CBD Ban? DEA Tries to Reclassify Non-THC Cannabis Oil as Schedule 1

cannabis_oilBy Makia Freeman

A CBD ban appears to have been put in place by the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), an agency of the US Government. Two days ago on their website, they posted a notice that they had made a “new rule,” effective Dec. 14th 2016, to classify “marihuana extract” (their antiquated spelling, not mine) as a Schedule 1 drug. What this means is that CBD (cannabidiol) extracts which have trace amounts of, or absolutely no THC, and are therefore non-psychoactive, are now reclassified to be on par with psychoactive or THC-containing cannabis, heroin, LSD and peyote.

This latent stunt by the DEA is sure to be met with fierce resistance by a legion of Americans who are well aware of the health benefits of the cannabis plant. Legally speaking, the move is also highly dubious in nature, given that the DEA is by definition part of the executive branch of government (tasked with carrying out laws and enforcing them), not the legislative branch of government (tasked with making laws). Does this new rule carry legal weight? Will it amount to a CBD ban?

Kickback from Kratom?

The timing of this move is interesting, given how recently the DEA tried to reschedule another substance: kratom. It was only around 5 months ago that the DEA tried to reclassify kratom by attempting to place it in the dreaded Schedule 1 category. A determined number of Americans fought back and the DEA decided to drop the matter. Some have speculated that the reason may have been to help the DEA’s favorite client, Big Pharma:

The DEA’s recent statement on kratom underlines the extreme lengths to which they will go to continue to assert that they are in the right, even if only to themselves. The agency filed a notice of intent declaring that they would “temporarily schedule the opioids mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, which are the main active constituents of the plant kratom, into schedule I pursuant to the temporary scheduling provisions of the Controlled Substances Act.” The notice then explained, “This action is based on a finding by the Administrator that the placement of these opioids into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act is necessary to avoid an imminent hazard to the public safety.”

As is typical of bureaucratic agencies, the notice of intent continued in a similar fashion with its convoluted explanation.

And, of course, three synthetic opioids have been synthesized from the kratom plant, namely MGM-9, MGM-15 and MGM-16. Unsurprisingly, these three synthetics were developed from the kratom alkaloids, Mitragynine and 7-Hydroxymitragynine – you know, the ones named by the DEA as an “imminent hazard to public safety.”

If these compounds are so dangerous, why on earth would Big Pharma be synthesizing them to make medicine? It just doesn’t seem to add up, but the federal agency continues to go along with their story of supposed danger to society, hoping we’ll all fall for it. It really tells you all you need to know about the DEA and their relationship with Big Pharma though, doesn’t it?”

In other words, the DEA, like the FDA, are allowing Big Pharma to pursue its business model of biopiracy, i.e. find a plant or something from Nature, study its constituents, learn how to extract them, steal them, modify them and patent them, and then destroy people’s ability to get the original. It’s the synthetic agenda.

Text of the New Rule Regarding CBD from the DEA

Here’s the text of the new rule:

Final Action

After careful consideration of all comments, the DEA is hereby amending 21 CFR 1308.11(d) to include a new subparagraph (58) which creates a new code number in Schedule I as follows:

(58) Marihuana Extract—7350

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.

The creation of this new drug code in the DEA regulations for marihuana extracts allows for more appropriate accounting of such materials consistent with treaty provisions. Such marihuana Start Printed Page 90196extracts remain in Schedule I. Entities registered to handle marihuana (under drug code 7360) that also handle marihuana extracts, will need to apply to modify their registrations to add the new drug code 7350 to their existing DEA registrations and procure quotas specifically for drug code 7350 each year.

What is the Legality of the New DEA Rule? What are the Chances it Will Result in a CBD Ban?

Since this story is breaking, there is still much uncertainty about whether it will lead to a CBD ban or not. For example, this Inquisitr article firmly states that it will lead to a CBD ban:

The Wednesday decision states that according to the DEA, CBD oil, and any cannabis extract falls under code 7350, a new federal code, and thus carries Schedule 1 status. The ruling is not a change in federal law, but rather a clarification of existing statutes. CBD oil manufacturers have long operated under the theory that since their product was produced from hemp, which contains a lower amount of THC than is illegal under federal guidelines, they were in legal territory at the federal level. The DEA CBD oil decision removes the ambiguity and places CBD firmly under Schedule 1.

The announcement means that CBD oil manufacturers and distributes will have to update their registrations to the new code 7350 by January 13 in the states in which it is legal to produce. It will be illegal to transport the substance over state lines, and the long-term consequences for the CBD oil industry, as well as patients who use it, is unclear.

However, the Forium Legal Counsel believes the DEA is blowing hot air and acting totally outside of its jurisdiction, urging CBD businesses and consumers not to panic:

Regarding the legal status of CBD derived from industrial hemp: The 2014 US Farm Bill was an act of congress signed by the president and that is the highest law of the land. The DEA cannot make law and try to redefine a law passed by the US Congress which defined industrial hemp in section 7606 as “Any cannabis sativa L that produces naturally less than .3% THC on a dry weight basis.” 

Furthermore, the DEA is not allowed to interfere with a legal state licensed cannabis business – there is very recent case law that set precedent for this in the 9th circuit.  See here: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-ruling-marijuana-idUSKCN10R1YN

Lastly, the DEA was purposely de-funded by the US Congress last year (and is poised to do the same for this year:
(http://archives.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2015/12/16/congress-set-to-ban-feds-from-enforcing-cannabis-laws-again) from pursuing any enforcement of their archaic interpretation of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) in legal states.

