{"id":7446,"date":"2017-06-03T06:48:43","date_gmt":"2017-06-03T06:48:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/?p=2671793"},"modified":"2017-06-03T06:48:43","modified_gmt":"2017-06-03T06:48:43","slug":"dea-seeks-dismissal-of-hemp-industry-lawsuit-fighting-drug-code-for-marihuana-extracts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/dea-seeks-dismissal-of-hemp-industry-lawsuit-fighting-drug-code-for-marihuana-extracts\/","title":{"rendered":"DEA seeks dismissal of hemp industry lawsuit fighting drug code for \u201cmarihuana extracts\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/dea-seeks-dismissal-of-hemp-industry-lawsuit-fighting-drug-code-for-marihuana-extracts\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"large-10 large-centered small-12 columns\">\n<div class=\"entry-meta-date\">Published: Jun 2, 2017, 6:38 pm \u2022 Updated: Jun 2, 2017, 7:10 pm<span class=\"single-comments-link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/06\/02\/dea-hemp-industry-challenge-drug-code-marihuana-extracts-farm-bill\/80687\/#disqus_thread\" class=\"commentsNameLink\" \/><\/span><\/div>\n<p class=\"byline\">By <span class=\"author\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/author\/alabak\/\" rel=\"author\">Aleta Labak<\/a><\/span><em>, The Cannabist Staff<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The legal distinctions between marijuana and hemp are at the center of a debate in a federal lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p>The Drug Enforcement Administration stands firm on its drug code for \u201cmarihuana extracts\u201d in a brief filed Friday to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and seeks to have a federal lawsuit by the hemp industry dismissed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe thought we\u2019d see something new, and we\u2019re a little surprised we didn\u2019t,\u201d said Patrick Goggin, an attorney representing the hemp industry in the case.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit focuses on the DEA rule finalized in December that applies a Controlled Substances Code Number for \u201cmarihuana extract,\u201d defined as products containing one or more cannabinoids \u2014 chemical compounds found within the plant species <em>Cannabis sativa L<\/em>. Among the claims made by the industry is that the rule amounts to a scheduling action in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) for cannabinoids.<\/p>\n<p>The DEA laid out various reasons as to why the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/01\/13\/hemp-dea-extracts-marijuana-cbd-judicial-review\/71387\/\">legal challenge<\/a> filed by the Hoban Law Group on behalf of trade group Hemp Industries Association and hemp businesses Centuria Natural Foods and R.M.H. Holdings Inc. is invalid.<\/p>\n<p>In the brief\u2019s primary arguments, the DEA claims the petitioners <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/04\/05\/hemp-lawsuit-federal-court-dea-rule-marijuana-extracts\/76635\/\">aren\u2019t eligible to challenge<\/a> because they didn\u2019t participate in the rulemaking proceedings; the rule doesn\u2019t restrict their activities or attach new penalties; and asserts the petitioners erred in arguing that the rule conflicts with the 2014 federal \u201cFarm Bill.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Goggin took issue with the DEA\u2019s statements about the Farm Bill, which allowed states to enact laws allowing limited cultivation of industrial hemp. He also objected to the\u00a0DEA\u2019s claim that the new code number applied \u201conly to extracts derived from a \u201cplant of the genus Cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe believe the rulemaking process is at the very least troubling and additionally there were intervening factors\u201d between the time the rule was first proposed in 2011 and when it was finalized in December 2015, Goggin said, pointing to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2014\/05\/20\/fixing-hemp-farming-problems-priority-says-u-s-agriculture-secretary\/12180\/\">federal legislation passed by Congress in 2014<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The 2014 Agricultural Act of 2014 included a definition of industrial hemp:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of such plant, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a simple fix: Replace genus Cannabis plants with \u2018marijuana plants,&#8217;\u201d Goggin said. \u201cIf you mean what you say, say what you mean. It goes back to the question: Why are you referring to it as genus Cannabis and the CSA, which defines marijuana and not the genus Cannabis?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The DEA brief centered on procedural arguments and \u201cfails to delve into substantive arguments,\u201d Goggin said. \u201cThey have repeatedly misarticulated the intention of Congress in enacting the Farm Bill\u2019s industrial hemp amendment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>DEA spokesman Russ Baer said in an email the agency wouldn\u2019t provide comment on pending litigation, but added that the \u201cdrug code was created to more efficiently prioritize, track, and approve prospective DEA Registrants that submit applications to handle and conduct scientific research with marijuana extracts. The code helps \u2026 distinguish scientific research between marijuana on one hand and marijuana extracts on the other.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Goggin said that a counter-response to the DEA brief would be submitted in the next few weeks; the timetable for the court to issue a ruling was uncertain.<\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-meta-tags\">\n<div class=\"entry-tags\">Topics: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/2014-farm-bill\/\" rel=\"tag\">2014 farm bill<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/cannabinoids\/\" rel=\"tag\">cannabinoids<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/controlled-substance-act\/\" rel=\"tag\">controlled substance act<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/dea\/\" rel=\"tag\">DEA<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/drug-enforcement-administration\/\" rel=\"tag\">Drug Enforcement Administration<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/federal-drug-scheduling\/\" rel=\"tag\">federal drug scheduling<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/federal-law\/\" rel=\"tag\">federal law<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/hemp\/\" rel=\"tag\">hemp<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/hemp-industries-association\/\" rel=\"tag\">Hemp Industries Association<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/lawsuits\/\" rel=\"tag\">lawsuits<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/marihuana\/\" rel=\"tag\">marihuana<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/marijuana-extract\/\" rel=\"tag\">marijuana extract<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-meta-author\">\n<div class=\"authorimage\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/author\/alabak\/\" rel=\"author\"><img src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/dea-seeks-dismissal-of-hemp-industry-lawsuit-fighting-drug-code-for-marihuana-extracts.jpg\" class=\"authormug\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p class=\"author-desc\">This Colorado native joined The Cannabist in January 2014 as a digital producer, after working behind the scenes for The Denver Post since 1999 in News, Features and Sports as a copy editor and designer. These are fascinating times,&#8230;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- .row --> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Drug Enforcement Administration stands firm on its drug code for \u201cmarihuana extracts\u201d in a brief filed Friday to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and seeks to have a federal lawsuit by the hemp industry dismissed. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6897,233,55,6813,77,6826,5667,9,6833,6855,5019,441,1,3,61,1736],"tags":[6898,2811,2635,6818,2655,6828,5673,6835,6856,5022,3015],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7446"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7446"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7446\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}