The Rescheduling: 2024-2026 and What It Actually Means

“The DOJ proposed moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III in May 2024. As of mid-2026, it has not been completed. What Schedule III would and would not do is different from what Herer actually argued for.”

In May 2024, the DEA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing to reschedule cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III, the first federal proposal to change cannabis's scheduling in fifty-four years. In December 2025, President Trump signed an executive order directing expedited rescheduling. As of June 2026, the rescheduling has not been finalized.

The practical implications of Schedule III classification are significant but limited. Schedule III would mean: cannabis could be legally prescribed; FDA would regulate cannabis pharmaceuticals; cannabis research would become substantially easier; and cannabis businesses could deduct normal business expenses from federal taxes (currently blocked by IRC 280E).

Schedule III would not mean: federal legalization; removal of criminal penalties for possession; automatic expungement of prior convictions.

Herer's argument in The Emperor Wears No Clothes was not primarily about medical cannabis or Schedule III. It was about full legalization of cannabis as a crop, industrial hemp for paper, fiber, and fuel; medical cannabis; and implicitly, recreational cannabis. Schedule III addresses the medical and research dimensions without touching the agricultural and industrial arguments that were Herer's original focus.

Herer's $100,000 challenge was extended because his primary claims were not being engaged by policymakers. As of 2026, those claims are being engaged. The engagement is proceeding more slowly and more partially than he demanded.

Sources

• DOJ NPRM Cannabis Rescheduling (May 2024)
• Herer The Emperor Wears No Clothes (1985)
• NORML Rescheduling FAQ (2025)