on March 4, 2026
Bill Current

By Bill Current, President & Founder

Would Marijuana Rescheduling Affect Drug Testing in 2026?

This information is provided for educational purposes only. Reader retains full responsibility for the use of the information contained herein.

As many Americans know, President Trump recently signed an Executive Order that would reclassify marijuana from its current status as a Schedule I drug to Schedule III. The difference between the two classifications, Schedule I and Schedule III, is significant.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), “Schedule I drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.”[i] DEA then lists examples such as heroin, LSD, ecstasy, methaqualone, and peyote as well as marijuana.

Given the addictive nature of marijuana and the many documented ways in which its use is harmful to users’ health, Schedule I is a perfect classification for marijuana, especially compared to the definition of Schedule III drugs.

Again, according to the DEA: “Schedule III drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence. Schedule III drugs abuse potential is less than Schedule I and Schedule II drugs but more than Schedule IV.”[ii] Examples listed include products containing less than 90 milligrams of codeine per dosage unit (Tylenol with codeine), ketamine, anabolic steroids, and testosterone.

There are people who fear the reclassification of marijuana will cause employers to stop conducting drug testing all together. After all, why conduct drug testing if you aren’t testing for marijuana, the drug that causes the vast majority of positive test results? That’s a valid question but, perhaps, not the most important question we should be asking. The most important question is: “Why do employers conduct drug testing in the first place?” The answer to this question holds the key to the future of drug testing.

Why Employers Drug Test

In Current Consulting Group’s (CCG) 2025 annual survey of employers and drug testing, when employer were asked: “Why establish and maintain a drug testing program?” the responses included:

  • Promote a safe workplace 85%
  • Hire the best possible job candidates 51%
  • Minimize legal risks 49%
  • Comply with state laws 36%
  • Reduce employee turnover 28%
  • Reduce overall costs 26%

And when employers were asked: “What benefits does your company realize from drug testing?” this is how they responded:

  • Improved safety in the workplace was the #1 response with 84% followed by…
  • Being able to hire better quality employees 62%
  • A better company reputation 55%
  • Improved productivity 47%
  • Better morale among workers 27%
  • Cost of business savings 24%
  • Fewer confrontations in the workplace 22%
  • Less employee theft 17%

Hence, while most employers conduct drug testing for more than one reason, #1 on the list is to promote a safe workplace. And the #1 benefit they say they realize from drug testing is improved workplace safety.

Employers’ concerns about having marijuana-impaired workers on the job is justified given the results of a recent survey of 500 marijuana-using employees. The survey found that 31% confessed that they use marijuana during their commute to the workplace and 48% admitted to using pot at work, either during breaks or while actively working.[iii]

Now consider the connection between the implementation of recreational marijuana state laws (RMLs) and the significant increase in workers’ compensation claims filed in those states.

According to the Workers Compensation Research Institute’s (WCRI) 2025 report, enactment of a recreational marijuana law in a state leads to an increase in workers’ compensation claims, averaging a 7.7% increase in claim frequency at the 1.7-year mark and 15% by the fifth year. Workers in safety-sensitive jobs like transportation, construction, and mining and physically demanding jobs saw increases of 11.7% and 9.9% respectively.[iv]

For these reasons and others, it won’t matter to most employers how marijuana is scheduled, by company choice they will likely continue to test for marijuana.

DOT-Mandated Testing

While a lot of attention in the world of drug testing focuses on the DOT regulations, it is important to note that DOT-mandated drug testing represents only a small percentage of the overall workplace drug testing market. In CCG’s employer survey, only 12% indicated that 100% of the drug tests they conduct are to comply with the DOT regulations while 43% said it was 10% or less. Of course, among employers in transportation, including the airline, railroad, and trucking industries, the percentage is very high, in the general workforce it is not.

And while the DOT regulations can serve as an important blueprint for some employers’ non-DOT drug testing programs, outside of regulated testing employers’ programs are governed by applicable state laws, not federal regulations.

