Has the DEA really banned cannabidiol (CBD)?

Last Wednesday, the cannabis world got into an uproar when the DEA added any cannabis extract containing at least one cannabinoid to the list of prohibited substances. The immediate target was CBD oils, which are non-intoxicating but often contain other cannabinoids, psychoactive THC and other non-intoxicants. Should Americans fear this DEA decision?

The cannabidiol (abbreviated as CBD) is a natural, non-psychoactive cannabinoid known to have positive effects in certain treatments for epilepsy and arthritis. The DEA has clearly wished to clear up the grey area of US law, which did not codify cannabis extracts as such, by posting new rules on «marihuana» (in Mexican in the text) on its website. In this text, the federal agency classifies CBD extracts in the same way as psychoactive substances such as THC, heroin, cocaine and LSD. However, the DEA only has executive, not legislative, powers.

Five months ago, the DEA was attempting to reclassify kratom as a Category 1 illicit substance. Kratom is a psychoactive plant from Southeast Asia with opiate-like effects. The DEA then declared «the opioids mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, which are the main active constituents of kratom plant in category 1 of the Controlled Substance Act. This classification is necessary to avoid imminent danger to public safety». Public pressure caused the DEA to backtrack, but set in motion the same approach.

Is the DEA's potential ban on CBD legal?

What does the new DEA text say?

The new DEA text is quite clear: »The DEA includes a new paragraph (58) which creates a new category 1″ code number. Put simply: we're adding a new identification code inside controlled substances.

It goes on to specify that the new code will designate a «(58) Marihuana Extract-7350», i.e. «an extract containing one or more cannabinoids which has been derived from any plant of the genus Cannabis, other than the separated resin (whether crude or purified) obtained from the plant».

So it's understandable that a CBD concentrate is just as illegal for the DEA as a CBD concentrate. But...

Clarifying a legal grey area

Manufacturers of CBD-based products relied either on the molecule's non-intoxicating properties or on its potential provenance from the industrial hemp to thrive. In both cases, CBD is now considered a cannabis extract by the DEA.

However, clarification followed by a ban won't help. The Obama administration's law 2014 US Farm Bill allows the industrial cultivation of hemp. All cannabis Sativa L varieties containing less than 0.3 % THC in their dried flowers are considered industrial hemp. This law now surpasses the DEA's authority. CBD oils made from hemp therefore have nothing to worry about. As for CBD oils made from Cannabis, they are protected in the states that allow them.

Surprisingly, this decision runs counter to the movement to legalize cannabis in the United States. There is little doubt that patients, backed by powerful associations, will succeed in overturning this directive in the near future.