The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is preparing to establish separate federal production quotas for marijuana products classified under Schedule III, according to a new federal notice that also proposes maintaining existing production limits for Schedule I marijuana in 2027.
The notice, signed November 3 by DEA Administrator Terry Cole and made available for public inspection today, is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on November 10. It outlines proposed production quotas for controlled substances in 2027 while providing an update on the agency’s implementation of federal marijuana rescheduling.
Under the proposal, DEA would authorize up to 6,675,000 grams, or 6,675 kilograms, of Schedule I marijuana production in 2027, along with 1,000,000 grams, or 1,000 kilograms, of marijuana extract. Both amounts are unchanged from the quotas established for 2026.
The existing Schedule I quotas are part of DEA’s longstanding system regulating the production of controlled substances for federally authorized purposes, including scientific research. Under the agency’s marijuana cultivation program, registered growers must obtain individual production quotas and supply marijuana to authorized researchers or manufacturers. These limits do not apply to marijuana produced or sold through state-licensed recreational markets, which remain outside the federally authorized system.
However, the agency makes clear that these figures do not include marijuana products that were moved to Schedule III earlier this year under an order issued by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
That order, which took effect April 28, placed Food and Drug Administration-approved marijuana products and qualifying state-licensed medical marijuana products in Schedule III. It also established three separate drug codes covering marijuana, marijuana extracts and naturally derived delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinols subject to the new classification.
In the new notice, DEA confirms it is working to establish production requirements for all three categories.
“DEA is currently in the process of registering the manufacturers and distributors who will be handling the substances that have been moved to schedule III under the CSA as outlined in the final rule,” the agency states.
DEA says it is simultaneously evaluating available data and methodologies to determine the country’s legitimate production needs for Schedule III marijuana products. The agency intends to use those findings to establish separate aggregate production quotas rather than combining them with the existing Schedule I limits.
“A separate notice will be published in the Federal Register once the proposed APQs for the schedule III substances (drug codes 7362, 7353, 7386) are determined,” the notice states.
The distinction is significant because the April rescheduling order created a separate federal regulatory framework for qualifying medical marijuana businesses while leaving marijuana outside the order’s scope in Schedule I. The new production quotas will address marijuana products covered by that framework, while the existing Schedule I quotas will continue to apply to substances remaining under that classification.
The announcement also follows the Justice Department’s recent confirmation that DEA has begun issuing federal registrations to more than 900 medical marijuana dispensaries across seven states. The agency is separately reviewing applications from manufacturers and distributors, which face additional requirements involving facility inspections, production controls and quota determinations.
Under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, an international treaty governing controlled substances, the United States must maintain limits on marijuana production for legitimate medical and scientific purposes. DEA cites these obligations in explaining why separate production quotas are necessary even for marijuana products now classified under Schedule III.
The proposed 2027 quotas remain subject to public comments and possible revisions before DEA issues a final order. The agency has not specified when it expects to publish its separate Schedule III marijuana quota proposal.
Meanwhile, the broader federal proceeding to move marijuana remaining in Schedule I to Schedule III continues separately, with Chief Administrative Law Judge Derek Julius expected to issue a recommendation before Cole makes a final determination.
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