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DEA Defends Stance That Synthetic Cannabis Compound HHC Is Federally Banned In Response To Industry Lawsuits

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The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is resisting efforts by two hemp companies to resist the determination that it is a cannabinoid It is illegal synthetically produced from components of the cannabis plant.

The DEA issued a rule last month saying that was already the case made hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) an illegal substance Under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the agency will now assign the compound its own unique drug code for classification.

That move is being challenged in a series of lawsuits by hemp businesses that say the agency’s decision is “unlawful.”

In addition to filing petitions for review, the companies are also petitioning federal courts to block the agency’s action while the lawsuits proceed.

The DEA, in briefs filed in the cases this week, argued that each applicant “does not meet any of the factors necessary to demonstrate that it should await review.”

“The rule does not affect HHC’s previous status as a Schedule I substance; all it does is list HHC separately and assign it a separate drug code,” the agency’s brief said.

“With or without the final rule, HHC is a controlled substance. Thus, even if this Court stayed the final rule pending review, (companies) would continue to be subject to existing legal and commercial risks for HHC-related actions,” they say, “Contrary, the suspension would undermine the government’s efforts to improve the regulation of HHC, including the permitted amount or approval process for public permits for HHC. Interests also favor a stay, which would create confusion about HHC’s status as a controlled substance.”

HHC can be found in trace amounts in cannabis plants, but it is also synthesized from hydrogenated cannabidiol (CBD). Delta-9 is sometimes sprayed on cannabis flowers that are low in THC, the most well-known psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, and its psychoactive effects are said to be similar.

While the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp and its derivatives with less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC, the DEA says that only applies to naturally occurring cannabinoids, not synthetic ones. Accordingly, the agency’s position is that HHC does not fall within the definition of legal hemp.

One of the pending cases, filed by Bluestar Operations, LLC before the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, refers to a prior ruling in that jurisdiction. the hemp-derived cannabinoid THC-O-acetate is federally legal Despite the DEA’s claims to the contrary.

“Congress deliberately used broad statutory language and did not prohibit cannabinoids that are subject to common extraction, refining, conversion, hydrogenation, distillation, or similar manufacturing processes commonly used in the hemp industry,” the complaint states.

The DEA’s move “conflicts with the plain text, structure, and intent of the 2018 Farm Bill and inserts unlawful limitations that Congress neither intended nor enacted,” it says. The agency’s action “has already caused specific and immediate harm to the petitioner, including substantial compliance costs, business uncertainty, reputational damage, disruption of business relationships, and interference with ongoing operations.”

“Congress, not executive agencies such as the DEA, defines the scope of federal criminal liability. The DEA has no authority to curtail Congress’s legalization of hemp-cannabinoids through an interpretive construction that the statutory text does not support.”

Bluestar said in its new response to the DEA’s initial response brief that the agency “cannot defend the merits of treating hemp-derived HHC as a Schedule I controlled substance, which this Court rejected against binding Circuit precedent” in the previous ThC-O-acetate case.

“The respondents have recast the impugned DEA rule as a weightless ‘technical correction’ that harms no one and decides nothing,” he said. “They have then flipped the script by arguing that Bluestar lacks standing to challenge. Respondents can’t have it both ways.”

The other new lawsuit was filed by IHC Investments, Inc. in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which previously ruled on the federal legalization of hemp through the 2018 Farm Bill. removed the limits on the wide range of molecules produced by the cannabis plant-delta-8 including the psychoactive cannabinoid THC.

The petition states that “the DEA effectively, and therefore unlawfully, attempts to expand federal criminal liability through administrative interpretation that is not supported by the plain statutory text of the enabling legislation.”

“Congress did not prohibit converted cannabinoids, hydrogenated cannabinoids, or cannabinoids subject to common processing techniques,” the complaint states. “Congress did not expressly authorize the DEA to criminalize broad categories of hemp-derived cannabinoids through administrative interpretation.”

