Is pot legal in the US? Kind of, sort of … not really

Despite years of moves to loosen marijuana restrictions, pot is still illegal at the federal level (with some new exceptions). Here’s what’s going on.

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Despite years of momentum to loosen restrictions on weed, including a recent order from the Trump administration’s Department of Justice, there is still a big disconnect between states and the federal government.

On April 23, the Department of Justice said it was easing federal restrictions by moving some kinds of marijuana with medical use from Schedule I, the most heavily controlled drugs under the Controlled Substances Act, to Schedule III, which can be legally prescribed.

But the move doesn’t apply to all marijuana, and it doesn’t make recreational use legal at the federal level. The Trump administration said it was able to quickly make this narrow change while still pursuing a more sweeping rescheduling.

With the DOJ’s most recent action, someone who uses medical marijuana in a state that has a medical use program, if they follow the state’s rules, is no longer breaking federal law, said Heather Trela, director of operations and fellow at the Rockefeller Institute of Government.

But experts have told USA TODAY that the move to reclassify marijuana doesn’t satisfy the yearslong push to make it legal for other uses, and won’t resolve conflicts between federal and state laws.

“This does not make it legal to be used in any circumstance,” Trela said. “This will not make medical marijuana legal in states that have not legalized it.”

Despite federal laws, many states have taken the unusual approach of passing their own laws about marijuana, often ones far more permissive than the federal government.

This has left the nation with a confusing patchwork of state laws. Most states had been authorizing marijuana for medical use even before the rescheduling, and nearly half of all states also say recreational use is OK. Few states ban it outright.

Americans generally support legalization, according to public opinion polling; for the past decade, at least 60% have supported legalization.

Former President Joe Biden announced his intention to reschedule marijuana and also issued federal pardons for certain marijuana-related crimes. President Donald Trump is also pushing for rescheduling.

“Some people like it, some people hate it. Some people hate the whole concept of marijuana,” Trump said last year.

What did the new Trump administration order do?

The Department of Justice action on April 23 did not reschedule all marijuana, a move both Biden and Trump have indicated they support. Instead, it rescheduled products that fall under two categories, including those approved by the Food and Drug Administration: “FDA-approved products containing marijuana and marijuana products regulated by a state medical marijuana license.”

These types of marijuana products were moved from Schedule I to Schedule III.

The Controlled Substances Act classifies drugs from Schedule I to Schedule V based on their potential for abuse, addictiveness and medical use. Schedule I drugs have “high potential for abuse and the potential to create severe psychological and/or physical dependence” and “no currently accepted medical use,” the Drug Enforcement Administration says.

Marijuana was considered a Schedule I drug since it was first placed on the list in 1970, alongside drugs like heroin, LSD and ecstasy.

Schedule III drugs, which include Tylenol with codeine or anabolic steroids, can be lawfully prescribed as medication regulated by the FDA.

The move could also open up potential tax benefits for weed companies in states where medical marijuana is legal. There is some uncertainty about how that will go, and whether those businesses have reason to be concerned if they also sell recreational marijuana, which remains federally illegal, Trela said.

States’ marijuana laws explained

Forty states, three territories and Washington, DC, all allow for medical marijuana as of June 2025, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, which tracks state laws. Twenty-four states, three territories and DC have passed laws permitting recreational use, with a variety of specific rules on legal limits. That’s an increase from just a few years ago.

Some other states allow for “low THC, high cannabidiol” products for medical purposes.

Only Idaho has no legal usage of marijuana products at all.

Full legalization has significant public support: About 64% of Americans think it should be legal, according to an October 2025 survey by Gallup, which has been polling public opinion on weed for decades. The 2025 result was a slight downtick from peak support in 2023 of 70% support.

How is pot legal in states but illegal federally?

Technically, pot has been illegal at the federal level everywhere, even though more and more states have said it’s allowed. The wave of medical and recreational laws passed at the state level has left a confusing disconnect.

The federal government could, at any time, choose to prosecute someone for recreationally using marijuana, even if they are in a state that allows it and are following all the state rules, Trela said.

But the federal government tends not to do that, and would rather use their resources pursuing crimes they deem more important. They will still sometimes charge someone for marijuana possession when their actions draw too much attention, Trela said. That could include using weed on federal property, the U.S. Park Police recently said.

For over a decade, Congress has passed provisions in budget bills that bar the DOJ from using taxpayer money to interfere with states’ ability to implement medical marijuana programs.

And administrations have discretion over how they will enforce their laws. During the Obama administration, policies dictated that DOJ wouldn’t interfere with state laws allowing medical or recreational pot use, effectively discouraging prosecution for nonviolent users who weren’t involved in organized crime. Those were rescinded during Trump’s first term.

“Mostly it’s been the attitude of the federal government that this isn’t worth their time,” Trela said.

Rescheduling all marijuana to Schedule III, something the Trump administration says it will continue to evaluate, could reduce the mandatory-minimum penalties faced by those who are prosecuted for marijuana use, Trela said.

It would still not make all marijuana use legal at the federal level, however. Full legalization doesn’t seem likely any time in the foreseeable future, she said.

Could the government legalize marijuana?

Congress could act on its own to either reschedule marijuana or fully legalize it, Trela said. It’s never had enough momentum in Congress to go very far.

Otherwise, the executive branch can pursue a much longer, complicated process to change how it classifies marijuana.

Starting at the end of June, the DOJ said it will begin the process of more broadly rescheduling marijuana, which will include administrative hearings. By limiting the scope of the rescheduling order in April, the DOJ could bypass some of the formal administrative rulemaking process, allowing the order to go into effect immediately.

Rescheduled weed could meet with opposition

Already a federal lawsuit has been filed challenging the DOJ’s authority to order the limited rescheduling. The group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, or SAM, and the National Drug and Alcohol Screening Alliance filed a petition on May 4 to block the April rescheduling move, arguing that it violates rulemaking requirements and that the administration overstepped its power.

“With this move, we are now confronted with the most pro-drug administration in our history,” SAM said in a statement. “It’s a drug that should be carefully researched, of course, but not legalized through the backdoor.”

The organization said marijuana should remain on Schedule I until research can prove it doesn’t meet the criteria.

Trela said the change will be hugely beneficial for research, the key reason Trump has said he favors rescheduling.

When marijuana was strictly a Schedule I drug, that also meant there were major legal hurdles for anyone wanting to conduct research on its effects, she said. That created something of a feedback loop: It was hard to study pot to prove its medical value because the federal government said it had no medical value.

Studies to this point have been limited in their scope or sample sizes, Trela said.

The move to reschedule marijuana is due in large part to its lower public health risk, federal scientists have said. Its medical use includes helping with pain, anxiety and glaucoma. But some studies point to health and psychological risks, such as IQ loss, heart issues and temporary paranoia and hallucinations.

“What are the long-term effects? Are there any long-term effects? What does this do to your body? What is marijuana good for? What is it not good for? Does it help anxiety or does it not?” Trela said. “We don’t know on a lot of these things.”

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Source: Is pot legal yet? Here’s what’s taking so long