Scheduling is the classification of drugs into numbered or lettered categories (schedules) under national law or international treaties. Each schedule carries a level of control: who may produce, prescribe, possess or research the substance, and with what licences and penalties.
In practice
Cannabis is scheduled at the international level under the 1961 Single Convention and, separately, in national laws. The same plant can be in different schedules in different countries, and countries reschedule over time. In the US, federal scheduling of cannabis has been under formal reviewbeing reviewed. Some laws schedule "marihuana" while excluding hemp below a THC threshold, seeds, or mature stalks.
Scheduling does not by itself make something legal or illegal for an individual; it sets the framework that other rules build on.
Rules differ by country, state, province and city, and change often. This is a general definition, not legal advice: check local rules.
Don't confuse with
- Legalisation: creating a lawful supply and use system.
- Decriminalisation: changing penalties, not schedules.
