The Latest Cannabis Executive Order
In Washington, D.C., everybody is talking about how presidents sign more executive orders these days than they did when the three branches of government were established nearly 250 years ago. Political science majors earnestly discuss how the Founding Fathers envisioned the executive, legislative, and judicial branches functioning, compared to how they function now. An executive order does not create a new law, just as a Supreme Court decision does not; only Congress can enact new laws. This matters little to people in the 50 states. What we know is that cannabis laws are confusing. Storefront windows advertise cannabis products that it is technically legal for them to sell and for you to buy. You can smoke weed in public except when you can’t. Despite this, federal law considers cannabis a Schedule I controlled substance, a dangerous illegal drug in the same category as heroin. Last month, the Department of Justice signed an executive order encouraging the removal of cannabis from Schedule I, but it is only the latest in a series of cannabis-related executive orders, and yet the legal status of cannabis remains contradictory. Here, our Miami drug crimes defense lawyer explains the recent developments in federal cannabis laws.
What Is the Difference Between the Drug Schedules of the Controlled Substances Act?
The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 categorizes drugs considered dangerous enough that consumers cannot simply buy them over the counter at pharmacies, and doctors and pharmacists should use more caution in prescribing and dispensing them than they do for drugs without abuse potential, such as antibiotics or the drugs used to treat diabetes. There are five different drug schedules, based on perceived risk of abuse, rather than on pharmacological categories; for example, there is not one category for central nervous system (CNS) stimulants and another for CNS depressants. All the schedules except Schedule I include drugs that doctors can legally administer for certain medical indications. The deadliest drug of our generation, fentanyl, is a Schedule II controlled substance; it is commonly used in anesthesia, where anesthesiologists give tiny doses and carefully monitor patients’ heart rates and breathing until they wake up after surgery. Cocaine, the deadliest drug of the 1980s, is also a Schedule II controlled substance, although its use in medicine is less widespread than that of opioid painkillers; cocaine is legally approved as a topical medication to prevent bleeding during eye surgery, since it causes blood vessels to constrict. By contrast, Schedule I drugs are always illegal. Schedule I includes heroin, but it also includes plenty of drugs that have their supporters who claim that these drugs are therapeutic, such as cannabis, psilocybin, MDMA, and LSD.
What Changes With the New Executive Order?
In December, President Trump signed an executive order encouraging the rescheduling of cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III, which would put it is the same category as ketamine and anabolic steroids. In April, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed an order rescheduling some cannabis products as a Schedule III controlled substance; the order applies to cannabis products accepted for medical or recreational use under state laws. As of 2026, 45 states have medical cannabis products; some of them allow only oils and edibles made from CBD or low THC strains, while others allow smokable marijuana in a move that makes the “legalize it” bumper stickers of the 1990s come true.
The biggest changes do not relate to consumers, though. Rescheduling it enables clinical trials, so that medical cannabis recommendations can become more effective. It also affects the tax obligations and incentives for businesses in the cannabis industry.
You Can Still Get Criminal Charges for Cannabis, Even When It Is Schedule III
Schedule III controlled substances are not entirely illegal, but there are restrictions on who can possess them, when, and why. It is against the law to possess a Schedule III controlled substance unless it has been prescribed to you. It is also illegal to resell Schedule III drugs that have been prescribed to you or to give them to other people even without an exchange of money. The new executive order makes cannabis legally similar to ketamine. At least for now, local laws that treat possession of small quantities as a civil fraction instead of a crime remain in place; such laws currently exist in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties.
Contact Our Criminal Defense Attorneys
A South Florida criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges for illegal possession, sale, or distribution of cannabis. Contact Ratzan & Faccidomo in Miami, Florida for a confidential consultation about your case.
Sources:
msn.com/en-us/news/us/trump-administration-eases-regulation-on-state-licensed-marijuana/ar-AA21yZiP?ocid=msedgntp&pc=ACTS&cvid=69e975cef44a4541905e104dd6477412&ei=11
theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/23/trump-administration-reclassify-marijuana-schedule-iii
