Schedule III Doesn't Mean Safe to Drive: Why Federal Marijuana Rescheduling Won't Save You from a Florida DUI

LEGAL COMMENTARY

How a Presidential Executive Order Is Giving Florida Drivers a Dangerous False Sense of Security—and Why Trenton's Law Makes It Worse

Written February 21, 2026 by Alan S. Bernstein P.A.

7-minute read

A Note from the Author The author supports evidence-based drug policy reform and recognizes the legitimate medical benefits of cannabis for qualifying patients. This article does not argue against marijuana rescheduling. It argues against the dangerous misconception—now spreading rapidly among Florida drivers—that federal rescheduling changes anything about how you will be treated at a traffic stop in the State of Florida. It doesn't.

KEY TAKEAWAYS President Trump signed an Executive Order on December 18, 2025, directing the reclassification of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. Federal rescheduling does not change Florida's DUI statutes. Driving while impaired by marijuana remains fully prosecutable under Fla. Stat. § 316.193—regardless of whether you hold a valid medical marijuana card. Florida still classifies marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance under Fla. Stat. § 893.03. Trenton's Law (HB 687), effective October 1, 2025, now makes it a criminal offense to refuse a breath or urine test during a DUI stop—even on a first offense. This applies to marijuana DUI stops. A medical marijuana card is not a defense to DUI. It authorizes you to possess and consume cannabis. It does not authorize you to drive while impaired. The combination of rescheduling confusion and Trenton's Law has created a perfect storm: drivers who feel more comfortable using marijuana are now facing harsher consequences than ever before if they get behind the wheel.

On December 18, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order directing the Attorney General to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. The announcement made national headlines. Social media erupted. And across Florida, an untold number of drivers heard something that wasn't said: that marijuana just became more legal, more accepted, and less of a problem.

That misunderstanding could cost you your freedom.

Because here is what the Executive Order did not do: it did not change a single word of Florida's DUI statute. It did not amend Fla. Stat. § 316.193. It did not modify how Florida law enforcement conducts traffic stops, administers field sobriety tests, or prosecutes impaired driving cases. It did not create a safe harbor for medical marijuana patients behind the wheel. And it certainly did not repeal Trenton's Law—Florida's sweeping new DUI reform that, as of October 1, 2025, made the consequences of a DUI stop more severe than at any point in the state's history.

If you are driving in Florida while impaired by marijuana—whether you are a recreational user, a medical cardholder, or someone who genuinely believes the federal government just gave you permission—you face the same charges, the same penalties, and the same criminal record you faced before the Executive Order was signed. In many ways, you face worse.

What Federal Rescheduling Actually Does—and What It Doesn't

To understand the disconnect, you need to understand what "Schedule III" means in practice. Under the Controlled Substances Act, Schedule I substances are classified as having no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Schedule III substances are recognized as having accepted medical uses with a moderate to low potential for dependence. Other Schedule III drugs include Tylenol with codeine, anabolic steroids, and testosterone.

Moving marijuana to Schedule III would primarily accomplish three things at the federal level: it would reduce barriers to medical research, it would allow cannabis businesses to deduct ordinary business expenses on their federal taxes, and it would signal a shift in the federal government's posture toward cannabis generally.

What it would not do is legalize marijuana at the federal level. Marijuana would still be a controlled substance requiring FDA approval and DEA oversight. Recreational use would remain federally prohibited. And critically for Florida drivers, federal rescheduling would not override any state's DUI laws.

Florida's DUI statute, § 316.193, does not reference the federal scheduling of controlled substances. It prohibits driving while "under the influence of alcoholic beverages, any chemical substance set forth in s. 877.111, or any substance controlled under chapter 893, when affected to the extent that the person's normal faculties are impaired." Marijuana is a controlled substance under Florida Statutes Chapter 893—and it will remain one regardless of what the federal government does. The impairment standard is independent of how the substance is classified. If your normal faculties are impaired, you are guilty of DUI. Period.

A Schedule III classification tells the federal government how to regulate research and commerce. It tells a Florida traffic court absolutely nothing about whether you were safe to drive.

Your Medical Card Is Not a License to Drive Impaired

This is perhaps the most dangerous misconception in Florida DUI law, and the rescheduling announcement has amplified it. Florida has more than 900,000 active medical marijuana cardholders. Many of these patients use cannabis daily for legitimate, qualifying medical conditions—chronic pain, PTSD, epilepsy, cancer-related symptoms, and others. Their use is lawful under Florida's medical marijuana program, codified in Article X, Section 29 of the Florida Constitution and implemented through Fla. Stat. § 381.986.

But a medical marijuana card authorizes possession and consumption. It does not authorize impaired driving. The distinction is identical to the one that applies to every other impairing medication: a patient with a valid prescription for oxycodone is legally permitted to possess and take the medication as prescribed. That same patient commits a DUI the moment they get behind the wheel while impaired by it.

Federal rescheduling does not change this analysis. If anything, it reinforces it. Schedule III drugs are prescription medications—and prescription medications that cause impairment have always been the basis for DUI prosecutions in Florida. Reclassifying marijuana into the same category as codeine and testosterone does not create a right to drive while impaired. It simply moves marijuana into a category where impaired driving prosecutions are already routine.

