Updated September 2026 to reflect the April 2026 federal scheduling order for medical marijuana and the pending rescheduling hearing.
Many states allow medical or recreational marijuana, and in April 2026 the federal government moved some marijuana out of Schedule I. It's natural to wonder whether any of that changes things for pilots. For FAA medical certification and aviation drug testing, the short answer today is no. This guide explains what the FAA's rules say, what changed at the federal level and what didn't, why CBD products carry real risk, and what happens if you test positive or report cannabis use.
This is general information, not legal advice. If you have a specific situation, such as a positive test, an arrest, or a pending application, talk with an aviation attorney and a HIMS AME before you act.
The Short Answer
- The FAA's Do Not Issue list covers controlled substances in Schedules I through V, and it names medical marijuana even if state law allows or a doctor recommends it.
- State legalization, recreational or medical, does not change FAA medical standards or DOT drug testing rules.
- BasicMed does not create an exception. The flight rules against flying while impaired apply to every pilot.
- CBD itself is not specifically disqualifying, but a marijuana-positive DOT drug test caused by a CBD product counts as a positive test.
- A verified positive DOT drug test or a refusal to test is defined as substance abuse under the FAA medical standards for 2 years.
What the FAA Medical Standards Say
The FAA's medical standards for all three classes are in 14 CFR 67.107, 67.207, and 67.307. They list cannabis by name among the substances that can support a finding of substance dependence. They also define substance abuse within the preceding 2 years to include a verified positive drug test or a refusal to submit to a drug test required by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). Either one is disqualifying unless the FAA grants a Special Issuance. You can read the first-class version at 14 CFR 67.107; the second- and third-class sections use the same wording.
The FAA's guidance to Aviation Medical Examiners (AMEs) is more direct. Its Controlled Substances and CBD Products guidance, last updated May 25, 2022, lists marijuana (cannabis, THC), medical marijuana, and synthetic marijuana among unacceptable medications. The FAA's Do Not Issue and Do Not Fly tables, last updated June 28, 2023, tell AMEs to defer, not issue, for any applicant using controlled substances in Schedules I through V, "including medical marijuana, even if legally allowed or prescribed under state law." Our marijuana medication page summarizes the same guidance.
Past use matters too. The FAA's Drug Use disposition table tells AMEs to defer any drug-related history the FAA has not already cleared. The personal statement it asks for must cover every substance you have used in your lifetime, and it specifically says this "includes marijuana even if allowed in some states." For each substance, you describe how often, how much, the setting, and when use started and stopped.
State Law and BasicMed Don't Change the Rules
State marijuana laws control state criminal penalties. They don't change federal aviation regulations, FAA medical standards, or DOT drug testing. Nothing in the FAA's AME guidance treats a state medical card or recommendation as making marijuana acceptable.
BasicMed isn't a way around the rules either. Under 14 CFR 61.53, a pilot flying without a medical certificate still can't act as pilot in command or as a required crewmember while knowing, or having reason to know, of a medical condition that makes safe operation impossible. And under 14 CFR 68.9, substance dependence within the previous 2 years is one of the conditions that requires a Special Issuance before you can use BasicMed at all.
Two operating rules apply to every pilot, however you're medically qualified. 14 CFR 91.17 prohibits acting or attempting to act as a crewmember of a civil aircraft while using any drug that affects your faculties in any way contrary to safety. If the FAA has a reasonable basis to believe you did, you must give it the results of any drug test taken within 4 hours of acting as a crewmember. 14 CFR 91.19 prohibits operating a civil aircraft within the United States knowing that marijuana, narcotic drugs, or depressant or stimulant drugs are on board, with a narrow exception for carriage authorized by federal or state statute or agency. Under 14 CFR 61.15, violating either rule is grounds for denying an application for up to 1 year or suspending or revoking your certificates. A conviction under any federal or state law for growing, possessing, selling, or transporting marijuana carries the same potential consequences.
What Changed Federally in 2026, and What Didn't
On December 18, 2025, the President signed Executive Order 14370, which directed the Attorney General to complete the process of rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III as quickly as federal law allows. Two actions followed in April 2026.
