Schedule I

Schedule I is the most restrictive of the five drug categories created by the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (21 U.S.C. § 812(b)(1)). Substances are placed on Schedule I when the Attorney General, acting through the DEA, finds: (1) a high potential for abuse; (2) no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States; and (3) a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision. Marijuana (marihuana) has been on Schedule I since the CSA was enacted, alongside heroin, LSD, MDMA, and psilocybin. Schedule I placement carries the steepest consequences: the substance cannot be lawfully prescribed by DEA registrants, research access is tightly restricted, and financial activity involving the substance triggers federal money-laundering exposure. The DEA issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on May 21, 2024 (89 Fed. Reg. 44597) proposing to move marijuana to Schedule III; that rulemaking remained pending as of April 2026, so cannabis is still a Schedule I substance under federal law. *→ See also: Rescheduling, Descheduling, Controlled Substances Act