Both petitions argue that the DEA’s move last month violates the central question doctrine, which holds that if an agency wants to decide a matter of national importance, that action must be protected by clear authorization from Congress.

The agency’s HHC ban “has enormous economic and political significance affecting the multibillion-dollar nationwide hemp industry,” says the lawsuit brought by Bluestar.

David Sergi, the attorney leading the new Ninth Circuit case for IHC Investments, said in a press release Thursday that the DEA’s action “directly conflicts” with the 2018 federal Farm Bill legalizing hemp and its derivatives.

“The DEA’s ruling has caused immediate and specific harm to hemp businesses across the nation,” he said. “That reclassification has led to immediate cancellation of contracts, loss of banking relationships and potential destruction of important inventory.”

The DEA, for its part, said in a rule it filed last month that “only tetrahydrocannabinols in or derived from the cannabis plant — not synthetic tetrahydrocannabinols — are exempt from regulation as ‘hemp tetrahydrocannabinol.’

“For further clarification, tetrahydrocannabinols produced through chemical conversion, even when considered synthetically produced when derived from hemp for purposes of the CSA, are not classified as ‘tetrahydrocannabinol in hemp'” under the 2018 Farm Bill, the agency said.

The Federal Register notice was not the first time the DEA addressed HHC’s legal status.

In a 2023 letter, Terrance Boos, chief of the DEA’s Drug and Chemical Evaluation Section, wrote: HHC “does not occur naturally in the cannabis plant and can only be obtained syntheticallyand therefore it is not within the definition of hemp”.

The new filing, signed by DEA Administrator Terrance Cole, said, “this rule does not in any way affect the continued status of hexahydrocannabinol as a controlled substance.”

“This action, as an administrative matter, establishes a separate and specific listing of hexahydrocannabinol in Schedule I of the CSA and assigns a DEA drug code to that substance,” he said. “This action will allow the DEA to establish an aggregate production quota and issue individual manufacturing and purchase quotas to DEA-registered manufacturers of hexahydrocannabinol, which were previously issued individual quotas for these purposes under the tetrahydrocannabinol drug code.”

The DEA’s release cited a move it made last year International drug control organizations to add HHC II of the 1971 United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances—but the document fails to note that when the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) took the measure, the US was the only country to abstain from voting.

The DEA said the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) “conforms to the direct listing and drug code assignment of hexahydrocannabinol in the CSA.”

Meanwhile, under provisions of a large-scale spending bill signed by President Donald Trump late last year, the federal definition of legal cannabis will change in November. If that language does not change or its the effective date has been postponed, as requested by some members of parliamentonly hemp products with a total of 0.4 milligrams of THC per container will remain legal after November 12th.

At the same time, however, the Trump administration is going wider reschedule marijuana under federal lawwith a A DEA hearing on the matter will begin next week.

Read the last one signings in the following cases:

Photo by Mike Latimer.

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New access solution for cannabis facilities designed to address limitations of traditional gates

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June 26, 2026

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SpaceGuard Products, a North American manufacturer of wire mesh security solutions and security protection systems, has released the BeastWire® Tunnel Door. This access solution is designed to overcome the limitations of traditional balanced doors and is aimed at cannabis cultivation, processing, packaging and distribution environments. The BeastWire Tunnel Door is designed for installations that require vertical clearance, reliable movement and floor space efficiency.

The BeastWire Tunnel Door provides top clearance with no tracks in the operating path of the door. It is suitable for spaces where overhead paths are not feasible, such as facilities that use high-mast forklifts, oversized pallet loads or specialized material handling equipment. Tall equipment can pass through the opening unhindered, allowing for continuous workflow and flexibility in equipment movement.

© SpaceGuard Products

The door uses a track system designed to create consistent movement. This addresses issues such as stuttering, binding, and misalignment that can occur with conventional sliding or counterbalanced designs. The track controls the path of the door so that the locking mechanism aligns with each cycle, allowing operators to close the door with relatively low force.

