 Photo Cred: Bloom Medicinals The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, or DEA, has made clear that they offically classify Delta-8 and Delta-9-THC-O acetate to be Schedule I controlled substances.
The declaration was made in a letter, responding to a request from North Carolina attorney Rod Kight. Kight had written to the DEA last August, asking what the control status of THC acetate ester was on the Controlled Substances Act. Kight told Cannabis Business Times in an email that his letter had said, in part, “I represent many businesses in the hemp industry and began to see the proliferation of THC-O products on the market. Since THC-O is not produced by the cannabis (hemp) plant, I had concerns that the DEA would view it as illegal ‘synthetic THC,’ rather than lawful ‘hemp.’” The DEA’s response letter took six months, but was finally issued on February 13, 2023. In their response letter, the DEA said unequivocably that Delta-8- and Delta-9-THC-O acetate are considered to be Schedule I controlled substances on the Controlled Substances List. The DEA stated that because Delta-8 and Delta-9-THC-O do not occur naturally in the cannabis plant and are synthetically made, they don’t fall under the definition of ‘hemp.’ The DEA’s letter went on to say that they have “similar chemical structures and pharmacological activities to those contained in the cannabis plant,” so they, “meet the definition of ’tetrahydrocannabinols,’ and they (and products containing [them]) are controlled in Schedule I,” on the Controlled Substances Act. Kight told Cannabis Business Times that he agrees with the DEA’s response regarding THC-O, but he disagrees with their view of Delta-8’s status. Kight said that Delta-8 is naturally produced by the hemp plant, where THC-O is not. Comments are closed.
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