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Despite years of growing support for loosening marijuana laws, there is still a major divide between federal and state rules in the U.S. The Trump administration’s Department of Justice recently moved certain marijuana products used for medical purposes from Schedule I (the strictest category) to Schedule III, which allows them to be legally prescribed and more easily studied. However, this change does not legalize recreational marijuana federally, and it only applies to specific FDA-approved or state-regulated medical products.
The shift means people using medical marijuana in states where it’s legal and regulated are no longer breaking federal law under those conditions. Still, experts say this doesn’t resolve the larger conflict between federal and state laws, where many states allow medical or recreational use while marijuana remains illegal at the federal level. Today, most states allow either medical or recreational cannabis in some form, creating a patchwork system—while a small number of states remain fully restrictive, including Tennessee, which is one of just a handful of states where all marijuana use (including medical) remains illegal.
Support for legalization remains strong among Americans, and further federal changes are still being debated. Rescheduling could help reduce penalties and make research easier, since marijuana has long been difficult to study under Schedule I restrictions. But full legalization would require Congress or a much broader federal action, and experts say that kind of nationwide change is still uncertain.
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Read the original article: Is pot legal in the US? Kind of, sort of … not really
Original article written by Jeanine Santucci. Published on May 11, 2026 by USA Today.
