The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has issued a new draft Firearm Transaction Registration Form which includes an updated question about illicit drug use.

The new form comes weeks after the federal government displaced medical cannabis from Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to Schedule III.

The part about lawlessness says, “I am NO (eic) an illegal user of or addicted to marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug or other controlled substance. (Note: You may be an illegal user under federal law, even if your possession is legal under state law. Federal law does not allow the recreational use or possession of marijuana.)“

Previous shape acknowledged that states have legalized cannabis for both medical and adult use; however, the form said “Caution: Use and possession of marijuana remains illegal under federal law, regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized for medical or recreational purposes in your state of residence.”

Last week, ATF posted proposed form changes to the Federal Register for public comments. Comments on the updated form will be accepted until July 7.

Most Americans support the federal government’s reclassification of medical cannabis, according to a ANALYSIS of more than 40,000 comments on public records about federal proposals by researchers at Johns Hopkins University and the University of California San Diego.

In response to a 2024 proposal by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to reschedule cannabis, 42,913 comments were submitted on the docket, which is part of the federal e-regulatory process and how the public can engage with the proposed regulations. It marked the largest amount of public input to date on federal cannabis policy.

The researchers took every comment posted on the e-rulemaking portal during the 63-day comment window and analyzed them through a large open-source language model, which was then validated against human review. The team found that 63.5% of commenters also supported further reforms, 28.9% supported the reclassification of Schedule III as proposed, while only 6.7% opposed any changes.

An overwhelming majority – 92.4% – wanted cannabis removed from Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act.

Nearly 57% of supporters cited the therapeutic benefits most often, while 27.8% noted the economic impacts on the cannabis industry and state revenues, with 24.4% also expressing the need for clearer federal regulation to ensure public safety.

The Trump administration on April 24 moved Food and Drug-approved cannabis products sold under qualifying state medical cannabis licenses from Schedule I to Schedule III under federal law, while also setting a new administrative hearing on June 29, 2026 to restart and expedite the broader DEA reprogramming process.

The US House of Representatives voted 224-200 on Tuesday to approve the federal farm bill, which contains some hemp-related provisions but excludes language to delay or reverse expected federal changes to hemp-derived THC this November. of reports.

The US first legalized industrial hemp through the 2018 Farm Bill, which was passed during President Trump’s first term. The original legalization language covered the hemp plant and all its derivatives, as long as the crop contained less than 0.3% THC. The changes allowed a national gray market for hemp-derived cannabinoids that quickly grew into a multibillion-dollar industry as operators established methods of converting hemp-derived CBD to delta-8 THC and other intoxicating cannabinoids.

But the industry was plunged into uncertainty last year when President Trump signed a spending bill that contained language to shut down the sale of intoxicating hemp products nationwide.

According to the report, the hemp provisions in the Farm, Food, and Homeland Security Act of 2026 seek to clarify regulations and reduce the burden faced by industrial hemp farmers in the US.

The farm bill moves to the Senate for consideration, where advocates hope lawmakers will propose protections for the sunset hemp industry.

Unless Congress passes any changes or exemptions to the rules, the current hemp cannabinoid industry will effectively end on November 12, 2026.