On April 23, 2026, a final order issued by the Acting Attorney General and the Drug Enforcement Administration took effect, rescheduling both FDA-approved marijuana products and state-licensed medical marijuana products from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. The action was announced publicly on April 23, 2026, and follows the December 18, 2025, executive order in which President Trump directed the Department of Justice to expedite the process. For the cannabis industry, this is a landmark development. For CDL drivers and motor carriers, it is something more uncomfortable: a genuine legal ambiguity that demands immediate guidance from ODAPC, the DEA, and the Department of Justice — guidance that, as of today, has not arrived.
You've already seen the headlines telling drivers nothing has changed. We're not prepared to say that with the same confidence, at least when it comes to medicinal marijuana. Here's why.
The prohibition on marijuana use by safety-sensitive DOT employees has always rested on a specific legal foundation: marijuana's Schedule I status under the Controlled Substances Act. That foundation is what authorized HHS to include marijuana in its Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs — and it's those HHS guidelines that give DOT its authority to require marijuana testing at all. Now that rescheduling is complete, that legal underpinning has shifted, and no federal agency has yet issued clear guidance addressing the structural question of whether that testing authority remains intact.
To be direct: the practical answer for drivers today is the same as it was yesterday. DOT's zero-tolerance position has not changed, testing continues, and a positive marijuana test will still end your driving career. Do not use marijuana. That has not changed.
But the honest answer for carriers and the industry is that we are operating in a gray zone. This situation demands clear, authoritative guidance from ODAPC, the DEA, and DOJ. We will be watching closely for it, and we will update this article when it arrives.
What the DOJ Order Actually Does (and What It Does Not)
The immediate reclassification is narrow and carefully scoped. The DOJ order moves FDA-approved products containing marijuana and state-licensed medical marijuana products from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. Importantly, any marijuana that is neither covered by an FDA-approved drug product nor subject to a qualifying state medical marijuana license remains a Schedule I controlled substance. That means adult-use recreational marijuana is entirely unaffected by this order and remains in Schedule I.
The DOJ action is actually a two-part move. First, the immediate reclassification of state-licensed medical and FDA-approved marijuana products using a treaty-based legal pathway under the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. Second, and separately, the DEA initiated an expedited administrative hearing process, beginning June 29, 2026, to consider moving all marijuana to Schedule III. The DEA also withdrew the prior notice of hearing issued under the Biden administration in August 2024, terminating those stalled proceedings so it could restart on a faster timeline. The hearing is set to conclude no later than July 15, 2026.
Critically, this rescheduling to Schedule III does not legalize marijuana for recreational use at the federal level. Schedule III drugs still require a valid prescription from a licensed practitioner. The DOJ framed this action as a research-access and patient-care measure, with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stating that "this rescheduling action allows for research on the safety and efficacy of this substance, ultimately providing patients with better care and doctors with more reliable information." The order's primary near-term practical effects are on cannabis business taxation and DEA registration requirements, not on the employment status of commercial drivers.
The Controlling DOT Guidance: Still Zero Tolerance
The most current ODAPC notice posted at transportation.gov/odapc/marijuana-notice is dated December 19, 2025, and was issued in response to the December executive order. That notice stated that marijuana is still a Schedule I drug under the CSA until any rescheduling is complete and that "it remains unacceptable for any safety-sensitive employee subject to drug testing under the Department of Transportation's drug testing regulations to use marijuana." That notice was written before rescheduling occurred, and ODAPC has not yet replaced it with a post-rescheduling statement. A new notice is almost certainly coming, but its content is unknown at the moment.
One reason the DOT's position may not change simply because the DEA changed its schedule is thay 49 CFR Part 40, the DOT's drug testing procedures regulation, identifies marijuana by name as a prohibited substance. It does not refer to marijuana by its DEA schedule. DOT also emphasized in its December guidance that its rules on medical marijuana, recreational marijuana, and CBD "are still in effect," and that laboratories, Medical Review Officers (MROs), and Substance Abuse Professionals (SAPs) must continue to follow 49 CFR Part 40 without any change to their roles and responsibilities as they relate to marijuana. 49 CFR Part 382, the FMCSA-specific drug and alcohol testing rule, similarly prohibits marijuana use by CMV operators and does not tie its prohibitions to DEA scheduling. But as noted previously, the DOT’s entire legal underpinning for its ability to mandate drug/alcohol testing of CDL drivers is, in fact, intimately tied to the DEA’s schedules, which is where the ambiguity lies.
The Deeper Problem That Rescheduling Actually Creates
In our view, the rescheduling action creates a genuine structural problem for DOT's testing authority that the trucking industry should be watching very carefully. We covered this issue in depth when the executive order dropped in December 2025, and the concern is now more urgent because rescheduling has actually occurred. If you missed that coverage, read our earlier article on what the executive order could mean for trucking and our December 2025 piece on the uncertainty the executive order created for CDL drug testing.
The core issue is this: DOT's drug testing authority flows through HHS. The Department of Health and Human Services issues Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs, which authorize regulated employers to test only for substances listed in Schedule I or Schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act. The Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991, the statute that gives DOT its mandatory testing authority in the first place, requires DOT to follow HHS scientific and technical guidelines. If marijuana is no longer a Schedule I or II substance, HHS arguably loses its statutory authority to include THC in mandatory federal testing panels without new legislation or an explicit regulatory carve-out.
