Descheduling

Descheduling is the complete removal of a substance from the CSA schedules, such that it is no longer a federally controlled substance. Descheduling requires either agency action under 21 U.S.C. § 811 or an act of Congress. Alcohol and tobacco are the paradigmatic descheduled (never-scheduled) intoxicants. The MORE Act and the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA) would each deschedule cannabis entirely and transfer regulatory authority to the FDA, TTB, and (for agriculture) USDA. Proponents argue that only descheduling — not rescheduling to Schedule III — would permit a normalized commercial market, interstate commerce, and the end of federal criminal exposure for compliant state operators. As of April 2026, no federal descheduling bill has advanced to a floor vote in the 119th Congress. *→ See also: Rescheduling, MORE Act, CAOA