DEA asks judge to toss lawsuit from hemp operators challenging extraction rule

DEA asks judge to toss lawsuit from hemp operators challenging extraction rule

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit from the Hemp Industries Association over an extraction rule that meany fear will wrongly criminalize temporary byproducts of the plant during production.

The DEA says in a filing Tuesday that HIA is challenging “a hypothetical regulation or policy concerning manufacturing byproduct” of hemp, and the case belong in an appeals court, not a U.S. district court. Law 360 first reported the development.

At issue is whether the DEA is simply updating its policies to comply with the 2018 Farm Bill, which removed low-THC cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, or whether the DEA is making an illegal power grab by saying that hemp extracts are Schedule 1 controlled substances during a portion of the extraction process when the plant’s THC levels spike above what’s allowed.

South Carolina CBD maker RE Botanicals is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

Last month, a federal judge ruled against HIA and RE Botanicals on their request to force the DEA to clarify how it intends to enforce its policy over temporary hemp byproducts.

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