DEA Submits Proposed Rule on Implementing 2018 Farm Bill’s Hemp Legalization

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has proposed a rule that would codify the legalization of hemp cultivation and related definitions passed in the 2018 Farm Bill into the Controlled Substances Act. The amendments include (i) modifying federal rules to state that “the definition of ‘Tetrahydrocannabinols’ does not include ‘any material, compound, mixture, or preparation that falls within the definition of hemp set forth in 7 U.S.C. 1639o'”; (ii) removing from Schedule V a “drug product in finished dosage formulation that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that contains cannabidiol [] derived from cannabis and no more than 0.1% (w/w) residual tetrahydrocannabinols”; (iii) removing import and export controls on these substances; and (iv) modifying federal rules by “stating that the definition of ‘Marihuana Extract’ is limited to extracts ‘containing greater than 0.3 percent delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on a dry weight basis.'”