Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Recent actions by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have sent shock waves of fear and confusion through the cannabis community over the last 2 weeks.
For their part, the DEA said the action is simply the final implementation of something that started 5 years ago. "The gist of the issue is that DEA established a new drug code for marihuana extracts as a means to more accurately reflect the activities of scientific research and provide more consistent adherence to the requirements of the Single Convention," said Russ Baer, a spokesman for the DEA. We have not changed any control status with this Federal Register Notice. Everything remains schedule I, so no other provisions of the law (registration, security requirements, research protocols, etc.) change. Companies will simple [sic] use a new code for extracts."
"It's not intended to be speculative (and) doesn't read into anything that we're looking at in the future," he told The Cannabist. "It's just a final order on a rulemaking proposal that was initiated back in 2011." Baer went on to say that although shipping CBD oil remains illegal under federal law, it is not a priority for the DEA, which he said is "engaged with the medical community. We have new strategies."
"On it's face, it seems like a benign act," said Robert Hoban, managing partner for the Hoban Law Group in Colorado. "The simplest way is to say that the rule itself doesn't track the statute and accordingly, it's an invalid rule."
"The sky is not falling, but this is not some benign coding function either," Hoban said. "At the end of the day, the DEA needs to sit down, read the Controlled Substances Act, read the farm bill and understand that what they're saying has practical implications on commerce and on patients around this country. That's not weight they should throw around so lightly."
So what will happen? With the new Trump Administration taking the reigns of government next month, that is anyone's guess. The cannabis community is trapped somewhere between hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Law Group In Colorado Takes Stand Against DEA Over CBD Hemp Oil
Author: Joe Klare
Contact: The Libertarian Republic
Photo Credit: Carla K. Johnson
Website: The Libertarian Republic
For their part, the DEA said the action is simply the final implementation of something that started 5 years ago. "The gist of the issue is that DEA established a new drug code for marihuana extracts as a means to more accurately reflect the activities of scientific research and provide more consistent adherence to the requirements of the Single Convention," said Russ Baer, a spokesman for the DEA. We have not changed any control status with this Federal Register Notice. Everything remains schedule I, so no other provisions of the law (registration, security requirements, research protocols, etc.) change. Companies will simple [sic] use a new code for extracts."
"It's not intended to be speculative (and) doesn't read into anything that we're looking at in the future," he told The Cannabist. "It's just a final order on a rulemaking proposal that was initiated back in 2011." Baer went on to say that although shipping CBD oil remains illegal under federal law, it is not a priority for the DEA, which he said is "engaged with the medical community. We have new strategies."
"On it's face, it seems like a benign act," said Robert Hoban, managing partner for the Hoban Law Group in Colorado. "The simplest way is to say that the rule itself doesn't track the statute and accordingly, it's an invalid rule."
"The sky is not falling, but this is not some benign coding function either," Hoban said. "At the end of the day, the DEA needs to sit down, read the Controlled Substances Act, read the farm bill and understand that what they're saying has practical implications on commerce and on patients around this country. That's not weight they should throw around so lightly."
So what will happen? With the new Trump Administration taking the reigns of government next month, that is anyone's guess. The cannabis community is trapped somewhere between hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Law Group In Colorado Takes Stand Against DEA Over CBD Hemp Oil
Author: Joe Klare
Contact: The Libertarian Republic
Photo Credit: Carla K. Johnson
Website: The Libertarian Republic
