Legal Focus

As you may have heard, a proposal has been made by the Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) to reschedule marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act to Schedule III on the basis that marijuana has a currently accepted medical use and does not have the same level of abuse potential or level of physical or psychological dependence as other Schedule I drugs, consistent with the Department of Health and Human Services views on marijuana. The DEA filed a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register on May 21, 2024, at Docket No. DEA–1362; A.G. Order No. 5931–2024 and comments are being accepted in response to the rule until July 22, 2024. Federal Register Vol. 89, No.99, Tuesday, May 21, 2024 P.44597. School Bus Contractors know that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (“FMCSA”) Regulations require drug testing of all drivers of commercial motor vehicles for Schedule I and Schedule II controlled substances as well as prior to driving a Commercial Motor Vehicle or engaging in any other Safety Sensitive Functions, and so you may be asking how marijuana’s potential move to Schedule III would affect the drug testing requirements.

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