More synthetic haze: DEA says THCO is a Schedule I controlled substance

Last August, a lawyer for the hemp industry in North Carolina asked the DEA to clarify the legality of a popular hemp product called THCO.

THCO products can be found on the shelves of smoke shops across the country, including in Texas. Some say it is stronger than regular THC, the main high-inducing compound in cannabis. It can be found in the form of edibles, vapes, and flowers. But the DEA’s recent response to attorney Rod Kite has already caused companies to remove THCO products from their shelves and online stores.

On February 13, the DEA told Knight in a letter that the agency considers THCO a Schedule I controlled substance. It all comes down to what is naturally found in the cannabis plant.

Hemp cultivation was federally legalized by the Farm Act of 2018. It has been legal in Texas since the state passed House Bill 1325 the following year. The laws created a legal distinction between marijuana and cannabis. Cannabis containing more than 0.3% delta-9 THC, the main psychoactive component of the plant, is considered illegal marijuana. If a plant has less than 0.3% delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis, it is considered legal cannabis.

After these bills were passed, businesses began selling products with CBD, a non-psychoactive component of the hemp plant that people say has therapeutic effects. But eventually, products with so-called delta-8 THC began to appear on the market. Delta-8 THC is another compound found in the cannabis plant. It can give you a high and is chemically very similar to the real thing, delta-9 THC (often referred to simply as THC). based on the weight, companies and consumers assumed they were legit.

There have been many legal disputes over the past few years with this interpretation of the law, and bills have been filed to close what some politicians see as legal loopholes that allowed these products to be sold. Some states have banned these products altogether. There are attempts in Texas to do the same, such as Senate Bill 264 by Senator Charles Perry to ban all “synthetically derived [THCs]”.

“I think we can assume that the DEA draws a ‘bright line’ between the compounds that the hemp plant produces and those that it doesn’t,” Rod Kite, Attorney.

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Based on this interpretation of the law, various products have flooded the market. These include products with THCO, delta-10 THC, something called THCP, and a host of others. All of these chemicals found or derived from cannabis are commonly referred to as cannabinoids. However, not all of them can be found naturally in the cannabis plant. This is where the DEA draws a line in the sand, at least for THCO.

The technical term for THCO is THC acetate ester. The federal agency informed Knight that he was aware of two types of THCO: delta-8 THCO and delta-9 THCO. The DEA explained to Knight that THC is considered a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act. The legal definition of THC includes synthetic substances that are chemically similar, such as THCO. “Thus, delta-9-THCO and delta-8-THCO fit the definition [THC]”, the DEA said in a letter.

“Delta-9-THCO and delta-8-THCO do not occur naturally in the cannabis plant and can only be obtained synthetically, and therefore do not fall under the definition of cannabis,” the agency said in a statement.

Kite wrote a response to the DEA letter on his blog titled Kite about cannabis. In a blog post, he said that he has been worried about THCO’s growing popularity for some time. “I have always believed that THCO is a controlled substance under federal law,” Kite wrote on his blog. “While it can be made from cannabinoids from hemp, THCO is not naturally expressed by the hemp plant. This is a lab creation that is not found in nature, at least not from hemp.”

People argued with him about his vision for THCO. That’s because it’s made pretty much the same as the delta-8 found in products all over the country. While cannabinoids such as delta-8 and delta-10 can be found naturally in the cannabis plant, they are generally not enough to get users high. Extracting what little delta-8 can be found in a plant and making products from it is too difficult and expensive for companies to find profitable. So manufacturers take CBD, which is found in abundance in the plant, and convert it into various cannabinoids through a chemical process. Both the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued warnings about the production of these products. Both agencies are concerned about the potential by-products left in these cannabinoids from the manufacturing process.

While talking about THCO, Kite wrote: “People say that [delta-8] is a “derivative” of hemp and is considered legal “hemp” under the Farm Act 2018. Additionally, they state that because THCO is also a hemp derivative, it also fits the definition of hemp.”

