NORML Says DEA’s Newly Proposed Bulk Cultivation Rules Are “Unduly Onerous, Expensive, and Impractical”

For the second time in four years, the US Drug Enforcement Administration is proposing regulatory changes to procedures governing the federally licensed manufacture of cannabis for clinical research purposes. In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, published this week in the Federal Register, the agency acknowledges its longstanding failure to act upon the 35 bulk cultivation applications before it. The DEA now estimates that, under the new rules, it may approve between three and 15 total applicants. Almost all of the applicants have been awaiting a response for two or three years. Commenting on the proposed regulatory changes, NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said: “These new rules are unduly onerous, expensive, and impractical. Even if they are ultimately implemented, it is unlikely that they would greatly facilitate clinical cannabis research in the United States.” He added, “Further, the DEA has an incredibly poor track record in this arena – having for years now promised to expedite and streamline this process, but failing to deliver. As the saying goes, ‘Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.’” Under the proposed changes, the agency would purchase and warehouse all of the cannabis produced by federally licensed manufacturers. That is a change from the existing rules, which currently allow for only a single licensed manufacturer – the University of Mississippi – which maintains harvested cannabis on their premises. The DEA states that, going forward, they will need to take possession of any marijuana grown by a federally licensed entity, including…

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Source : norml
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