On November 30, 2011, Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire and Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee petitioned the Drug Enforcement Administration to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II, and on December 22, 2011, Colorado became the third state to ask, in a letter from Revenue Department chief Barbara Brohl. It was a rare case of sitting governors formally asking the DEA to reschedule marijuana. Nearly five years later, on July 19, 2016, the DEA said no.
What Happened
The governors’ petition asked the DEA to remove marijuana and “related items” from Schedule I and list “medical cannabis” in Schedule II, where doctors could prescribe it and pharmacies could fill it. They argued that cannabis has accepted medical use in the United States, is safe under medical supervision, and has a relatively low potential for abuse compared with other Schedule II drugs, as the DEA’s later denial summarized it.
Colorado’s request followed a month later. Brohl, whose department then regulated the state’s medical marijuana businesses, wrote that “as long as there is divergence in state and federal law, there is a lack of certainty necessary to provide safe access for patients with serious medical conditions,” the Associated Press reported. Her letter was not a governor’s initiative: a 2010 state law signed by Gov. Bill Ritter required Colorado to petition the DEA by January 1, 2012.
Background
All three states had medical marijuana laws that clashed with federal law, and in 2011 that clash had sharpened. U.S. attorneys sent letters warning state officials that growing and selling marijuana remained a federal crime even under state law. Both Gregoire and Chafee had blocked plans to license medical marijuana dispensaries in their states that year, citing fears of federal interference, according to the AP. Rescheduling, they argued, was the only lasting fix. Advocates had been trying the same route since 2002 through the Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis petition, which the DEA denied in July 2011.
What Happened Next
Colorado’s letter got a quick brush-off: Westword reported that the DEA took about nine months to say no. The governors’ formal petition went through the full process. The DEA asked the Department of Health and Human Services for a scientific and medical evaluation, and HHS concluded that marijuana has a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use and no accepted safety under medical supervision.
The DEA’s answer came in a letter dated July 19, 2016, signed by Acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg and addressed to the governors’ successors, Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island and Jay Inslee of Washington. It was published in the Federal Register on August 12, 2016, along with the denial of a separate 2009 petition from New Mexico nurse practitioner Bryan Krumm. The DEA said marijuana still met all three Schedule I criteria, noting that no marijuana product was FDA-approved. On the same day it announced a policy to license more growers to supply researchers, aimed at ending the University of Mississippi’s decades-long monopoly on federally legal research cannabis.
By then the political ground had shifted. Colorado and Washington had legalized adult use in 2012, and the Justice Department’s 2013 Cole memo had set a policy of non-enforcement against state-legal businesses. The history of that memo is in our article on the Ogden and Cole memos.
Where It Stands in 2026
A decade after the denial, the federal government partly did what the governors asked. An April 2026 DOJ/DEA order moved FDA-approved marijuana products and marijuana held under a state medical marijuana license into Schedule III, a step further than the Schedule II the governors requested, while adult-use and unlicensed marijuana remain in Schedule I. A DEA hearing on moving all marijuana to Schedule III was stayed in September 2026, and challenges to the April order are pending in the D.C. Circuit. Our explainer on why marijuana is Schedule I covers the full rescheduling history, and current state rules are in our Washington, Rhode Island and Colorado guides.
Governors’ Rescheduling Petition FAQ
Which governors petitioned the DEA to reschedule marijuana in 2011?
Christine Gregoire of Washington and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, on November 30, 2011. Colorado sent its own request through its Department of Revenue in December 2011.
What schedule did they ask for?
Schedule II, as “medical cannabis,” so doctors could prescribe it and pharmacists could dispense it.
When did the DEA deny the governors’ petition?
In a letter dated July 19, 2016, published in the Federal Register on August 12, 2016. HHS had recommended keeping marijuana in Schedule I.
Is marijuana still Schedule I in 2026?
Partly. State-licensed medical marijuana and FDA-approved products moved to Schedule III in April 2026; adult-use marijuana remains Schedule I.
Originally reported by The Weed Street Journal; rewritten and updated in October 2026 with what happened next.
