Congress Members Rush To CBD Oil Defense

Twenty-eight members of Congress want a federal appeals court to reverse a Drug Enforcement Agency determination that CBD Oil is a Schedule 1 drug.

The Hemp Industries Association and hemp businesses’ petition to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that argues the DEA overstepped its authority with new rules regarding extracts such as CBD Oil. Among the 22 Democrats and six Republicans signing off on the brief were Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo.

According to Marijuana Business Daily:

The members conclude that the federal agency’s rule about CBD was an “abuse of DEA’s administrative procedure and rulemaking authority.”

The lawyer who wrote the brief for the Congress members, Steven Cash, told Marijuana Business Dailythat Congress members took the extraordinary step of weighing in on the lawsuit in hopes of seeing the courts resolve the conflict between the Farm Bill and the DEA’s interpretation on the Controlled Substances Act.

“Apart from arguing about the relative benefits, flaws and dangers of medical marijuana and hemp, it appears we’re going to solve this (conflict) through traditional avenues, the courts,” Cash said.

Congress authorized hemp production in the 2014 Farm Bill. But the DEA decided that since it was difficult to extract CBD Oil from non-flower parts of the plant, it should be considered a controlled substance.

Bob Hoban, a lawyer for the hemp companies petitioning to overturn the DEA’s finding, said the brief from legislators shows Congress knew what it was doing when it authorized Hemp production.

The legislators in their brief argue that the DEA’s position contradicts the intent of the law and tramples on states’ rights.

“Congress has spoken, yet again,” Hoban said. “The industrial hemp industry has seen exponential growth … and this case represents the most significant challenge the U.S. hemp industry has seen to date.”