Politics
DEA Launches New Registration Forms For Medical Marijuana Manufacturers, Distributors And Testing Labs
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has launched new specialized registration forms for additional types of state-licensed medical marijuana businesses beyond dispensaries that want to take advantage of federal protections in line with the Trump administration’s cannabis rescheduling process.
The agency began accepting registrations from medical cannabis dispensaries with a new form in April, and other types of businesses in the state-legal medical marijuana supply chain have been able to apply using a standardized federal form for months. But now, DEA now has specific registration links for medical marijuana manufacturers, distributors and analytical labs—a change it first previewed was coming in May.
Businesses that fill out the new version of DEA Form 225 must answer whether they will be handling medical and/or recreational marijuana, and provide their state licensing information.
They also need to specify if they will be working with marijuana, marijuana extract and/or naturally derived delta-9 THC in a cannabis product subject to a state medical license or a Food and Drug Administration-approved product.
They must also answer questions about the criminal and disciplinary history of the business and key personnel.
The nonrefundable application fee is $3,699 for medical marijuana manufacturers, $1,850 for distributors and $296 for testing labs, Cannabis Business Times, which previously noted the new forms, reported.
Previously, dispensaries could fill out a specialized form during a 60-day window for expedited consideration. Dispensaries that still want to register can now use the standard DEA Form 224 to do so.
The launch of the new forms comes as DEA personnel are conducting inspections of medical marijuana dispensaries that previously applied for registration.
One such business owner told Marijuana Moment recently that she plans to fight a decision by DEA that she says could force her to fire two good employees if she wants to register for protections under rescheduling.
Nicole Huff, CEO of the Wildflower Medical Dispensary in Aberdeen, shared with Marijuana Moment correspondence that a DEA official sent about the two workers in question, who have past felony convictions. As a result of those criminal records, the business must either fire the employees, withdraw its application for federal protections, seek a waiver while becoming ineligible for expedited processing or go before an agency judge.
Huff told Marijuana Moment that she will take the issue before a DEA judge.
Industry sources say the way the agency has been carrying out inspections varies between DEA’s regional offices throughout the country.
In June, Mississippi medical cannabis businesses spoke to Marijuana Moment about being visited by DEA officials, who told them they were among the first in the country to be seen for inspection under the registration process.
In August, Marijuana Moment obtained a list of 26 questions that DEA officials are sending to medical cannabis businesses in Colorado as part of the consideration of their applications for registration. Those questions differ in many cases from ones being asked of Mississippi operators.
The agency launched its initial registration form for dispensaries in April, days after Attorney General Todd Blanche issued an order immediately moving marijuana products regulated by a state medical cannabis license from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to Schedule III, along with marijuana products that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
A DEA hearing that recently concluded testimony is considering broader marijuana rescheduling.
Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.