CBD Ban Won’t Happen Without a Big Fight

This strange new DEA rule is going against the tide of the recent movement to legalize marijuana or cannabis, as was evidenced in the recent November 2016 elections where California, Maine, Massachusetts and other states voted to make it recreationally or medically legal. You can be sure that many cannabis lawyers, businesses and consumers are going to do their utmost to stop governmental overreach and prevent a CBD ban from occurring.

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Makia Freeman is the editor of alternative media / independent news site The Freedom Articles and senior researcher at ToolsForFreedom.com, where this article first appeared. Writing on many aspects of truth and freedom, from exposing aspects of the worldwide conspiracy to suggesting solutions for how humanity can create a new system of peace and abundance.

Sources:

  • https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/12/14/2016-29941/establishment-of-a-new-drug-code-for-marihuana-extract
  • http://freedom-articles.toolsforfreedom.com/cannabidiol-cbd-cure-all/
  • http://freedom-articles.toolsforfreedom.com/antibiotic-resistant-bacteria-cannabis/
  • http://www.naturalnews.com/2016-12-12-big-pharma-colludes-with-dea-to-first-outlaw-natural-drugs-then-patent-them-to-earn-billions-for-pharma.html
  • https://www.federalregister.gov/select-citation/2016/12/14/21-CFR-1308.11
  • http://archives.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2015/12/16/congress-set-to-ban-feds-from-enforcing-cannabis-laws-again
  • http://us14.campaign-archive1.com/?u=b813fd6868a874f2efc681a61&id=e9466c771b&e=cc3827094d
  • http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-ruling-marijuana-idUSKCN10R1YN
  • http://archives.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2015/12/16/congress-set-to-ban-feds-from-enforcing-cannabis-laws-again

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17 Comments on "CBD Ban? DEA Tries to Reclassify Non-THC Cannabis Oil as Schedule 1"

  1. The DEA is another waste of taxpayer money.
    Enough already.
    It is obvious they have nothing better to do than sit around and dream up re-DICK-u-lus laws.
    Imbibe for the health of it.

  2. This is not a new ban: CBD extract has always been banned; it just creates a new code to “facllitate tracking.”

    Trump’s new Attorney General Sessions is a signal of a coming crackdown on marijuana, legal, recreational and medicinal.

    ” Legal pot’s future is in a haze, thanks to President-elect Trump’s nomination of a staunchly anti-marijuana lawmaker for attorney general.

    “Good people don’t smoke marijuana,” said Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions in an April Senate hearing.

    That view from the nation’s incoming top cop, a sharply different tone than President Obama’s, has cast a pall over an industry that’s recently celebrated a watershed moment. Voters in eight states relaxed their marijuana laws on Nov. 8, raising to 29 the states that now permit medical use of marijuana, and eight with legal recreational laws on the books.

    Legal marijuana is one thing many Americans agreed on Tuesday night
    Marijuana opponents are energized by Sessions’ nomination, saying the federal government could easily reverse the national trend toward legalization.” usatoday

    This is one more Trump choice which insults the American People, who now favor legalizing pot.

    • Duh, I was saying that would happen back when Obama was allowing all this to happen. its just another ruse for fishers of men to extort people of their money. Get them doing something then let them think its okay to do it, and after they have done it for awhile start cracking down on the use of it, and generally there will be a percentage of people who will go under ground where the police then sell it, then arrest you for it, then create millions of federal dollars combating it in the so called war on drugs. Its criminal racketeering.

      • Duh…Obama has been the most pot friendly President ever, the only one who admitted he weas a pot head. He does not control the DEA and certainly has no control in his last weeks. You are using racist thinking to blame Obama for things over which he has been the most liberal of all Presidents. Just wait until the guy who thinks pothead should be in prison takes over Justice in a few months: hide your stash. He’s coming for you, and complaining about Obama will not serve as a defense!

    • Dale, you are misinformed. In the last 18 months, there have been 4 (I believe) cases that ruled against the DEA’s assertion of being able to regulate CBD oil. That is why they are trying to do this rule

      • Thank you for the correction. Whether CBD is legal or not is problematic, but there are cases that restrained the DEA, whose new ruling will no doubt be strongly defended by the new head of Dept of Justice, who considers any form of cannabis a danger. The real issue is how we will fight the tougher policies inevitable since personel is policy.

        See http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/12/jeff-sessions-coming-war-on-legal-marijuana-214501

        As part of my cancer treatment, I used a cannabis extract (which did not work) but contnue to use CBD oil, along with B-17 and mitoq, which appears to be working.

        • Also remember that States Do have Rights!! I would question the legality of how far they expect to push against states rights… these days, the “establishment seems to say that all bets are off, so to speak.

        • Cannabis a danger yet taking EXTREMELY addictive RX drugs are ok???
          Get ready Pharmaceutical companies you are up for a BIG fight!!!

  3. Dale Ruff and his ilk always bring out the race card no matter what the argument.
    He is a pot head and yet he did not take MJ off of the schedule 1 list.
    The feds need to declare the war on drugs is failed.
    Folks should be allowed to ingest that which they want, especially in the land of the free.

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