By Patrick Williams May 14, 2021
Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has appeared in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) “Orange Book” and is in an online version dated May 10. This list of controlled substances lists delta-8 THC as “[another] name” for tetrahydrocannabinols.
Tetrahydrocannabinols are listed in the Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 1308. However, the federal code doesn’t specifically list delta-8 as a scheduled substance, and the law states that “Tetrahydrocannabinols does not include any material, compound, mixture, or preparation that falls within the definition of hemp ….”
Shane Pennington, counsel at Vicente Sederberg, tells Hemp Grower that the inclusion of delta-8 THC in the Orange Book doesn’t make the cannabinoid a Schedule I substance or indicate that the DEA thinks it should be. Nor, if someone went to a court, would it have “the force and effect of law by itself.”
Rather, the DEA is offering “guidance” by including delta-8 in the Orange Book, Pennington says. (The DEA declined comment to Hemp Grower for this article.)
Here’s what that means…