The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) ruled earlier this week that the cannabinoids delta-8 THCO and delta-9 THCO are controlled substances that are illegal under federal law, even if they\u2019re synthesized from legal hemp. The two cannabinoids, which don\u2019t occur naturally but can be synthesized from hemp, have become popular in some markets across the country, particularly in states that haven\u2019t yet legalized adult-use cannabis.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp and products derived from it, leading to a significant increase in the cultivation of the crop as farmers and processors sought to take advantage of consumer interest in CBD. Since then, products made with the novel cannabinoid delta-8 THC, which naturally occurs in cannabis in trace amounts and can be synthesized in large quantities from CBD, have also become popular. Last year a federal court ruled that delta-8 THC is legal when derived from hemp. Products containing the intoxicating cannabinoid have become popular from coast to coast, with availability in specialty shops, convenience stores and gas stations, among other retailers.<\/p>\n
In 2022, attorney Rod Kight sent a letter to the DEA inquiring about the legal status of delta-8 THCO and delta-9 THCO, according to a report<\/a> from Marijuana Moment<\/em>. After he repeated the request earlier this month, the DEA sent a response letter to Kight on February 13, saying that the two cannabinoids \u201cdo not occur naturally in the cannabis plant and can only be obtained synthetically, and therefore do not fall under the definition of hemp.\u201d<\/p>\n In the letter<\/a>, Terrence L. Boos, the chief of the DEA\u2019s Drug & Chemical Evaluation Section of the Diversion Control Division, wrote that \u201cdelta-9-THCO and delta-8-THCO are tetrahydrocannabinols having similar chemical structures and pharmacological activities to those contained in the cannabis plant. Thus, delta-9-THCO and delta-8-THCO meet the definition of \u201ctetrahydrocannabinols,\u201d and they (and products containing delta-9-THCO and delta-8- THCO) are controlled in schedule I\u201d of the federal Controlled Substances Act.<\/p>\n In a blog post about the letter from the DEA, Kight wrote<\/a> \u201calthough I don\u2019t always agree with the DEA\u2019s view on cannabis matters, I agree with this opinion and, frankly, am not surprised. This is what I\u2019ve been saying for a while. I\u2019ve been concerned about the proliferation of THC acetate ester (THCO) for a while. It has always been my view that THCO is a controlled substance under federal law. Although it can be made from cannabinoids from hemp, THCO isn\u2019t naturally expressed by the hemp plant. It\u2019s a laboratory creation that doesn\u2019t occur in nature, at least not from the hemp plant.\u201d<\/p>\n Shawn Hauser, a partner at the cannabis and psychedelics law firm Vicente Sederberg LLP<\/a>, says that the DEA\u2019s ruling doesn\u2019t impact the regulated cannabis industry because of the plant\u2019s continued illegality under federal law. The determination could, however, lead states to only allow synthetic cannabinoids under cannabis regulatory regimes rather than permitting them under hemp regulations.\u00a0<\/p>\n The determination is also significant because while the DEA has been clear in its Interim Final Rule implementing the 2018 Farm Bill that the agency doesn\u2019t consider \u201csynthetic\u201d hemp products to be legal hemp and were therefore federally illegal controlled substances, it didn\u2019t define the term \u201csynthetic\u201d as the term is applied to cannabinoids. Hauser notes that without further clarification or enforcement action, the Interim Final Rule led to confusion among the industry and consumers about the legality of novel cannabinoids that don\u2019t occur naturally in the hemp plant.<\/p>\n \u201cThis federal ambiguity and a growing and innovating hemp market resulted in states taking varying approaches as to how they define and regulate \u2018synthetic\u2019 cannabinoids, and substantial confusion for industry, consumers and regulators as to the legality and safety of certain products,\u201d Hauser says. \u201cWhile this provides some long-overdue clarity as to the illegality of certain cannabinoids not naturally occurring<\/a> in the plant under the Controlled Substances Act, this determination underscores the mess the DEA and FDA have created in failing to appropriately regulate both synthetic and natural cannabinoids to ensure consumer safety.\u201d<\/p>\n Advocates contend that consumer and producer confusion about the legality of novel cannabinoids could be eliminated with the federal legalization of marijuana. Once prohibition is lifted and natural cannabinoids are available to the public, demand for intoxicating novel cannabinoids would likely dry up.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether they\u2019re synthetic or naturally occurring, psychoactive cannabinoids need to be regulated responsibly to protect public health and safety,\u201d Aaron Smith, CEO of the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), said in a statement. \u201cThe only way to successfully achieve that end is to finally end national prohibition, enact sensible regulations at the federal level and allow state cannabis laws continue to work across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n The post DEA Rules Delta-8 And Delta-9 THCO Are Controlled Substances<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) ruled earlier this week that the cannabinoids delta-8 THCO and delta-9 THCO are controlled substances that are illegal under federal law, even if they\u2019re synthesized from legal hemp. The two cannabinoids, which don\u2019t occur naturally but can be synthesized from hemp, have become popular inContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":381,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6726,605,50,1074,848,16920,10260,16921,16922,296,5014,90,11756,16923],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62016"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/381"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62016"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62017,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62016\/revisions\/62017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Definition Required Around Term \u201cSynthetic\u201d Cannabinoid<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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\nRead More: DEA Rules Delta-8 And Delta-9 THCO Are Controlled Substances<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"