First, the Justice Department issued a final order, published in the Federal Register and effective April 28, 2026. It places two categories of marijuana in Schedule III: marijuana in FDA-approved drug products, and marijuana subject to a state-issued license to manufacture, distribute, or dispense marijuana for medical purposes. The order states that other marijuana, including unlicensed bulk material, remains in Schedule I, as does synthetic THC. Recreational (adult-use) marijuana isn't covered.
Second, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) withdrew its 2024 hearing notice and issued a new notice of hearing on the broader proposal, first published in May 2024, to move all marijuana to Schedule III. The notice set the hearing to begin June 29, 2026 and end no later than July 15, 2026. After a hearing, the DEA still has to issue a final rule. As of September 12, 2026, no final rule rescheduling all marijuana has been published in the Federal Register. That means the broader rescheduling isn't final, and you shouldn't assume when, or whether, it will be.
| Question | Status as of September 12, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Marijuana in FDA-approved drug products | Schedule III, effective April 28, 2026 |
| Marijuana under a state medical marijuana license | Schedule III, effective April 28, 2026 |
| All other marijuana, including recreational | Still Schedule I; broader rescheduling proposed, hearing held, no final rule published |
| FAA Do Not Issue guidance for controlled substances | Covers Schedules I through V, including medical marijuana |
| Marijuana on the DOT drug test panel (49 CFR 40.85) | Unchanged |
| CBD or hemp products as a medical explanation for a positive test (49 CFR 40.151(f)) | Not accepted |
Why doesn't rescheduling help pilots? Look at the FAA's own wording. The Do Not Issue table already covers controlled substances in every schedule, I through V, so moving medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III leaves it on that list. The FAA's pharmaceutical guidance dates from 2022 and 2023 and hasn't been revised since the April order, so it still describes marijuana as Schedule I. Any change to how AMEs handle cannabis would have to come from the FAA itself.
DOT drug testing is set by a different rule, 49 CFR Part 40, which is written and changed by DOT through its own rulemaking. As of September 2026, the eCFR text of 49 CFR 40.85 still lists marijuana metabolites among the drugs laboratories test for, and 49 CFR 40.151 still bars a Medical Review Officer (MRO) from verifying a marijuana test as negative based on a physician's recommendation under state medical marijuana laws, or on use of a hemp or other non-prescription marijuana-related product. For employer-specific questions, check the current guidance from DOT's Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance (ODAPC).
The FAA is also gathering scientific input. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine lists an in-progress series of four closed expert meetings in 2026 and 2027, sponsored by the Department of Transportation, to help the FAA understand how recent and cumulative cannabis use affects pilots and air traffic controllers and when someone is fit for duty. The meetings are closed and won't produce a report, and they haven't changed any current rule.
The CBD Trap
CBD, or cannabidiol, is where many careful pilots get caught. The FAA's CBD guidance says three things. Using CBD or a CBD-containing product is not specifically disqualifying. The condition you're using it for may be, so your AME will want a current, detailed Clinical Progress Note about it. And a marijuana-positive DOT drug test that results from CBD use, whether intentional or not, is treated as a positive test.
The problem is that you can't be sure what's in the bottle. The FAA notes that, with the exception of Epidiolex, CBD oil and other CBD products are neither FDA approved nor regulated, and that their safety, efficacy, purity, and potency have not been adequately demonstrated. The FDA likewise says Epidiolex, a purified CBD drug for certain seizures, is the only CBD product it has approved.
The legal line between hemp and marijuana is about THC concentration, not safety for pilots. Under current federal law, hemp is cannabis with no more than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis. According to the DEA's April 2026 order, a law passed in November 2025 revises that definition effective November 12, 2026, to count total THC, including THCA, against the same 0.3 percent limit. Either way, a product that legally qualifies as hemp can still contain some THC. And DOT's rule at 49 CFR 40.151(f) says an MRO must not accept use of a hemp or other non-prescription marijuana-related product as a reason to verify a marijuana test as negative. "It was only CBD" is not a defense.
If you're subject to DOT testing, the safest choice is to avoid CBD products altogether. If you aren't, remember that the FAA can still request drug test results under 91.17, and any product that affects your faculties is off-limits in the cockpit.
