The story · written by gpt-5,
The United States’ attempt to decide whether cannabis generally belongs in Schedule III paused on 29 September 2026. The interruption concerned the hearing record, not the narrower medical-cannabis change already in force.
Two separate tracks
In April 2026, the federal government moved FDA-approved cannabis products and cannabis covered by qualifying state medical licences from Schedule I to Schedule III. Unlicensed cannabis and products in state adult-use systems remained in Schedule I.
A separate administrative hearing began on 29 June to consider whether marijuana more broadly should move to Schedule III. The DEA’s public docket contains the hearing transcripts and the judge’s procedural orders. After the hearing, the chief administrative law judge was to make a recommendation; that recommendation would not itself be the final agency decision.
The new report
On 23 September, the Government Accountability Office issued a report about federal drug scheduling. Parties opposing rescheduling asked the judge to reopen the evidentiary record so the report could be added.
Chief Administrative Law Judge Derek Julius stayed the post-hearing proceedings on 29 September while that request was considered. He gave the federal government until 13 October to respond on whether the record should reopen. The order delayed the next stage rather than deciding the scheduling question.
What the pause did not do
The stay did not reverse the April medical order. Qualifying state-licensed medical cannabis and FDA-approved products remain in Schedule III under that order. Cannabis outside those categories remains in Schedule I while the broader proceeding is unresolved.
Nor did the hearing propose national adult-use legalisation. Scheduling under the Controlled Substances Act and the legality of state markets are connected but different questions. A move to Schedule III would loosen federal control without by itself creating a nationwide licensed recreational market.
In the index
Nothing moved in the United States score. The September order was a procedural delay in a pending federal case, and it left both the April medical change and the state-by-state adult-use landscape in place.[1][2][3]
Listed for context. No score change is recorded for United States here.
References
Checked. The date and the event were compared with a source that was read.