He always told the people who were talking about it that they were wrong. “[Delta-8] and THCO differ in a very important way, namely that [delta-8] naturally produced by hemp; THCO – no,” he wrote. From this point of view, and in contrast to [delta-8]THCO is correctly viewed as synthetic THC, not “hemp”.

That’s why he advised his clients not to create or distribute THCO. He also advises his friends to stay away from the substance because a recent study showed that THCO vaping can have serious medical consequences. This study showed that vaping cannabinoid acetates like THCO can create a toxic gas. “Due to my concerns, I have asked the DEA for their opinion on THCO,” Kite wrote on his blog.

“Delta-9-THCO and delta-8-THCO do not occur naturally in the cannabis plant and can only be obtained synthetically and therefore do not fall under the definition of cannabis.” – DEA

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In an email to ObserverKite said the letter should be seen as the DEA’s official position on THCO. “Of course, the court may disagree, but I doubt it will, given that the DEA is the federal agency tasked with determining whether compounds should be listed or not, and if so, which list they are on.” , said Kite. Observer. However, Kite said he was not sure what enforcement on the ground would look like.

“To date, I don’t know if the DEA has taken any enforcement action against THCO,” Kite said. “Given the press her letter regarding THCO has received and the companies taking THCO products off their shelves, she may not feel it necessary to take further action.”

He added: “At the local level, things can be different. I expect that we will see some strengthening of the position of the Drug Enforcement Administration at the local level.

While the DEA letter only concerns THCO, a similar argument could be made against other cannabinoids on the market that cannot be found naturally in the cannabis plant. “I think we can assume that the DEA is drawing a ‘bright line’ between the compounds that the hemp plant produces and those that it doesn’t,” Kite said.

There is conflicting information on these issues from various sources on the Internet, and industry developments can change the legal landscape quite quickly. For example, Kite said that the DEA’s argument doesn’t really apply to another popular psychoactive cannabinoid called HHC because it occurs naturally in the plant. Many sources say that HHC occurs naturally, but since Cannabis Business Times reported in February 2022, this has not been shown in peer-reviewed studies. Kite also says that HHC occurs naturally in cannabis. But anyway, he thinks HHC is pure because it’s not technically a form of THC. “So [it] unlikely to be listed under the controlled substances law for THC,” Kite said.

While some businesses have taken THCO off the shelves and online, a major player in the hemp-derived THC market called 3Chi is still selling the material. The description of THCO’s products is in blatant contradiction to a recent letter from the DEA. The site states that THCO is “probably in the factory, although there are no reference standards for testing Delta-8 THCO Acetate that could verify this.”

However, the company states that two publications have shown the presence of delta-9 THCO in the cannabis plant. The description by THCO should include references to these two publications. The only one that works refers the reader to a 1978 article that allegedly shows that delta-9 THCO was successfully extracted from the cannabis plant. If this happened, then apparently the DEA does not know about it.

It’s not entirely clear how things will shake up in Texas as a result of the DEA’s announcement. Even before the DEA letter, Zachary Maxwell, president of the Texas Hemp Growers Association, said Observer he advised association members to stay away from THCO.

“Some stores have had to recalibrate their inventory since the DEA announcement, but the overall effect appears to be minimal,” Maxwell said. “Few of our own members expressed concern, as most of them were already aware of THCO’s dubious legal status. I think more devastation for the Texas hemp industry will occur if and when the state legislature passes a ban on delta-8 THC.”

Asked if everything, both natural and synthetic, could ever be on the market, Maxwell isn’t sure what place synthetics might take in the future. “There are questions in our industry right now about whether we want to be associated with synthetic THC like THCO and HHC at all in the future,” Maxwell said. “Most people would agree that the use of these synthetic THCs is actually a symptom of a wider problem: Texans want cannabis legalization without overburdened state monopolies driving up the cost to unaffordable levels.

“If and when the Texas cannabis ban lifts, I think most consumers won’t care about these new THCs and coexistence will be moot.”