Time running out to weigh in on DEA rule about hemp extracts

Time is running out for public comment on a proposed U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration rule that hemp industry supporters say wrongly criminalizes extracts from the plant.

The comment period for the rule over the federal agency published August ends Tuesday.

At issue is whether the DEA is simply updating its policies to comply with the 2018 Farm Bill, which removed low-THC cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, or whether the DEA is making an illegal power grab by saying that hemp extracts are Schedule 1 controlled substances during a portion of the extraction process when the plant’s THC levels spike above what’s allowed.

Some CBD makers have said they’ll go out of business if the rule isn’t changed. The Hemp Industries Association and other hemp and marijuana associations have urged members to write letters of opposition before it takes effect. HIA and a South Carolina CBD manufacturer have also sued to prevent the DEA from the enforcing the rule.