DEA Raises THC, Psilocybin And DMT Production Quotas For Scientific Research Purposes

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is proposing the production of higher amounts of THC, psilocybin and DMR for research in 2024. In a notice scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, the agency said it is raising the proposed amounts as a response to a request from registered producers, writes Marijuana Moment.

This shows a continuous trend, as the DEA previously increased the manufacturing quotas for these substances in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Per the document, signed on Dec, 28. by administrator Anne Milgram, the DEA is now proposing the production of 1.52 million grams of delta-9 THC, as well as 1.17 million grams of all other tetrahydrocannabinol for research purposes. This compares to the proposed quotas from November of 900,610 grams of delta-9 THC and 790,010 grams of all other tetrahydrocannabinol.

The agency is suggesting the manufacturing of 20,000 grams of psilocybin and 11,000 grams of DMT, up from 15,000 grams and 3,000 grams, respectively.

Manufacturing quotas for cannabis and other psychedelic compounds remained the same as proposed in November.

The changes come some six months after Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra confirmed his agency responded to President Biden's directive to provide scheduling recommendations for cannabis to the DEA. Cannabis is categorized by the DEA as a Schedule 1 substance along with heroin, LSD, ecstasy, etc. HHS recommended that marijuana be placed in the same category as ketamine, anabolic steroids, and testosterone, acknowledging that it indeed has medical value.

Meanwhile, several weeks ago the first New Drug Application (NDA) to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for MDMA paired with psychological intervention for the potential treatment of PTSD was submitted. If approved, it would become the first federally legal psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Photo: Benzinga edit with images by US Government, U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency via Wikimedia Commons and Cambridge Jenkins IV on Unsplash