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg argued that this concern was overstated because 49 CFR Part 40 identifies marijuana by name rather than by schedule. That interpretation has always been legally optimistic. If HHS cannot authorize testing for a Schedule III substance, DOT cannot require it, regardless of how Part 40 is worded, because Part 40 itself must conform to the HHS guidelines. As we noted in earlier coverage of this issue: the question of whether preserving DOT testing authority would require formal rulemaking "is unclear at this point," and the industry needs formal clarification from USDOT and FMCSA.
The most likely resolution is a congressional or administrative carve-out explicitly preserving mandatory marijuana testing for safety-sensitive transportation workers, which would leave the existing testing and enforcement framework intact. That carve-out does not yet exist. Until it does, there is a legitimate question mark hanging over the long-term legal authority for CDL marijuana testing.
Why the Clearinghouse Data Makes This Even More Consequential
The scale of marijuana's presence in the FMCSA Clearinghouse makes the stakes of this regulatory uncertainty very high. As we covered in our January 2026 article on random drug testing rates, marijuana accounts for roughly 60% of all positive drug tests reported to the FMCSA Clearinghouse since the database launched in January 2020. In 2024 alone, 34,936 CDL holders tested positive for delta-9 THC metabolite. The entire rationale for keeping the random drug testing rate at 50% is directly tied to positive test rates that remain elevated, and marijuana is the single largest driver of those numbers.
Currently, 184,337 commercial vehicle drivers are in "Prohibited" status in the Clearinghouse, meaning they cannot legally operate a CMV until completing the return-to-duty process. When Clearinghouse II went into effect on November 18, 2024, those drivers lost their CDL privileges entirely because state DMVs gained real-time access to the database. To put that number in perspective, approximately one in every 30 CDL holders registered in the Clearinghouse is currently prohibited from driving. Any disruption to the legal authority to test for marijuana could have consequences for highway safety.
Industry Response: Concern Across the Board
Major industry organizations responded to the rescheduling action with measured concern. The Truckload Carriers Association stated it "must continually stress that marijuana use, even medical marijuana, is strictly prohibited for commercial motor vehicle operators," and called for passage of the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse Public Safety Improvement Act of 2025, which would require positive hair test results to be included in the federal Clearinghouse. The American Trucking Associations sent letters to DOT Secretary Sean Duffy expressing deep concern about the potential impact on safety-sensitive testing authority and called for safeguards to preserve the testing and technical requirements for DOT-regulated workers.
The National Transportation Safety Board has also weighed in previously, warning that without clear measures to ensure DOT's testing program retains its authority, "such a federal policy shift could have serious consequences for highway safety and the integrity of the national transportation network." The NTSB also noted that there is currently no proven, widely accepted standard to determine marijuana impairment at roadside, which is a critical problem that rescheduling does nothing to solve. That NTSB position remains unchanged as of the April 23 reclassification order.
What ODAPC Still Needs to Tell Us
ODAPC's prior notice was written on the premise that rescheduling had not yet occurred. Now that it has occurred for state-licensed medical marijuana products, CDL drivers, carriers, MROs, and SAPs urgently need a new or updated ODAPC notice confirming that zero-tolerance remains fully in effect under the post-rescheduling legal landscape. The industry has not received that statement yet. DOT has indicated it is "closely following the rescheduling of marijuana and will continue to update the transportation industry as changes occur," so an updated notice is expected soon. Until it arrives, the December 2025 guidance and the unchanged text of 49 CFR Part 40 and 49 CFR Part 382 remain the controlling authority.
The broader administrative hearing beginning June 29, 2026 will determine whether all marijuana, not just the state-licensed medical category addressed in Thursday's order, moves to Schedule III. That process, and its implications for DOT testing authority, will require its own close analysis once the administrative record develops. Trucksafe will continue to monitor both the ODAPC guidance and the DEA hearing process and will update our coverage as new information becomes available.
What Your Fleet Should Do Right Now
Do not change your drug testing program. All DOT drug testing requirements under 49 CFR Part 40 and 49 CFR Part 382 remain in full effect. Pre-employment, random, post-accident, reasonable suspicion, and return-to-duty testing must all continue as normal.
Communicate clearly with your drivers. The news coverage of rescheduling is already creating false impressions among drivers. Send a written reminder that marijuana remains prohibited for CDL holders under federal law, regardless of state legalization or medical marijuana status.
Remind your drivers: no medical exemption exists. As it stands, an MRO cannot accept a state medical marijuana card or a physician's recommendation as a valid explanation for a positive THC test result. A positive is a positive, and the Clearinghouse consequences are the same regardless of the driver's stated medical reason.
Watch for an updated ODAPC notice. ODAPC is expected to issue a new or supplemented marijuana notice now that rescheduling has taken effect. Monitor transportation.gov/odapc/marijuana-notice for updates. Trucksafe will also flag any new ODAPC guidance as it is released.
Monitor the DEA hearing process. The administrative hearing beginning June 29, 2026 will address the broader rescheduling of all marijuana. If that process results in a final rule moving all marijuana to Schedule III, the question of DOT testing authority will become acute. Congressional action or a formal HHS rulemaking to preserve the testing carve-out may be required.
In sum, the regulatory situation around marijuana and CDL testing is genuinely complex, and the federal government owes the trucking industry a clear, definitive statement about how DOT's testing authority is preserved in a post-Schedule III world. For now, we will continue to monitor and report on the situation.