Understandably, DOT-covered employers are concerned about workplace safety given the very safety-sensitive nature of the work their employees perform. It is possible and probably likely that many DOT-covered employers will continue to test for marijuana regardless of its status under the DOT regulations given all the evidence that links marijuana use to workplace accidents, traffic fatalities, and workers’ compensation claims.

DOT-covered employers by their own company authority and in compliance with applicable state laws are free to test their employees, including those covered by DOT, for drugs beyond those included in the regulations. This would include marijuana if DOT is ever stripped of its authority to require covered employers to test for marijuana.

Certified Labs and Marijuana

And for those who are concerned that rescheduling will eliminate the authority of federally certified labs to test for marijuana remember, outside of the federal regulations, employers are typically permitted to use laboratories with various certifications other than from the federal government.

However, there are states that only permit the use of federally certified labs. But if those labs are not authorized to test for marijuana because of its classification as a Schedule III drug, those state laws may change in order to give employers the option to continue testing for marijuana.

Additionally, rapid-result urine and oral fluid testing are permitted in the majority of states, giving employers an alternative to lab-based testing. And the use of rapid-result test devices is increasing. In the CCG survey cited above, 22% of employers said they were likely or very likely to switch from lab-based testing to rapid-result testing in the next 1-2 years.

Conclusion

No one can say with absolute certainty right now how the rescheduling of marijuana will impact drug testing in the future. There are still many unanswered questions. What we know for sure at this point is:

  • The president’s Executive Order does not legalize marijuana.
  • Marijuana has not yet been reclassified from Schedule I to Schedule III. That change is still pending.
  • DOT has stated that at this time testing for marijuana is still required under the federal regulations and that they are not sure the Executive Order actually affects the agency’s authority to require covered employers to test for marijuana.
  • Most state drug testing laws will be unaffected by the rescheduling.
  • There will continue to be laboratories that can and will test for marijuana.
  • There are non-lab-based testing methods employers can use to continue testing for marijuana regardless of the drug’s status as a Schedule III drug.

We also know that most employers conduct drug testing to maintain safe working conditions. Marijuana use interferes with achieving that objective as evidenced by the dramatic increase in post-accident positive marijuana test results according to Quest Diagnostics’ 2023 Drug Testing Index.[v] Drug testing for marijuana helps employers achieve their safe workplace objectives.

The choice is clear: Test for marijuana and improve workplace safety or stop testing for marijuana and experience more workplace accidents that lead to more injuries and workers’ compensation claims.

If nothing else, the rescheduling of marijuana makes testing for marijuana more important than ever.

© 2010-2026 Current Consulting Group, LLC. – No portion of this article may be reproduced, retransmitted, posted on a website, or used in any manner without the written consent of the Current Consulting Group, LLC. When permission is granted to reproduce this article in any way, full attribution to the author and copyright holder is required.

 

[i] Drug Scheduling. United States Drug Enforcement Administration. https://www.dea.gov/drug-information/drug-scheduling

[ii] Ibid.

[iii] Article from CCDAPP Newsletter. https://ccdapp.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/CCDAPP-Newsletter-Q2-2024.pdf

[iv] Recreational Marijuana and Rising Injuries: A Wake-Up Call for Employers. The Workers Compensation Research Institute as reported by ScreenSafe. May 2025. https://screensafeinc.com/recreational-marijuana-and-rising-injuries-a-wake-up-call-for-employers/

[v] Increase Seen in the General U.S. Workforce Started Same Year First States Legalized Recreational Marijuana. Quest Diagnostics. May 2023. https://newsroom.questdiagnostics.com/2023-05-18-Post-Accident-Workforce-Drug-Positivity-for-Marijuana-Reached-25-Year-High-in-2022,-Quest-Diagnostics-Drug-Testing-Index-Analysis-Finds