Who Gets Drug Tested
DOT and FAA drug testing under 14 CFR Part 120 applies to employees who perform safety-sensitive functions for Part 121 and Part 135 operators, certain air tour operators under 91.147, and other covered employers. Under 14 CFR 120.105, those functions include flight crewmember duties and flight instruction duties. If you fly for a covered employer, you can be tested before employment, at random, after an accident, for reasonable suspicion, and in return-to-duty and follow-up testing. A private pilot flying for personal reasons usually isn't in a DOT testing program, but the medical standards and flight rules above still apply.
If You Test Positive or Refuse a Test
The consequences reach both your job and your certificates.
- Medical certificate: under 14 CFR 67.107(b), 67.207(b), and 67.307(b), a verified positive DOT drug test or a refusal to test is substance abuse for 2 years. It is disqualifying unless the FAA grants a Special Issuance.
- Safety-sensitive duties: under 14 CFR 120.33, you can't perform safety-sensitive functions after a verified positive result or refusal until you've completed the return-to-duty requirements.
- Pilot certificates: under 14 CFR 120.11, refusing a required test is grounds for denying an application for up to 1 year and for suspending or revoking your Part 61 certificates.
- Future applications: MedXPress Item 18n asks whether you have ever failed a drug test, so a positive result becomes part of your history on every application.
Older articles sometimes cite 14 CFR 61.14 for the refusal rule. That rule now lives in 14 CFR 120.11, and 61.14 today covers a different subject.
The way back usually runs through a HIMS AME, an AME with FAA training in substance-related conditions. Depending on your history, the FAA may ask for a substance abuse evaluation, a psychiatrist evaluation, and a neuropsychological evaluation. If the FAA grants a Special Issuance for substance dependence, you'll follow the HIMS Step Down Plan, with random testing and regular HIMS AME visits, and the FAA requires permanent abstinence from mind- and mood-altering substances. Our substance use history guide walks through the process and the documents you'll need, and the FAA's substances of dependence and abuse page has the official checklists. You can find a HIMS AME in the ClearedMed AME Directory.
Reporting: MedXPress and the 60-Day Security Letter
There are two separate reporting duties, and doing one does not satisfy the other.
The first is your medical application. On FAA Form 8500-8 in MedXPress, Item 18n asks about substance dependence, a failed drug test ever, and substance abuse or use of an illegal substance in the last 2 years. Item 18v asks about your history of arrests, convictions, and administrative actions involving drugs or alcohol, including driving incidents. Once you answer yes to one of these, you keep answering yes on every later application. If nothing has changed, you can write PREVIOUSLY REPORTED, NO CHANGE. Our MedXPress mistakes guide covers these questions in more detail, and the MedXPress prep tool can help you get organized.
The second is a legal report to FAA Security. Under 14 CFR 61.15(e), you must send a written report of any drug- or alcohol-related motor vehicle action no later than 60 days after it happens. A motor vehicle action is a conviction for driving while intoxicated, impaired, or under the influence of alcohol or a drug, or a license cancellation, suspension, revocation, or denial for that reason. Driving under the influence of marijuana counts. The FAA's Security Notification guidance directs the letter to the FAA Security and Investigations Division, AXE-700, P.O. Box 25810, Oklahoma City, OK 73125-0810. Missing the deadline is itself grounds for denial of an application for up to 1 year or suspension or revocation of your certificates, and a second motor vehicle action within 3 years of a previous one carries the same risk.
The Practical Bottom Line
- Don't use marijuana in any form if you hold, or plan to apply for, an FAA medical certificate or fly under BasicMed. A state card doesn't change that, and neither did the April 2026 order.
- Treat CBD products as a drug test risk. If you're in a DOT testing program, the safest choice is to avoid them.
- Never fly while using anything that affects your faculties, and never carry marijuana in an aircraft you're operating.
- Disclose past use, failed tests, and drug-related arrests or convictions honestly on MedXPress. Falsifying the form is far worse than the underlying history.
- Send any required 61.15(e) security letter within 60 days, separately from MedXPress.
- Watch for official changes from the FAA, DOT, and DEA rather than news headlines, and don't change your behavior until a rule actually changes.
If you're unsure how your history or a product you use fits these rules, check the medication checker, talk with an AME before your exam, and get advice from an aviation attorney for anything involving a test result or an arrest.