H.R. 10923's Proposed Rewrite of Federal Drug Scheduling

H.R. 10923 would replace the five federal drug schedules with a two-axis system and give core scheduling power to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Rep. Steve Cohen, a Democrat who represents Tennessee's 9th District, introduced the bill on October 29, 2026 as the Public Health and Research Reforms in Controlled Substances Act. It is not law. Psilocybin, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and ibogaine remain Schedule I under current federal law.

Cohen's office published the 89-page bill text and a section-by-section analysis alongside its press release. The bill would amend the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) of 1970, and the press release calls it the most comprehensive package of CSA reforms since that year.

What H.R. 10923 Would Change for Psychedelics

H.R. 10923 would change both who classifies psychedelics and the system used to classify them. The bill swaps the five current schedules for four risk schedules, numbered I to IV, and five therapeutic-value schedules, lettered A to E. It also moves core scheduling authority from the Attorney General, who delegates it to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), to the HHS Secretary.

The bill text requires HHS to reevaluate 32 named substances within two years of enactment. That list includes psilocybin, psilocin, MDMA, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), mescaline, ibogaine and ketamine. Cohen's press release describes the first group as "about 30" substances, while the list in the bill text has 32 entries.

If HHS misses that two-year deadline, a default table in the bill places psilocybin, psilocin and LSD in IV-A, and MDMA and ketamine in III-A. Ibogaine defaults to III-B, while DMT, mescaline and 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine (2C-B) default to IV-E. These defaults apply only to a substance whose required reevaluation HHS fails to finish on time.

The bill text lets HHS either place each substance in the new schedules or remove it from the schedules. Cohen's press release says none of the first-evaluated substances "would be descheduled, but rather more precisely tailored to the schedule, balancing harms with their benefits."

As of November 2, 2026, nothing has changed for any psychedelic. The bill has been introduced and referred to committees. The new schedules would exist only if a bill like H.R. 10923 is enacted. Even then, each placement would come from an HHS reevaluation or, if HHS missed a deadline, from the default table.

The Two-Axis Schedule of Risk and Therapeutic Value

Section 104 of H.R. 10923 creates a dual-axis scheduling framework, according to Cohen's section-by-section analysis. The numbered axis has four schedules, I to IV, based on risk of misuse and substance use disorder and threat to public health. The lettered axis has five schedules, A to E, based on therapeutic value, from high to none or unknown.

Each controlled substance would carry one number and one letter. The section-by-section analysis gives combinations such as 1A, 2C and 3B as examples. The default table in the bill text writes the same idea with Roman numerals, such as III-A for MDMA and ketamine.

Under current law, psilocybin, LSD, DMT and MDMA are Schedule I substances. The site's Controlled Substances Act explainer covers how the five current schedules work and how rescheduling happens under them. H.R. 10923 would replace those five schedules with the two-axis grid.

Section 105 changes how the law treats controlled substance analogues. Under the bill, an analogue would no longer be treated automatically as a Schedule I substance. It would go in the same or a lower risk schedule than its parent substance and receive Schedule E for therapeutic value unless therapeutic value is established.

Which Substances HHS Would Review First

H.R. 10923 replaces subsection (c) of section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act, codified at 21 United States Code (U.S.C.) 812. It directs the HHS Secretary to reevaluate every substance in a schedule as of the day before enactment. For each one, HHS must decide whether to place it in the new schedules or remove it from the schedules.

The bill sets a two-year deadline for a named list of 32 substances. The list names psilocybin, psilocin, MDMA (written in the bill text as 3,4-methylenedioxymethylamphetamine), LSD, DMT, 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine (DOM), 2C-B, mescaline, ibogaine and ketamine. The other 22 entries are fentanyl, cocaine, amphetamine, methylphenidate, methadone, methamphetamine, phencyclidine, buprenorphine, diazepam, flurazepam, anabolic steroids, zolpidem, phenobarbital, diacetylmorphine, morphine, codeine, oxycodone, oxymorphone, hydromorphone, hydrocodone, alprazolam and clonazepam.

Every other scheduled substance must be reevaluated within 8 years of enactment. For that larger group, HHS must designate each substance as high-priority or low-priority and handle the high-priority ones first. Within 1 year of enactment, HHS must set the designation process by rule.

