The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) wants to know whether medical marijuana businesses seeking federal protections in line with the Trump administration’s cannabis rescheduling process plan to order cannabis from other states, what types of products they offer and who their suppliers are.
That’s according to a list of 26 questions obtained by Marijuana Moment that agency officials are sending to businesses in Colorado that have filled out a DEA registration form for medical marijuana dispensaries.
Once cannabis operators submit the form, DEA personnel stop by to inspect their facilities and generally have a number of follow-up questions that businesses need to submit answers to.
Cannabis industry sources say the way the agency has been carrying out the inspection process varies between DEA’s regional offices throughout the country, however.
The 26-item questionnaire that Marijuana Moment obtained is being used by DEA’s Rocky Mountain Division, which covers Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming—though the latter state does not have legal medical cannabis.
The questions on the form being sent to Colorado businesses include:
- Will you be ordering marijuana or marijuana products from other states?
- Will you be ordering synthetic cannabinoids?
- Will you be ordering marijuana seeds or plants in order to grow at the dispensary location?
- What are the specific types of products offered (e.g., gummies, extracts, concentrates, tinctures, topical products, oils, flower buds, oil cartridge vapes, dry herb vapes, pre-rolled cannabis cigarettes, etc.)?
- Please identify your medical marijuana supplier(s) to include name(s), address(es), and DEA registration number(s).
- Please provide a copy of any labeling, packaging, and sealing policies (refer to federal guidelines for medical marijuana packaging pursuant to Title 21 CFR § 1301.13(k)(8) which states that the label of all medical marijuana products shall, when dispensed to or for a patient, contain a clear, concise warning that it is a crime to transfer the drug to any person other than the patient).
- How is defective (e.g. mold, rot, bug infestation), expired, or discontinued/deadstock marijuana products disposed of?
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.
The Mississippi businesses said DEA wanted similar questions answered, though there was not complete overlap with the Rocky Mountain list. For example, officials from DEA’s New Orleans division, which covers Mississippi, wanted information about any previous license transfers, state regulatory disciplinary history and security plans.
While those items don’t appear specifically on the form being sent to Colorado businesses, it’s possible that agents are gathering that information in other ways, such as during their in-person visits.
DEA’s press office did not respond to a request for comment from Marijuana Moment about why the agency has not standardized the process of handling medical marijuana business registration under rescheduling from region to region.
The agency launched its initial registration form for dispensaries in April, days after Attorney General 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.
Meanwhile, the agency said it plans to launch new forms for additional types of state-licensed medical marijuana businesses beyond dispensaries, such as manufacturers, distributors and laboratories.
The currently available registration form for state-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries asks for information about their processes for storage, ordering, dispensing, inventory, maintenance of records and other aspects of their businesses.
The application asks about specific details about security measures such as vaults, safes, secure storage rooms, access controls, alarm systems and on-site security personnel.
Applicants can choose whether they are requesting to handle marijuana, marijuana extracts or naturally derived delta-9 THC.
While only medical marijuana is currently being moved to Schedule III, the application also asks potential registrants whether their firms handle or dispense recreational marijuana.
The DEA application also asks businesses to submit information about their state cannabis licenses and to answer questions about criminal and disciplinary histories.
It also asks: “Has anyone who will be involved in the ownership or operation of the firm previously manufactured, distributed, and/or dispensed any controlled substance without a DEA registration authorizing such activity?”
Presumably, every currently operational state-legal cannabis business has key personnel who have done so, since medical marijuana was, until recently, a Schedule I controlled substance that DEA did not broadly authorize manufacturing, distribution and dispensation of.
Applicants must additionally list suppliers from which they intend to procure marijuana, and to disclose whether they anticipate repackaging or relabeling cannabis products.
They also need to provide lists of individuals with the business that are anticipated to have “access to controlled substances,” including their dates of birth, social security numbers, criminal histories related to drugs.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said they plan to issue new tax guidance for the marijuana industry following the rescheduling announcement. Rescheduling will benefit state-licensed marijuana businesses by allowing them to take federal tax deductions they’re currently barred from under an IRS code known as 280E that doesn’t apply to Schedule III substances.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) also recently posted a draft update to gun purchase form to acknowledge the federally legal status of medical marijuana under rescheduling.
The Congressional Research Service published a report on the marijuana rescheduling move’s scope and limitations.
Read the DEA’s list of questions for marijuana businesses below:
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