Executive Order to drive completion of rescheduling of Marijuana but NO immediate changes to DOT regulated testing

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.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Drug & Alcohol Policy & Compliance. Official Notice regarding marijuana rescheduling and continued enforcement of 49 CFR Part 40, issued December 19, 2025.

Marijuana Rescheduling & the Future of Workplace Safety