The FAA is reviewing how long pilots should wait after cannabis use before flying, reopening a long-running standards gap as marijuana’s legal status changes in parts of the United States. The agency is examining whether current rules can support a scientifically based impairment threshold for flight crews and other safety-sensitive aviation personnel.
The review centres on the unresolved question of when impairment ends, rather than on any enforcement action or incident. Under existing FAA and DOT safety rules, pilots and air traffic controllers are already barred from operating while affected by drugs that could compromise safety, but the agency does not have a validated cannabis-specific return-to-flying timing standard.
That leaves a regulatory gap between prohibition and practical fit-for-duty testing. Any future framework could affect medical certification, screening and return-to-duty decisions across the aviation sector if the FAA develops criteria that link impairment to measurable operational risk. For now, the agency is still studying the issue and has not set a timetable for new rules.