That rule must include criteria and, where appropriate, a cost-benefit analysis. It must also weigh each substance's relative potential for developing a substance use disorder, its therapeutic value, and its potential use for treatment based on animal models or an investigational new drug application.

Before HHS places or removes any substance, it must publish the proposed action in the Federal Register. The public then gets at least 60 days to comment, along with an opportunity for a hearing.

New paragraph (5) supplies default placements for any substance HHS fails to reevaluate by the 2-year or 8-year deadline. The table on pages 34 to 36 of the bill lists psilocybin, psilocin and LSD in IV-A. It lists MDMA and ketamine in III-A, and ibogaine in III-B.

DMT, 2C-B, mescaline and peyote appear in IV-E in the same table. These cells are defaults that apply only when HHS misses a deadline for a substance. When HHS completes a reevaluation on time, the placement comes from that reevaluation instead of the table.

Who Would Decide Scheduling Under H.R. 10923

Section 103 of H.R. 10923 transfers core scheduling authority from the Attorney General to the HHS Secretary. Under current law, the Attorney General delegates that authority to the DEA. The bill adds the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the Attorney General as parties that can request a scheduling action.

The evaluation itself would grow from 8 factors to 15. Cohen's section-by-section analysis says the updated factors emphasize public-health evidence, therapeutic applications, economic impacts and the risks of scheduling itself. A new expert committee of 15 to 25 members would run a multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) as part of the review.

Emergency scheduling would also change hands. Only ONDCP could start an emergency scheduling action, and HHS would issue the temporary orders. The site's page on the DEA proposal to place five tryptamines in Schedule I shows a scheduling action running through the DEA under current law.

Sections 106 to 108 split registration duties between the two departments. The Attorney General keeps rulemaking and registration for manufacture, distribution and dispensing, except for scientific investigators. The HHS Secretary gains rulemaking and registration authority for those investigators.

Registrants would hold one Schedule I to IV registration in place of separate Schedule I and Schedule II to V registrations. The bill sets a 45-day notice framework for investigator registration and pilot-study pathways within the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). It also provides for agencies to supply limited quantities of substances for research.

Cohen's press release describes the resulting division of labor: HHS would focus on science and medicine, and the DEA on preventing diversion and illicit use.

Where H.R. 10923 Stands in Congress

H.R. 10923 is a newly introduced House bill with no hearing or vote on record. Rep. Cohen introduced it on October 29, 2026, in the 119th Congress. Its official title is "To amend the Controlled Substances Act to better align such Act with modern medical knowledge, establish a new system for the scheduling of controlled substances, redelegate certain authorities, promote scientific research, and for other purposes."

The same day, the bill was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. It was also referred to the Committees on the Judiciary, Oversight and Government Reform, Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be determined by the Speaker.

The bill status record on govinfo, last updated October 30, 2026, lists only the introduction and the referral. It shows no hearing, markup or floor vote.

Cohen's press release says the bill has six titles and is his 500th sponsored bill. Cohen is a senior member of the Judiciary Committee and co-chairman of the Congressional Biomedical Research Caucus. The release says H.R. 10923 substantially expands his Controlled Substances Act Clarification in Science Act, introduced in June.

The press release lists endorsements from the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), the Drug Policy Alliance and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

What the Bill Does Not Change

H.R. 10923 does not change the current federal status of any psychedelic. Psilocybin, MDMA and ibogaine remain Schedule I under current law, and the introduction of a bill creates no legal access pathway. Introduction also changes no state law. The site's legal status by state tool and its Texas ibogaine bill page cover state rules.

The scheduling provisions of the bill concern who decides placements and how substances are classified. The bill text allows HHS to remove a substance from the schedules, while Cohen's press release says none of the first-evaluated substances would be descheduled.

Other parts of the bill reach past psychedelics. It removes marijuana and tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) from the schedules retroactively. Cohen's press release also lists ending mandatory minimum drug penalties and retroactivity in sentencing.

H.R. 10923 would change who decides how psilocybin, MDMA and ibogaine are classified, and the system they are classified under, without settling whether any of them becomes legal. For readers tracking rescheduling, the signal to watch is committee action. A hearing, a markup, amended text or a Senate companion bill would each be a new development to check on the H.R. 10923 bill status record.