Unlike lower track systems that require a soil trench, the BeastWire Tunnel Door mounts above ground. This avoids cutting the installation slab, simplifies installation and reduces maintenance requirements. The system can be installed as a retrofit or in new construction, without changing the floor.

© SpaceGuard Products

The door frame and retractable design reduces the need for side supports and additional space on the side of the door. This results in a smaller footprint and more usable surface area. The gate has the same construction approach as other BeastWire systems.

The BeastWire Tunnel Door is a high-access door designed for strength and ease of use in cannabis industry facilities.

For more information:
SpaceGuard products
Email: (email protected)
spaceguardproducts.com/










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Good Behavior dispensary applies to open in Yorkville

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1 day ago

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June 25, 2026

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A cannabis company called Good Behavior is seeking approval from the city of Yorkville, Illinois, to open a dispensary on a 0.93-acre plot along Saravanos Drive, west of South Bridge Street and south of Stagecoach Trail, becoming the latest entrant in a string of cannabis proposals the city has previously rejected. The company has filed a special-use application with the city and is staking its case on the tax revenue a dispensary would generate for Yorkville.

Full details of the application, including projected tax figures, the company’s ownership structure and details of any board discussions, are available to Shaw Local News Network subscribers. The article, reported by Shaw Local News Network’s Joey Weslo and published on June 23, 2026, notes that cannabis companies had previously failed to get city approval before Good Behavior presented its proposal.

The proposed site places the dispensary in a commercial corridor to the south of the city. Good Behavior’s application requires a special use permit from Yorkville before the project can proceed.

Source: local Shaw










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White House Pushes Congress To Ensure ‘Fair Treatment Of Hemp Products’ By Calling Off Broad Recriminalization Law Set For November

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June 25, 2026

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The White House is pressing Congress to take action to prevent the sweeping federal recriminalization of hemp products that will take effect later this year.

The push comes as part of a request to lawmakers for additional funding to help the administration cover costs related to attacks on Iran and “other critical needs,” such as responding to an Ebola outbreak in Africa.

“Furthermore, the Administration is seeking additional authorities that it strongly supports,” White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought wrote to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Wednesday.

“These authorities include a review of federal hemp regulations to ensure fair treatment of hemp products consistent with Amendment 54 offered to HR 8646 in the House Rules Committee, or at least an extension of the implementation of the regulatory framework established by Section 781 of Public Law 119-37,” he said.

The amendment Vought was referring to was introduced by Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY). It has kept many hemp products legal that will be re-criminalized this yearadded labeling requirements and implemented new sales taxes, among other regulatory reforms. However, the Rules Committee prevented it from receiving a House vote.

Barr is also preparing to introduce stand-alone legislation on the issue and has said she opposes a coalition of strange bedfellows. the alcohol industry, marijuana businesses and opponents of cannabis legalization.

An appendix to the White House’s letter to Congress this week notes that the hemp-related request would “update the statutory definition of hemp-derived cannabinoid end products to ensure Americans have access to appropriate full-spectrum CBD products while maintaining Congress’ intent to limit the sale of products that pose serious health risks.”

The the administration used hemp-like language Earlier this month, they blocked retention of Barr’s previous amendment to the administration’s policy statement on the farm funding bill.

Jonathan Miller, general counsel of the US Hemp Desk, told Marijuana Moment that the group is “pleased to see the president take a public stance in favor of replacing the hemp ban with a strong regulatory framework, or at least securing an extension of the hemp ban moratorium to give Congress more time to develop regulations.”

“This is an important step in fulfilling Congress’ commitment to help farmers and consumers,” he said.

