ACTION ITEM! CBD Prohibition
The empire strikes back: DEA quietly announces “Schedule I” status for CBD extracts to comply with United Nations demands… CBD Prohibition? Hemp industry disputes
Friday, December 16, 2016 by: Mike Adams
ACTION ITEM: Sign the petition that asks the incoming Trump administration to legalize CBD supplements nationwide.
Meaning an extract containing one or more cannabinoids that has been derived from any plant of the genus Cannabis, other than the separated resin (whether crude or purified) obtained from the plant.
In effect, the DEA has, completely outside any act of Congress, created an entirely new “Schedule I” controlled substance it calls “Marihuana Extract” (note the spelling with an “h” rather than a “j”). This “Marihuana Extract” is, according to the DEA, any extract containing “one or more cannabinoids…”
CBD is, of course, a non-psychoactive cannabinoid. It’s just one of over a hundred cannabinoids found in hemp extracts, which also include CBD-A, CBG, CBC, CBN and so on.
Sign our petition at this link to ask the Trump administration to protect access to CBD products and keep the DEA’s hands off natural medicine from Cannabis.
The sky is not falling! Hemp Industry Association responds…
From the Hemp Industry Association, here’s a thoughtful response on all this, which insists the DEA’s new classification is not a show-stopper:
Yesterday the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a Final Rule on the coding of marijuana extracts. Unfortunately some misleading media stories and social media postings lead quite a few people to panic at reports that CBD was being banned under this new rule.
The Sky is NOT Falling. The Final Rule published by DEA did not change the legal status of CBD. This can only be done by a scheduling action which has NOT occurred.
HIA has carefully reviewed this with our legal advisers and discussed it with industry experts. While there are some differing opinions on the effect of the rule, there is general agreement that yesterday’s ruling did not change the status of CBD. Here are some important facts to know:
- Cannabidiol is not listed on the federal schedule of controlled substances
- Sec. 7606 of the Farm Bill defines hemp as distinct from marijuana and does not treat it as a controlled substance when grown under a compliant state program
- Despite these facts, DEA has stated that CBD is a controlled substance previously
- HIA strongly disagrees with the DEA position and is ready to take action to defend should DEA take any action to block the production, processing or sale of hemp under Sec. 7606
- The Final Rule published on December 14th was not a scheduling action but rather an administrative action related to record keeping
- The code assigned to “marihuana extract” in the rule is “Administration Controlled Substances Code Number” for the purposes of identification of substances on registration forms
- The rule was originally published as a proposed rule in 2011 BEFORE the Farm Bill and didn’t mention CBD or hemp
- DEA confirmed to a reporter from the Denver Post that this was an administrative action and did not change the status of CBD in federal law
So what does this all mean? We believe the DEA rule on “marijuana extracts” was not directed at hemp derived CBD products and has been in the works for 5 years. We also believe there is no imminent change in DEA policy regarding hemp derived CBD products.
For now, we want to urge everyone to calm down and continue with your businesses. We also hope that in future, reporters will take the time to get the facts before posting misleading stories about hemp and CBD.
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The industry plans to fight the absurd DEA classification with lawsuits and petitions
The CBD industry, naturally, is planning on waging a fierce battle to keep CBD products legal in all 50 states. Via Leafly:
Robert Hoban, a Colorado cannabis attorney and adjunct professor of law at the University of Denver, raised the notion that the rule itself may not be lawful. “This action is beyond the DEA’s authority,” Hoban told Leafly in an interview late this afternoon. “The DEA can only carry out the law, they cannot create it. Here they’re purporting to create an entirely new category called ‘marihuana extracts,’ and by doing so wrest control over all cannabinoids. They want to call all cannabinoids illegal. But they don’t have the authority to do that.”
The CBD industry, in fact, has been looking for an opportunity to challenge the DEA in court, and it looks like that time has arrived.
SIGN THE PETITION at this link, asking the Trump administration to protect consumers’ access to CBD products.
