Federal drug officials are clarifying that a cannabinoid produced synthetically from components of the cannabis plant is federally illegal.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said that while hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) has already been considered a Schedule I illegal substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the agency is now giving the compound its own unique drug code for classification.
HHC can be found in trace amounts in cannabis plants but is also synthesized by hydrogenating cannabidiol (CBD). It’s sometimes sprayed on cannabis flowers that are low in delta-9 THC, the most well-known psychoactive component of marijuana, and its psychoactive effects are reportedly similar.
While the 2018 Farm Bill federally legalized hemp and its derivatives with less than .3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry-weight basis, DEA says that only applies to naturally occurring, and not synthetic, cannabinoids. As such, it is the agency’s position that HHC does not fall under the definition of legal hemp.
“Only tetrahydrocannabinols in or derived from the cannabis plant—not synthetic tetrahydrocannabinols—are excluded from control as ‘tetrahydrocannabinols in hemp,’” the agency said in a notice set to be published in the Federal Register on Monday. “To clarify further, tetrahydrocannabinols produced through chemical conversion, even when hemp
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