DEA Initiates Controlled Substance Assessment for THCA, THCO, and Novel Hemp-Derived Cannabinoids

The Drug Enforcement Administration formally initiated controlled substance scheduling assessments for five hemp-derived cannabinoids in June 2024, triggering the eight-factor analysis under 21 U.S.C. § 811 that precedes any formal scheduling rulemaking. The cannabinoids under assessment include: THCA (tetrahydrocannabinolic acid), THCO (THC-O acetate), HHCO (hexahydrocannabinol acetate), delta-10 THC, and hexahydrocannabinol (HHC). DEA's action follows receipt of petitions from law enforcement agencies and public health organizations citing increasing consumption of these compounds and documented adverse events in emergency department settings. DEA is also responding to a federal court ruling that vacated the agency's previous informal determination on THCO as outside the Farm Bill hemp definition. The eight-factor analysis considers: actual or relative potential for abuse; scientific evidence of the substance's pharmacological effects; state of current scientific knowledge about the substance; history and current pattern of abuse; scope, duration, and significance of abuse; risk to public health; psychic or physiological dependence liability; and whether the substance is a precursor to other scheduled substances. A formal scheduling determination can result in: no action, placement in Schedule I through V, or a finding that the substance is already scheduled under existing law. DEA has 24 months from formal initiation to complete the assessment absent extraordinary circumstances.