Schedule III Rescheduling Opens the Door to Modern Cannabis and Hemp Policy
A Turning Point for Cannabis and Hemp Policy in America
Today marks a meaningful shift in federal cannabis policy, one that the healthy alternatives community have worked toward for decades.
President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order directing key federal agencies to advance medical marijuana research, clarify pathways for cannabidiol products, and complete the long-awaited rescheduling of marijuana under federal law.
For AHAA and the broader hemp industry, this announcement matters not because it solves everything overnight, but because it changes what is possible.
For the first time in generations, the federal government is publicly acknowledging that cannabis has accepted medical uses, that patients and doctors need better information, and that outdated policy frameworks have held back research, access, and consumer protections. That acknowledgement opens doors that were previously closed, including conversations in Congress that simply could not happen without clear White House leadership.
What the Executive Order Does
The Executive Order focuses on three core areas: research, access, and regulatory clarity.
First, it directs the Attorney General to expedite the process of rescheduling marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule I substances are defined as having no accepted medical use and no accepted safety. Schedule III substances, by contrast, are recognized as having medical value and are routinely researched and prescribed under medical supervision. This move aligns with the Department of Health and Human Services’ 2023 recommendation, which formally recognized for the first time that marijuana has accepted medical uses.
Second, the Order directs senior White House staff to work with Congress on legislative solutions that would allow Americans to benefit from appropriate full-spectrum CBD products while still restricting products that pose genuine health risks. This distinction is critical. Hemp-derived cannabinoids are federally legal, widely used, and relied upon by millions of Americans, yet they exist in a confusing regulatory gray area that benefits neither consumers nor responsible businesses.
Third, the Order directs HHS to develop improved research methods, including real-world evidence models, to study medical marijuana and hemp-derived cannabinoid products. These approaches are essential for understanding long-term outcomes, especially for vulnerable populations, and for establishing evidence-based standards of care.
Why Research Matters
For decades, federal policy has made meaningful cannabis research unnecessarily difficult. Classifying marijuana as Schedule I imposed barriers that discouraged studies on safety, efficacy, dosing, and interactions, leaving doctors and patients without adequate guidance.
The federal government now acknowledges what states, patients, and clinicians have long observed. Millions of Americans use medical marijuana to manage conditions such as chronic pain, nausea, and appetite loss. One in four adults experiences chronic pain, and a significant share of medical marijuana patients report using cannabis specifically to address it. Among seniors, use has increased as well, with evidence showing improvements in quality of life and pain management for some patients.
Yet despite this widespread use, many patients still do not discuss cannabis use with their healthcare providers, largely because of uncertainty and stigma driven by outdated federal classifications. Expanding research and integrating real-world evidence can help close that gap, improve patient safety, and support informed medical decision-making.
Implications for Hemp and CBD Businesses: What to Know
Schedule III changes the federal posture
Cannabis rescheduling and the White House directive signal a shift away from blanket federal hostility and toward research-driven, policy-based engagement.
Regulatory certainty is now a realistic objective
The Administration’s involvement creates space for Congress to address long-standing gaps affecting hemp-derived cannabinoids, including full-spectrum CBD.
Patchwork enforcement may give way to national standards
This opens the door to replacing inconsistent state-by-state crackdowns with clearer, science-based federal rules.
Good-faith operators stand to benefit
Businesses already investing in testing, labeling, age restrictions, and child-resistant packaging are aligned with the direction federal policy is signaling.
Reduced regulatory whiplash improves planning
Greater clarity supports long-term decisions around inventory, expansion, staffing, insurance, banking, and capital access.
Consumer safety remains central
Clear federal standards reinforce protections the responsible industry has long supported, rather than punitive bans that favor bad actors or illicit markets.
This is a starting point, not immediate relief
No laws change overnight, but the risk environment and policy conversation have materially shifted in favor of engagement rather than exclusion.
That stability matters. Clear federal standards support consistent age restrictions, transparent labeling, child-resistant packaging, and product testing, all of which protect consumers while allowing compliant businesses to compete and grow. These are not new concepts for the hemp industry. They are the safeguards responsible operators have been calling for and implementing, often without clear federal backing.
A Starting Point, Not a Finish Line
It is important to be clear about what this moment is and what it is not. This Executive Order does not instantly resolve every challenge facing cannabis and hemp policy. It does not eliminate the need for legislative action, regulatory clarity, or continued advocacy and education.
What it does do is change the conversation.
With clear direction from the White House, Congress now has the space to engage seriously on issues like extending the timeframe for the change laws on hemp products, key statutory protections, modernizing federal law, and aligning policy with science and state experience.
For the hemp industry in particular, this kind of federal acknowledgment is essential to defending legal products, protecting small businesses, and ensuring consumers retain access to alternatives they rely on.
From AHAA’s perspective, this represents the most significant federal advancement in cannabis policy since the modern era of prohibition began nearly a century ago. Not because it is perfect, but because it marks the end of total federal denial and the beginning of a new, evidence-based dialogue.
America First Agriculture (AFA) and a One Plant, One Policy Approach
As federal cannabis policy begins to shift under Schedule III, deeper structural questions are coming into focus. Chief among them is whether the long-standing federal divide between “hemp” and “marijuana” continues to serve farmers, businesses, consumers, or regulators in a modern marketplace.
AHAA President JD McCormick serves as a board member to America First Agriculture, contributing industry perspective and coalition experience while AHAA maintains its independent role as an advocacy association representing businesses, consumers, scientists, and stakeholders across the hemp and healthy alternatives ecosystem.
As federal and state policy discussions continue to evolve, initiatives like AFA reflect a growing recognition that durable cannabis reform will require unified frameworks, agricultural parity, and informed participation from those operating within the market every day.
The AFA vision, from americafa.org:
"America First Agriculture (AFA) is committed to establishing a clear, equitable, and unified legal framework for all Cannabis sativa L. in the United States – merging the outdated divide between "hemp" and "marijuana."
Our mission is to facilitate safe consumer access, equitable market conditions, and the development of robust financial instruments - including carbon credits - under a single standard agricultural commodity framework.
By modernizing policy, AFA envisions Cannabis as a sustainable feedstock that can compliment petroleum in industrial applications, from bioplastics to renewable energy, all while fostering environmental responsibility and leveraging the latest fintech solutions.
America First Agriculture stands for One Plant - One Policy, Farm Freedom & Fair Markets, and an Innovative Industrial Powerhouse."
For more info, visit www.americafa.org
What Comes Next
AHAA will continue to engage policymakers, regulators, and the public to ensure that the momentum created by this announcement leads to practical, fair outcomes. That includes advocating for clear rules that protect consumers, preserve small businesses, and respect the choices of adults, while maintaining appropriate safeguards for public health.
This is not the end of the fight. It is the starting signal.
The narrative around cannabis and hemp in America is changing. Science, experience, and common sense are finally being allowed back into the conversation.
AHAA intends to make sure the voices of farmers, retailers, scientists, and consumers are heard as this next chapter is written.
If you care about protecting access to hemp and healthy alternatives, now is the time to stay informed, engaged, and involved. The path forward is opening, and it will only stay open if we walk it together.
