On December 18, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order, titled “Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research,” requiring relevant agencies to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug (like heroin, LSD, and ecstasy) to a Schedule III drug (like Tylenol with codeine, and testosterone). The change paves the way for additional medical research into medical uses for marijuana and federal decriminalization of medical marijuana use. In addition, the change, once implemented by the relevant agencies, could have significant impact on employers in two ways:

• Some legal commentators have suggested that, for employers regulated by the Department of Transportation, rescheduling of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III may end the ability to use DOT regulations to disqualify medical marijuana users from regulated positions, like positions requiring a CDL license. This outcome is uncertain, as past guidance has suggested that rescheduling alone would not automatically eliminate marijuana from drug-testing by the DOT. However, this guidance is not entirely consistent with the drug-testing regulations themselves, which rely on marijuana’s status as a Schedule I drug.
• The Executive Order explicitly recognizes that marijuana has a medical use, arguably granting protections for its use under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). Current precedent exists that employers do not need to allow the use of medical marijuana as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA or the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (“PHRA”), but this precedent relies explicitly on marijuana’s status as a Schedule I drug. Reclassification will almost certainly change the regulatory agencies’ analysis of whether allowing medical marijuana use to ease the symptoms of a disability could constitute a reasonable accommodation under these nondiscrimination laws.

It is important to note that the Executive Order itself does not change marijuana’s status. The Order requires the Attorney General to “take all necessary steps to complete the rulemaking process” to effectuate rescheduling, and that will require a public notice and comment period prior to publication in the Federal Register. 

Until that happens, the analysis for employers regarding marijuana use should not change. Employers should, of course, keep in mind existing protections for medical marijuana users under Pennsylvania law, but those protections do not implicate DOT regulations or the ADA reasonable accommodation analysis. Barley Snyder will continue to monitor this situation and provide updates as they arise.

If you have questions regarding medical marijuana or any other employment-related issues, please reach out to partner Joshua Schwartz or any member of Barley Snyder’s Employment Practice Group.