DEA to OK more marijuana growers for medical, scientific research

Aug. 26 (UPI) -- The Drug Enforcement Administration on Monday announced plans to approve the registration of more marijuana growers to expand scientific and medical research into the substance.

The DEA is expected to publish a notice in the Federal Register on Tuesday.

The agency said allowing more qualified marijuana growers in the United States will increase the variety of marijuana available for research.

"DEA is making progress in the program to register additional marijuana growers for federally authorized research, and will work with other relevant federal agencies to expedite the necessary next steps," DEA acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon said. "We support additional research into marijuana and its components, and we believe registering more growers will result in researchers having access to a wider variety for study."

Before accepting new applications from prospective growers, the DEA said it plans to propose new regulations to govern marijuana growers for research.

"The new rules will help ensure DEA can evaluate the applications under the applicable legal standard and conform the program to relevant laws," the agency said.

The DEA said the number of registered growers increased by more than 40 percent between January 2017 and January 2019, and the agency has more than doubled the production quota for use in research projects.

In addition to expanding the number of approved growers, the DEA also issued a notice that hemp, hemp plants and cannabidiol at or below 0.3 percent THC are no longer considered controlled substances, in accordance with the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018.