
marijuana, restoring political, civil, and other rights to those convicted of that offense.”
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Select Issues Surrounding the Schedule I Status of Marijuana and the
Policy Gap with States
There are a number of issues related to the Schedule I status of marijuana and the gap between federal and
state marijuana policies, including how financial institutions may provide banking services to marijuana-
related businesses and how the Schedule I status has reportedly created difficulty for researchers who
seek to study marijuana. In addition, individuals in violation of federal marijuana laws, even when they
are using marijuana consistent with state laws, can be potentially subject to consequences affecting their
eligibility for housing and food assistance, gun ownership, visas, and employment. President Biden cited
some of these factors as contributing to his decision to issue pardons for prior federal offenses of simple
possession of marijuana.
Authority to Alter the Schedule I Status of Marijuana
Both Congress and the Administration have the ability to alter marijuana’s status as a Schedule I
substance. The Administration can make such changes on its own, though it is bound by the CSA to
consider factors including a substance’s medical utility and risk of abuse and dependence prior to altering
its scheduling status. President Biden’s announcement of federal marijuana policy reforms did not itself
change the status of marijuana as a Schedule I substance. Instead, he directed DOJ and HHS to begin an
expeditious review of its status. Congress can also alter marijuana’s status by amending the CSA but
without such confines. Of note, in congressional hearings and other forums, some Members of Congress
in both major parties have questioned the Schedule I status of marijuana while other Members have
maintained that marijuana should remain illegal. Those questioning its status have expressed support for,
at minimum, moving it to a lower schedule. Some have gone further and supported its removal from the
CSA altogether. Those continuing to support its Schedule I status express concern over negative
implications of its widespread use.
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Rejection of Petitions to
Reschedule
Over the years, several entities have submitted petitions to the DEA to reschedule marijuana. In August
2016, after a five-year evaluation process done in conjunction with the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA), the DEA rejected two petitions—one submitted by two state governors and the other submitted by
a New Mexico health provider—to move marijuana to a less-restrictive schedule under the CSA.
Consistent with past practice, the rejections were based on a conclusion by both the FDA and DEA that
marijuana continues to meet the criteria for inclusion on Schedule I—namely, that it has a high potential
for abuse, has no currently accepted medical use, and lacks an accepted level of safety for use under
medical supervision.
Options for Congress
Congress could choose to maintain the federal prohibition on marijuana, but if it wanted to address the
Schedule I status, it could do a number of things: (1) amend the CSA to move marijuana to a less
restrictive schedule; (2) create an entirely new schedule or other category for marijuana; or (3) remove it
entirely from the CSA. If marijuana remains a controlled substance under the CSA under any schedule,
that would maintain the existing conflict between the federal government and states that have legalized
recreational marijuana, though moving marijuana to a less restrictive schedule could help mitigate
conflicts between federal law and state medical marijuana laws. The creation of a new schedule solely for
marijuana would give Congress an opportunity to modify the criminality of marijuana under the CSA. If

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Congress chose to remove marijuana from the CSA entirely, it could seek to regulate and tax commercial
marijuana activities.

Author Information

Lisa N. Sacco

Analyst in Illicit Drugs and Crime Policy

Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff
to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of
Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of
information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role.
CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United
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as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the
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