What Is THCA, And Why Doesn’t DEA Consider It Legal Hemp?
The US Drug Enforcement Agency has sent a letter to explain why THCA doesn’t meet the definition of legal hemp.
The letter is a response sent on May 13 from the DEA’s Chief Drug & Chemical Evaluation Section, Diversion Control Division, Terrence Boos, to Shane Pennington, cannabis lawyer and partner at law firm Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP, who requested the control status of tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) with a letter dated April 25.
The legal status of THCA under the CSA has been debated, as its federal compliance depends on several factors and the interpretation of the rules.
Unlike delta-9 THC, or simply THC, the main compound of cannabis with intoxicating effects, THCA, another compound of the same plant, hasn’t psychoactive properties when found in raw cannabis.
However, when THCA is heated through a process known as decarboxylation, it transforms into THC, which has intoxicating effects. This conversion can also happen when cannabis ages, as decarboxylation occurs at lower temperatures over a longer period, while higher temperatures speed up the process.
In fact, THCA’s chemical structure includes an acid group that is removed during its conversion into THC. Decarboxylation activates THC’s psychoactive properties, which affect our brain through receptors in the endocannabinoid system.
When not heated, studies have found that THCA possesses anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, anticonvulsant, and anti-seizure properties.
Given its chemical nature and the transformation it undergoes, THCA’s legality is a subject of debate that impacts legislation.
The content of the DEA letter, first reported by Marijuana Moment, says that the CSA classifies tetrahydrocannabinols, including THCA, as controlled substances in Schedule I. However, it also excludes ‘hemp’ from the definition of adult-use cannabis and the classification of tetrahydrocannabinols in Schedule I as long as the plant contains no more than 0.3% THC. Therefore, naturally occurring tetrahydrocannabinols extracted from hemp are not controlled under the CSA.
However, in the letter, Boos explains that Congress has directed that as THCA undergoes a decarboxylation process, converting this compound into the intoxicating THC, the THC level must account for any THCA in a substance to enforce the hemp definition.
As a result, because THCA transforms into THC, it falls under the category of THC in terms of regulation rather than being considered legal hemp and is, therefore, illegal at the federal level.
“Accordingly, cannabis-derived THCA does not meet the definition of hemp under the CSA because upon conversion for identification purposes as required by Congress, it is equivalent to delta-9-THC,” the letter reads.
The letter comes in a sensitive moment for cannabis legislation as both adult-use cannabis and hemp industries are witnessing big changes.
The House Committee on Agriculture has recently passed an amendment proposing the prohibition of intoxicating hemp-derived and synthesized cannabinoid products. Therefore, THCA would be included in this category. This amendment, incorporated into the 2024 Farm Bill draft, is contested by opponents who argue that it poses a threat to the entire supply chain.
On the adult-use cannabis front, instead, the DEA is progressing with the review of cannabis under the CSA’s legal framework, with the aim to reclassify the substance from Schedule I to Schedule III of the CSA in order to relax adult-use cannabis regulations at the federal level.
