The agency has been consistent in its interpretation of the law, but federal courts have disagreed
The Drug Enforcement Administration has reaffirmed its position that intoxicating cannabinoids synthetically derived from hemp are not legal under federal law.
In a May 4th DEA order specifying that the synthetic cannabinoid hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) is explicitly classified as a Schedule I controlled substance, the agency opines that Congress did not intend to legalize lab-derived cannabinoids in the 2018 Farm Bill – even in instances where the compounds are synthetically derived from hemp.
The order states: “Only tetrahydrocannabinols in or derived from the cannabis plant – not synthetic tetrahydrocannabinols – are excluded from control. … To clarify further, tetrahydrocannabinols produced through chemical conversion, even when hemp-derived, are considered synthetically produced for purposes of the Controlled Substances Act. [They] do not qualify as ‘tetrahydrocannabinols in hemp’ under the AIA [the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 aka The Farm Bill].”
Although the DEA has been consistent in its interpretation of the law, federal courts have disagreed with the agency. Specifically, rulings from the 9th Circuit and the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals have determined that provisions in the Farm Bill broadly encompass “all” products derived from hemp, so long as they do not cross the 0.3 percent delta-9 THC threshold.
Third-party testing data have reported that more than 90 percent of commercially available hemp-derived intoxicating products contain cannabinoids produced through a chemical synthesis rather than by extraction. While delta-8-THC and delta-9-THC were the most frequently identified synthetically derived cannabinoids, investigators have also identified the novel cannabinoids THCP (tetrahydrocannabiphorol) and HHC in a significant percentage of products.
NORML has consistently urged federal officials to establish regulatory guidelines governing the production, testing, labeling, and marketing of hemp-derived cannabinoid products – most of which are unregulated and may possess variable quality and purity. In 2021, NORML issued a report cautioning consumers about the presence of synthetically derived cannabinoids in certain commercially available hemp products.
This brief was republished from NORML.
