New Order Reclassifies Some Marijuana Products Available by Prescription

On April 23, 2026, a final Order was issued reclassifying FDA-approved medications that contain marijuana authorized pursuant to a state and medical marijuana program as a Schedule III controlled substances and make them available by prescription.  The Order specifically states that it does not legalize the use of marijuana for recreational purposes. 

While the Order does not address the workplace, there will be more employees in states with medical marijuana programs who will be authorized to use marijuana for medical reasons.  This means that more employees who are medical marijuana users will be able to present evidence of their state medical marijuana approvals to explain positive drug tests and request workplace accommodations.  The U.S. Department of Transportation has not yet announced that the change will affect its testing rules which include marijuana on the list of prohibited drugs.

This article is part of our June 2026 Newsletter. 

View the newsletter online

Download the newsletter as a PDF