Hemp derivatives with less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC by dry weight were made federally legal under the 2018 Farm Bill signed by Trump during his first term. But late last year, he signed new legislation with provisions that will redefine hemp, so that only products with a total of 0.4 milligrams of THC per container will remain legal starting November 12.

in April, the president himself has asked members of Congress to redefine hemp to prevent the recriminalization of full-spectrum CBD products.

“I call on Congress to update the Act so that Americans can continue to have access to the full-spectrum CBD products they trust and support, while upholding Congress’ intent to limit the sale of products that pose health risks,” Trump said in a Truth Social post the same day his administration announced it was moving forward with marijuana reregulation.

“We need to do this RIGHT and FAST, especially for those who have found CBD to help them,” he said. “Also, I’m told it will help our BIG FARMERS that we love and will always be around.”

Industry advocates say the law passed last year not only threatens to ban intoxicating and synthetic cannabinoids, but also take popular full-spectrum CBD products used therapeutically by many Americans off the market.

“ONE IN FIVE adults used it in the past year, and many say it dramatically improved their chronic pain,” the president said in the social media post, adding that hemp-derived CBD “has made a HUGE difference for so many people.”

The administration also referred to a new initiative launched in April Cover up to $500 of hemp-derived products annually for eligible Medicare patients. The program being implemented by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) focuses largely on CBD, but allows products to contain a total of 3 milligrams of THC per serving.

“In December, I signed a very important Executive Order calling for Research and Innovation into Hemp-derived CBD,” Trump said. “Our wonderful Dr. Mehmet Oz moved quickly to follow the Executive Order directive, and set a model in motion for some Seniors this month. But more needs to be done!”

“Please do it, and SOON,” the president said, referring to the sweeping recriminalization congressional fix that will take effect in November. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

It’s unclear how far Trump wants to reduce the scope of planned federal restrictions on hemp products and what kinds of revised THC rules and limits he’d prefer to sign into law.

Separately, White House officials recently briefed a congressional office on hemp regulation.

In April, Vince Haley, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, and James Braid, assistant to the president for legislative affairs, sent Barr hemp policy suggestions.

“We appreciate your work to advance policy,” the executive order Trump signed in December, which included provisions to protect Americans’ access to CBD products, the staff wrote in a letter to Congress.

“We are submitting draft legislation and comments to your account to address the final statutory definition of hemp-derived cannabinoid products to ensure that Americans have access to adequate full-spectrum CBD products while maintaining Congress’ intent to limit the sale of products that pose serious health risks,” White House officials said, according to a social media screencast. “We are open to discussion and further technical assistance.”

Separately, Anti-marijuana organizations filed a lawsuit against the Medicare hemp CBD coverage policy– but adjudge dismissed the suit last month, ruling they lack standing. Health and Human Services lawyers section. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS director Mehmet Oz He filed a letter requesting that the case be dismissed.

The White House Management and Budget Office has also held a series of meetings a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) CBD product enforcement policy.

The FDA issued the guidance making it clear that it does not intend to interfere Establish a Medicare coverage plan for hemp-derived products.

CMS finalized a rule that will be adopted separately Coverage of certain hemp products, primarily as specialized health-related benefits, through Medicare Advantage the plans

As hemp products become more popular among consumers, some big brands are trying to get in on the action.

The main retailer Target, for example, is expanding its market share of hemp-derived THC beverages. Last year, the company began a pilot program selling cannabis beverages at 10 stores in Minnesota. That apparently went well, and now the company has secured licenses from Minnesota regulators to sell lower-potency edible hemp products — including THC drinks — in 72 stores in the state.

The National Restaurant Association, which represents the industry, just sent a letter to congressional leaders asking for it delaying the federal recriminalization of hemp THC beverages It will come into effect at the end of the year and will be replaced by a regulatory framework that “meets growing market demand while ensuring consumer safety” as an alternative to alcohol in products.

A report from the US Department of Agriculture published in April shows this US farmers grow $3 billion in hemp crops by 2025— 64% increase compared to the previous year.

Read the White House the letter To the conference below:

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