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President’s Executive Order on Marijuana Rescheduling: Workplace Drug Testing & Compliance Impact - Workforce QA
Reach Out

Compliance guidance for DOT and non-DOT employers navigating federal marijuana rescheduling

By: Dr. Donna Smith | Regulatory Compliance Advisor

The President’s Executive Order on Marijuana Rescheduling Dec 18, 2025

President Trump signed an Executive Order on the Rescheduling of Marijuana.  Section 2 a of the order states: “The Attorney General shall take all necessary steps to complete the rulemaking process related to rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III of the CSA in the most expeditious manner in accordance with Federal law, including 21 U.S.C. 811.”

What does this mean?

The Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have issued no changes to their drug testing regulations or their policy position prohibiting marijuana use by safety-sensitive employees. 

  • The DEA’s actions on the May 21, 2024, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) which proposed rescheduling of marijuana from Schedule I (illicit, illegal drug) to Schedule III (controlled substance with acceptable medical uses) must proceed expeditiously to a final rule that reschedules marijuana to Scheule III.
  • The next steps in the rulemaking process to reschedule marijuana are public hearings, issuance of a final rule that reschedules marijuana to Schedule III and a public comment period on the rule with an effective /implementation date.
  • Nothing changes immediately that impacts DOT or other Federal Drug Testing.
  • Laboratories will continue to test for marijuana metabolites (THC/THCA) and report results to MROs. 

HHS issued the following statements regarding the new E.O.

  • The Executive Order does not immediately change the current legal status of marijuana, nor does it amend Executive Order 12564 or modify the HHS Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs.
  • Accordingly, at this time, all existing federal workplace drug testing requirements remain in effect without change.
  • Collection, testing, review, reporting, and certification procedures for marijuana and all other analytes subject to the testing program must continue to be conducted in full compliance with the current Mandatory Guidelines and applicable program requirements. 
  • Medical Review Officers should continue to apply existing verification standards, and laboratories should continue specimen processing, testing, reporting, and retention practices as currently prescribed.

The timeline for rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III is not known.  There will be additional implementation issues, such as FDA approval of marijuana as medicine, to include dosage and frequency regimens for marijuana’s use. 

The DOT, HHS, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) are reportedly working on legislative or federal agency “safety carve-outs” that would preserve the ability to conduct drug testing for marijuana metabolites when marijuana is officially changed to a Schedule III controlled substance, to deter unauthorized use and abuse by safety-sensitive employees.

DOT OFFICE OF DRUG AND ALCOHOL POLICY AND COMPLIANCE NOTICE

On December 18, 2025, the President of the United States issued an Executive Order directing the Department of Justice to complete the rescheduling process of marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

We have had inquiries about what impact this Executive Order will have on the Department of Transportation’s longstanding regulation about the use of marijuana by safety‐sensitive transportation employees – pilots, school bus drivers, truck drivers, train engineers, subway operators, aircraft maintenance personnel, transit fire‐armed security personnel, ship captains, and pipeline emergency response personnel, among others.    

First – marijuana is still a Schedule I drug under the CSA until any rescheduling is complete. It remains unacceptable for any safety‐sensitive employee subject to drug testing under the Department of Transportation’s drug testing regulations to use marijuana.

Second – until the rescheduling process is complete, the Department of Transportation’s drug testing process and regulations will not change. Transportation employees in safety-sensitive positions will still be subject to testing for marijuana. Furthermore, the Department’s guidance on medical and recreational marijuana and CBD are still in effect.

Laboratories, Medical Review Officers and Substance Abuse Professionals must continue to follow 49 CFR Part 40.  There are no changes to your roles and responsibilities as they relate to marijuana.

We will continue to monitor the rescheduling process and update the transportation industry as appropriate.

We want to assure the traveling public that our transportation system is the safest it can possibly be.