Federal Cannabis Reclassification Could Expand Medical Marijuana Research

July 24, 2026

As federal officials continue to consider reclassifying marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance, Katherine E. Galluzzi, DO, CMD, FACOFP dist., a professor and chair of the department of geriatric and palliative medicine and director of comprehensive care at PCOM, says the proposal could remove one of the greatest barriers to rigorous medical cannabis research.

Under the federal Controlled Substances Act, Schedule I is the most restrictive category of controlled substances. It includes drugs that the federal government considers to have a high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical use, making them subject to stringent research requirements and regulatory oversight. Put more simply, Schedule I drugs (such as heroin, cocaine, and others) are illegal. Schedule III drugs, by contrast, are recognized as having accepted medical uses and can be studied under a less burdensome regulatory framework.

Although medical marijuana is legal in Pennsylvania and dozens of other states, cannabis has remained a Schedule I substance under federal law. That federal classification has created significant hurdles for researchers, who must navigate extensive federal approvals, security and storage requirements, and restrictions on handling cannabis products, making large, controlled clinical trials difficult to conduct. Reclassifying marijuana to Schedule III would not legalize it federally, but it could ease many of those research barriers and make controlled clinical studies more feasible.

“The critical point here is that until this medication is no longer classified as Schedule I, we can only do observational studies,” said Galluzzi. “If it becomes Schedule III, that will be a big step forward.”

Building the Evidence

Much of the medical cannabis research available to clinicians relies on observational studies since federal restrictions have made controlled clinical trials difficult to conduct. Because researchers often cannot standardize the cannabis products patients use—including cannabinoid concentrations, dosage or method of administration—it can be difficult to accurately assess outcomes such as pain, sleep and quality of life or determine which variables are responsible for observed effects.

Galluzzi says rescheduling could allow researchers to answer questions physicians have been asking for decades, including which cannabinoid formulations work best for different medical conditions, what dosages are appropriate, which patients benefit most, and how potential risks compare with existing treatments.

Galluzzi's interest in medical marijuana research began long before Pennsylvania legalized medical cannabis in 2016. For years, she has studied alternatives to opioids for chronic neuropathic pain, and she believes cannabis deserves rigorous scientific evaluation—not because it is free of risks, but because physicians need better evidence about where it fits within modern pain management. Because cannabis has been classified as a Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act since 1970, however, researchers have faced decades of barriers to conducting the controlled clinical trials needed to answer those questions.

“We've potentially lost nearly six decades of critical research that could have advanced our understanding of medical cannabis,” she said.

Pennsylvania has already positioned itself to take advantage of expanded research opportunities if federal restrictions change by becoming one of the first states to formally connect medical marijuana access with academic research through Act 16. Rather than simply allowing access to cannabis, the law established Academic Clinical Research Centers (ACRCs), pairing approved growers and processors with Pennsylvania medical schools to evaluate the safety, effectiveness and appropriate use of medical marijuana.

PCOM partners with Organic Remedies as one of ten ACRCs approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Since becoming an ACRC, PCOM has developed a multidisciplinary medical cannabis research program that brings together faculty from geriatrics, psychology, pharmaceutical sciences and other specialties to study the therapeutic potential, safety and real-world use of medical cannabis.

Older Adults Are Driving New Questions

Galluzzi says older adults are now the fastest-growing demographic of cannabis users, and national surveys show perceptions of cannabis-related risk continue to decline.

In a study of adults 65 and older, Ilene Warner-Maron, PhD, RN-BC, CWCN, NHA, FCPP, a clinical assistant professor in PCOM’s department of geriatric and palliative medicine, found that 76% of participants considered cannabis an important medicine. Most reported obtaining information from family, friends or the internet rather than healthcare providers. Few said their physicians routinely discussed cannabis use during office visits.

For Galluzzi, the proposed federal rescheduling is less about expanding access to cannabis than giving researchers the evidence physicians need to counsel patients responsibly.

“What we need to study—and what I hope this rescheduling will finally allow us to do—is determine which treatments are most effective, what safe use looks like, and where the threshold for unacceptable side effects lies,” she said.

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