Trenton's Law Makes Everything Worse

If the rescheduling confusion were the only problem, it would be serious enough. But it collides head-on with Trenton's Law (HB 687), the most significant overhaul of Florida's DUI statutes in decades, which took effect on October 1, 2025.

Before Trenton's Law, a first-time refusal to submit to a breath or urine test during a DUI investigation was treated as an administrative matter—a one-year license suspension through the DMV, but no criminal charge. Many defense attorneys, including this one, recognized that in certain circumstances, refusal carried calculated risks but avoided handing prosecutors their strongest piece of evidence.

That calculation has fundamentally changed. Under Trenton's Law, a first-time refusal to submit to a lawful breath or urine test is now a second-degree misdemeanor, carrying up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine—in addition to the administrative license suspension. A second or subsequent refusal remains a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

This means a Florida driver pulled over on suspicion of marijuana DUI now faces a genuine constitutional paradox. They receive a Miranda warning informing them of their right to remain silent and their right to an attorney. Moments later, they receive an implied consent warning informing them that they are required to submit to testing—and that refusal is a criminal offense. The driver is simultaneously told they have the right to remain silent and that remaining silent is a crime.

Under Trenton's Law, the driver is simultaneously told they have the right to remain silent and that exercising that silence is itself a criminal act.

For marijuana DUI suspects, the situation is even more fraught. Unlike alcohol—where a breathalyzer provides a numerical BAC result that can be challenged on calibration, maintenance, and procedural grounds—marijuana impairment testing remains scientifically unsettled. THC metabolites can remain in the bloodstream for days or weeks after consumption, long after any impairing effects have worn off. A positive urine test for marijuana does not prove impairment at the time of driving. Yet under Trenton's Law, refusing that test is now a criminal act.

The Perfect Storm

The convergence of these two developments—federal rescheduling and Trenton's Law—has created a perfect storm for Florida drivers, particularly medical marijuana patients.

The rescheduling announcement has given cannabis users a false sense of security. The cultural signal is unmistakable: the federal government is softening its stance, marijuana is moving into the mainstream, and the legal risks are decreasing. For a patient who uses cannabis daily under a physician's recommendation, the message feels like validation—a confirmation that what they are doing is not only legal but increasingly accepted.

Meanwhile, Florida has moved in the opposite direction. Trenton's Law has made every DUI stop more consequential, every refusal more dangerous, and every interaction with law enforcement more legally complex than at any prior point. A medical marijuana patient who drives to work every morning feeling perfectly capable—and who may in fact be perfectly capable—now faces a legal landscape where a single traffic stop can produce two separate criminal charges (DUI and refusal), an administrative license suspension, and a permanent criminal record.

This is not an argument against DUI enforcement. Impaired driving kills people, and Florida is right to take it seriously. But the law must be grounded in science, and the science of marijuana impairment is not where the science of alcohol impairment was when we settled on 0.08 BAC as the legal standard. THC metabolites are not a reliable proxy for impairment. Field sobriety tests were designed and validated for alcohol, not cannabis. And the Drug Recognition Expert protocol, while increasingly used, remains a subjective assessment that defense attorneys can and should challenge vigorously.

What You Should Know Right Now

If you are a Florida driver—and particularly if you are a medical marijuana patient—here is what the rescheduling means for you in practical terms:

Federal rescheduling changes nothing about Florida DUI law. You can still be arrested, charged, and convicted for driving while impaired by marijuana, and the penalties are now harsher than they have ever been.

Your medical marijuana card is not a defense to DUI. It proves you are authorized to use cannabis. It does not prove you were unimpaired while driving.

Refusing a breath or urine test is now a criminal offense under Trenton's Law. The old calculus of "refuse and take the license suspension" no longer applies. Refusal now means a separate criminal charge with potential jail time.

If you are stopped on suspicion of DUI, remain calm, be polite, and invoke your right to speak with an attorney before making any decisions about testing. The decisions you make in the first minutes of a traffic stop can determine the trajectory of your entire case.

The legal landscape has shifted dramatically—and the gap between public perception and legal reality has never been wider. Federal rescheduling may change many things about how America regulates marijuana. What it will not change is the view from a Palm Beach County courtroom when a prosecutor stands up and says you were driving while impaired.

If you or someone you know has been arrested for DUI involving marijuana—whether you are a medical cardholder or not—contact the Law Office of Alan S. Bernstein for a confidential consultation. These cases involve evolving constitutional questions, unsettled science, and new criminal exposure under Trenton's Law that require experienced criminal defense counsel.

Related Topics: Florida Marijuana DUI Defense | Medical Marijuana Card DUI | Trenton's Law Defense Attorney | Schedule III Rescheduling Florida | DUI Refusal Criminal Charge | Palm Beach County DUI Lawyer | Implied Consent Florida | Miranda Rights DUI Stop | Drug Recognition Expert Challenge | THC Metabolite Defense

Note: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case involves unique facts and circumstances. The information provided reflects the state of the law as of the date of publication. All persons accused of DUI are presumed innocent until proven guilty.