DEA Wants To Boost Production Of Cannabis & Psychedelics For Research In 2023 – Benzinga

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is proposing a significantincrease in the amount of researchcannabis allowed to becultivatedin 2023. According to anoticescheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, the agency is also looking to boost the aggregate production quota of certain psychedelics likeLSD, psilocin, and mescaline,firstreportedMarijuana Moment.

For 2023,the DEA is proposingthat 6.7 million grams (14,770 pounds) of marijuana be grown for research, more than double the amount suggested for 2022 (3.2 million grams). In January this year, the DEAended a 5-decade federal monopolyon research cannabis production byapproving two companies, Groff North America Hemplex and Biopharmaceutical Research Company (BRC), to cultivate marijuana for research purposes.

This was a major milestone in the cannabis research sphere in that afarm functioning as part of theUniversity of Mississippiwasthe only legal source of federal research cannabissince 1968, despitelawsuitsand years of complaints that Ole Miss's product was not high enough quality to suffice for important research.

With more cultivators gaining DEAauthorization for cultivation, increasing the amount needed for research is achievable.

Whats more, the DEA also raised the quota for all other THC to 15,000 grams from previously 2,000 grams, indicating the popularity and therefore the need for research into cannabinoids likedelta-8 THC, and delta-10.

The agency has been raising production quotas for psychedelics over the last couple of years. For example, last December itincreased its quotafor psilocybin (also known as magic mushrooms), MDMAand DMT for 2022. This move came amid an increase in demand and interest within the scientific community to research the effectiveness of these psychedelic drugs in treatments for mental health disorders.

This time, the DEA proposed to keep the same quote for psilocybin as in 2022,8,000 grams, but it is suggesting to double the production of other important components of magic mushrooms, such aspsilocin from 4,000 to 8,000 grams. As forLSD,the proposed quota for 2023 is 1,200 grams, compared to 500 grams in 2022. The agency also suggested the production of 6,000 grams of5-MeO-DMT,compared to 2,550 grams this year.

Mescalinemanufacturing should go up notablyfrom 100 to 1,200 grams.

There has been a significant increase in the use of schedule I hallucinogenic controlled substances for research and clinical trial purposes.DEA has received and subsequently approved new registration applications for schedule I researchers and new applications for registration from manufacturers to grow, synthesize, extract, and prepare dosage forms containing specific schedule I hallucinogenic substances for clinical trial purposes,the agency stated.

These proposed 2023 quotas reflect the quantities that DEA believes are necessary to meet the estimated medical, scientific, research, and industrial needs of the United States, including any increase in demand for certain controlled substances used to treat patients with COVID-19; lawful export requirements; and the establishment and maintenance of reserve stocks.

At the same time, the DEA proposed keeping the same quotas as this year for psilocybin, MDMA, DMT, MDAand cannabis extract.

Photo: Rob Warner on Unsplash and Mathew Schwartz on Unsplash

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DEA Wants To Boost Production Of Cannabis & Psychedelics For Research In 2023 - Benzinga