Justice Department begins issuing federal registrations to 900+ medical marijuana dispensaries in seven states

The Justice Department said Friday that the Drug Enforcement Administration is beginning to issue federal registrations to more than 900 state-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries in seven states, marking the first large-scale rollout of federal registrations under a limited April order covering certain medical marijuana activity.

In a Friday press release titled “Justice Department Announces Issuance of Federal Registrations for Medical Marijuana Dispensaries,” the department said the DEA is “moving forward with the initial issuance of hundreds of federal registrations to qualifying state-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries.” The initial registrations cover more than 900 dispensaries in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

The registrations apply only to defined qualifying medical marijuana dispensaries. The Justice Department said the April order does not authorize recreational marijuana or other activity outside its scope, and marijuana activity not covered by the order remains subject to Schedule I controls under federal law.

That limitation is central to the policy shift. Marijuana has long been treated as a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law, a category reserved for drugs deemed to have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use. The April 2026 Justice Department order did not move all marijuana into Schedule III. Instead, it created a narrow carve-out for FDA-approved products containing marijuana and marijuana products regulated under a state medical marijuana license. The order took effect April 28, 2026.

Friday’s announcement is the first concrete operational step since that legal change, creating a federal registration pathway for dispensaries operating within the order’s limited framework. The department said applicants had to meet federal requirements, including a successful DEA pre-registration investigation. A state license by itself does not automatically qualify a business for federal registration, DOJ said. To be eligible, applicants must operate under a state medical marijuana regulatory framework that is consistent with federal law and U.S. international treaty obligations.

Attorney General Todd Blanche framed the move as part of medical access policy while drawing a line around activity that remains illegal. “The American people deserve access to the best medical treatments in the world,” Blanche said in the press release. He also said, “The Department of Justice will continue prosecuting illegal marijuana trafficking and related criminal activity in accordance with federal law.”

The announcement underscores that the April change has implications beyond criminal enforcement. In April, Treasury and the IRS said they planned guidance on tax consequences tied to the new treatment of qualifying medical marijuana activity, though Friday’s DOJ announcement focused on registrations and enforcement.

The DEA said the registration process will continue in phases and that it will retain its regulatory and enforcement responsibilities. The Justice Department also said the agency is still reviewing applications from medical marijuana manufacturers and distributors, which face added review steps including facility inspections and production controls.

The broader question of whether marijuana should be rescheduled more widely under federal law is still being handled in a separate administrative proceeding. Friday’s action does not resolve that issue. Instead, it marks a narrower but tangible federal step: for some state-regulated medical marijuana businesses, federal registration is now beginning to move from policy on paper to practice.