DEA prevails in hemp extract fight

Low-THC hemp extracts become illegal marijuana the moment they exceed 0.3% THC, a federal appeals court ruled, dismissing a pair of lawsuits challenging a 2020 rule from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

The dismissals from the D.C. Court of Appeals mean that common methods of CBD production violate federal law. That’s because many methods for extraction produce extract material that temporarily goes “hot,” or above 0.3% THC.

Silberman further derided the hemp industry’s argument about the DEA removing a prescription cannabis medicine, low-THC Epidiolex, from the list of controlled substances as “frankly ridiculous.”

The DEA has not enforced the 2020 rule and has given no indication how it might do so.