LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The federal government made a new change this week to how marijuana is defined, but it doesn't yet mean the drug is fully legal.
The order issued Thursday doesn't legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use under federal law and it is likely to face legal challenges. But it does change the way marijuana is regulated, shifting licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I — reserved for drugs without medical use and with high potential for abuse — to the less strictly regulated Schedule III.
It means less restrictions and a big tax break for state-licensed medical marijuana operators.
Dee Dee Taylor, the owner of 502 Hemp in Louisville, knows all too well the struggle and confusion facing the industry. She feels indifferent about the change.
"It is a step in the right direction but it does not solve all of the issues," Taylor said Friday.
Since 2015, Congress has prohibited the Justice Department from using its resources to shut down state-licensed medical marijuana systems. But the order nevertheless represents a major policy shift for the U.S. government, which has continued its longstanding marijuana prohibition — dating to the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 — even as nearly all the states have approved cannabis use in some form. Two dozen states plus Washington, D.C., have authorized adult recreational use of marijuana, raising billions in tax revenue. Forty have medical marijuana systems, and eight others allow low-THC cannabis or CBD oil for medical use.
The order noted regulation of medical marijuana has come a long way, with comprehensive licensing polices from cultivation to sales in most states. But this doesn't mean all marijuana is now legal.
"Will it hopefully allow them to deduct their business expenses for the IRS? Yes, that's great," Taylor said. "However, adult use marijuana is still technically a Schedule I. So people can still get in trouble for it, especially if they're using it recreationally."
Taylor, who's also president of the Kentucky Hemp Association, said the more she's learned, the more she believes America needs a "safe, reliable product" people can benefit from. This new law only applies to state-licensed medical marijuana and marijuana approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. She said that'll still be great for Kentucky, but there's more to do yet.
"I'm still more concerned about what's going to happen to hemp products come November that didn't change anything with the rescheduling," she said, noting the ban on intoxicating hemp products set to take effect later this year.
A new administrative hearing slated for the end of June could result in the reclassification of marijuana more broadly, granting tax and other benefits to state-licensed recreational markets, too.
Copyright 2026 WDRB Media. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All Rights Reserved.
