Although the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) did issue a “new code” for cannabis extracts earlier this week, the media blew this news out of proportion by suggesting that Uncle Sam had essentially renewed the War on Weed by making cannabidiol or CBD a Schedule I drug.
However, the CBD compound, as well as any other part of the cannabis plant, is and always has been classified Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act.
Panic Will Get Us Nowhere
The latest action by the DEA, which was published on Wednesday in the Federal Register under the title “Establishment of a New Drug Code for Marihuana Extract,” has created a veritable shitstorm within the world of marijuana news coverage over the course of the past 24 hours, with several reports coming down from popular sites like the Huffington Post and the International Business Times claiming the federal drug agency has now made it illegal for seizure patients to enjoy the benefits of CBD medicine.
Yet the demonizing spine behind the coverage of this event managed to hoodwink the masses, causing an uprising on the social media over the newfound illegality of this non-intoxicating component of the cannabis plant. But it seems some journalists and readers alike failed to take into consideration one of the most important aspects of the DEA’s latest stance. It hasn’t changed.
“Extracts of marihuana will continue to be treated as Schedule I controlled substances,” the last line in the entry reads.
Since marijuana is listed a Schedule I dangerous drug under the Controlled Substances Act, anything derived from the cannabis plant (yes, even CBD) is considered Schedule I. As a matter of fact, the DEA even has two separate codes for the cannabis plant’s primary compounds – THC and CBD – which puts them individually in the ranking of a Schedule I drug.
Nothing Has Changed
Basically, the latest entry in the Federal Register is meant to serve as a clarification on the DEA’s position within the realm of cannabis extracts, but it does nothing to change the guts of the law with respect to the CBD compound – it’s still illegal the same as it always has been.
Fortunately, the overzealous reports on this subject from the Huffington Post appears to have been shut down, but misconstrued news of this magnitude has a way of coursing through the veins of the world wide web at the rate of a highly contagious virus that will almost ensure we are still hearing about how the “DEA just made CBD illegal” for at least another year.
