Notice to employers, housing providers, healthcare providers, government agencies, federally funded programs, and service providers of the changed federal legal status of medical cannabis patients following AG Order No. 6754-2026 and the need to review medical cannabis policies under federal civil rights and disability nondiscrimination standards.
On April 28, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice published AG Order No. 6754-2026, which placed cannabis products regulated by state medical cannabis licenses into Schedule III of the federal Controlled Substances Act, recognizing their medical use. The Order recognizes state medical cannabis programs as part of the federal healthcare framework and acknowledges that licensed medical professionals oversee patient qualification under state medical cannabis laws.
The Order also gives federal legal effect to state medical cannabis patient documentation. By amending federal controlled substances regulations, including 21 C.F.R. § 1301.13, the Order provides for state-authorized medical cannabis certifications and similar patient documents to be recognized under federal law. In practical terms, participation in a qualifying state medical cannabis program may not be treated the same as unauthorized or nonmedical cannabis use.
The legal status of medical cannabis is now recognized under this federal framework; policies affecting medical cannabis patients must be reviewed through the lens of disability nondiscrimination. The Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act require accommodations to ensure equal treatment and access to housing, healthcare, employment, services, and benefits.
A violation of these rights may result in federal enforcement, civil liability, loss of eligibility for federal funding, fines, and corrective action. Entities covered by these laws should review medical cannabis policies to ensure they do not rely on outdated Schedule I assumptions, stigma, or categorical exclusion of patients solely because their medicine is cannabis. Decisions involving medical cannabis patients must include an individualized assessment and consideration of reasonable accommodations.
Blanket policies that exclude, penalize, or deny accommodation to a medical cannabis patient solely because of participation in a state-approved medical cannabis program raise serious federal civil rights concerns. This is especially true when the patient is seeking a reasonable accommodation related to their medication, medical condition, housing need, employment requirement, healthcare access, or participation in a federally funded program.
For support in updating your company or organization’s medical cannabis policies, please contact: Americans for Safe Access [email protected]
Background:
According to AG Order No. 6754-2026,” 91 Fed. Reg. 22714, April 28, 2026, qualifying medical cannabis patients are entitled to be evaluated under the following federal civil rights statutes. Failure to align policies with these laws may expose covered entities to federal enforcement, civil liability, loss of eligibility for federal funding, fines, and corrective actions.
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits covered employers from discriminating against qualified individuals on the basis of disability in job application procedures, hiring, advancement, discharge, compensation, training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. See 42 U.S.C. § 12112(a). The statute defines discrimination to include failure to provide reasonable accommodations to a qualified applicant or employee with a disability, unless the employer can demonstrate undue hardship. See 42 U.S.C. § 12112(b)(5)(A).
The Americans with Disabilities Act also limits when employers may conduct medical examinations or make disability-related inquiries. Under 42 U.S.C. § 12112(d)(2)(A), employers may not inquire into the existence, nature, or severity of a disability prior to a conditional offer of employment. The implementing regulation at 29 C.F.R. § 1630.13(a) similarly restricts medical examinations and disability-related inquiries except as specifically permitted.
These provisions establish a framework in which employment decisions must be based on qualifications, performance, and individualized assessment, rather than categorical assumptions about a medical condition or treatment. Policies that rely on status-based determinations, rather than evidence of impairment or job-related risk, must be evaluated within this framework.
The Fair Housing Act
The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in the sale or rental of housing and in housing-related services on the basis of disability. Under 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f), discrimination includes the refusal to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services when such accommodations may be necessary to afford a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.
This statutory framework applies across both public and private housing contexts covered by the Act. It requires that housing-related decisions involving individuals with disabilities be evaluated through an individualized reasonable-accommodation analysis, rather than categorical exclusions.
Following AG Order No. 6754-2026, policies that treat participation in a state-approved medical cannabis program as inherently disqualifying must be assessed against the Fair Housing Act’s requirements for individualized review and equal access to housing opportunities.
Rehabilitation Act and Federally Funded Programs
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act provides that no otherwise qualified individual with a disability shall, solely by reason of disability, be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance or conducted by a federal executive agency. See 29 U.S.C. § 794.
This statute governs a wide range of federally funded and federally administered programs, including those involving healthcare, housing, employment, and federal contracting. It establishes that nondiscrimination obligations extend to entities that receive federal funds or operate federal programs, requiring compliance with disability rights protections in the delivery of services and benefits.
As with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Act, Section 504 requires that determinations affecting individuals with disabilities be grounded in individualized assessment and program-specific considerations, rather than categorical exclusions.
Legal Framework for Implementation of Civil Protections
The Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act provide the Department of Justice with a clear basis for guiding implementation across federal agencies, federally funded programs, and covered private-sector settings. The statutes apply in different contexts, but they point in the same direction: medical cannabis policies must now be reviewed through the lens of disability nondiscrimination.
AG Order No. 6754-2026 does not answer every question for every setting. It does, however, change the central premise of patients’ rights. Federal agencies, regulated entities, private actors implementing federal programs, landlords, employers, businesses, healthcare providers, housing providers, service providers, and other covered entities must ensure that their policies align with this framework. Policies that deny housing, employment, healthcare, services, benefits, federal program participation, or reasonable accommodation solely because a patient’s medicine is cannabis must now be reviewed under federal nondiscrimination standards.
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