<!-- mobian-agent-page publisher="time" canonical="https://time.com/4603780/marijuana-extract-dea/" -->

---
description: A new rule from the DEA classifies marijuana extract as a Schedule I drug separate from marijuana—ensuring the substance is illegal
title: The DEA Just Issued a New Rule on Marijuana Extract. Here’s What It Means
image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0eca9e22550c1e38/6988b3218e0601094d4689b3/cannabis-oil-extract-dea.jpeg?branch=production&amp;width=3840&amp;quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;crop=16:9
---

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0eca9e22550c1e38/6988b3218e0601094d4689b3/cannabis-oil-extract-dea.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9)

* [U.S.](/section/us/)  
## U.S.  

Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/)  
Close
* [Drugs](/tag/drugs/)  
## Drugs  

Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/)  
Close

# The DEA Just Issued a New Rule on Marijuana Extract. Here’s What It Means

<!-- video src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Q4DwAbfF.m3u8" -->
## Video: Marijuana, Gun, and Paycheck Initiatives Won on Election Day

[Watch (HLS stream): Marijuana, Gun, and Paycheck Initiatives Won on Election Day](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Q4DwAbfF.m3u8) (1:13)

![Marijuana, Gun, and Paycheck Initiatives Won on Election Day](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Q4DwAbfF/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2016-11-09. While America did choose their next President Tuesday, far more than a commander in chief was decided upon at polling stations across the country._


![Justin Worland](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce43820e61634237/698a0e76457a527422d63fe7/TIME-JustinWorland.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1:1)

by 

[Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)


![Justin Worland](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce43820e61634237/698a0e76457a527422d63fe7/TIME-JustinWorland.jpg?branch=production&width=96&quality=75&auto=webp)

## Justin Worland


Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/)

Close

Senior Correspondent

Dec 15, 2016 7:23 PM CUT

![cannabis oil extract dea](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0eca9e22550c1e38/6988b3218e0601094d4689b3/cannabis-oil-extract-dea.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

An Israeli employee carries a bottle of medical cannabis oil being sold for prescription-carrying patients at a dispensary by Israeli medical cannabis company Tikun Olam in the coastal Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Mar. 2, 2016.

An Israeli employee carries a bottle of medical cannabis oil being sold for prescription-carrying patients at a dispensary by Israeli medical cannabis company Tikun Olam in the coastal Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Mar. 2, 2016.Jack Guez—AFP/Getty Images

![Justin Worland](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce43820e61634237/698a0e76457a527422d63fe7/TIME-JustinWorland.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1:1)

by 

[Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)


![Justin Worland](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce43820e61634237/698a0e76457a527422d63fe7/TIME-JustinWorland.jpg?branch=production&width=96&quality=75&auto=webp)

## Justin Worland


Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/)

Close

Senior Correspondent

Dec 15, 2016 7:23 PM CUT

A newly finalized [rule](https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-12-14/pdf/2016-29941.pdf?utm%5Fcampaign=subscription%20mailing%20list&utm%5Fsource=federalregister.gov&utm%5Fmedium=email "undefined") from the [Drug Enforcement Administration](https://www.dea.gov/index.shtml "undefined") (DEA) classifies marijuana extract as a Schedule I drug separate from [marijuana](http://time.com/4594445/legal-marijuana-trump-sessions-policy/ "undefined")—a decision that removes any question that substance is illegal at the federal level.

The regulation creates a new identification number for marijuana extract to allow the DEA and other agencies to track shipment of the product separately from marijuana. It also clarifies any confusion about whether dealers of the extract would face the same consequences as dealers of the drug itself.

“For practical purposes, all extracts that contain CBD will also contain at least small amounts of other cannabinoids,” the DEA said in its rule, using an acronym for the extract cannabidiol. “However, if it were possible to produce from the cannabis plant an extract that contained only CBD and no other cannabinoids, such an extract would fall within the new drug code.”

The new regulation is the result of a rule-making process that incorporated a variety of viewpoints, the DEA said. The goal was to make the U.S. approach to marijuana extract consistent with international standards.

Marijuana extract is a wax-like substance with concentrated THC and CBD—the primary constituents of marijuana.

```json
[{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4603780/marijuana-extract-dea/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4603780/marijuana-extract-dea/"},"headline":"The DEA Just Issued a New Rule on Marijuana Extract. Here’s What It Means","datePublished":"2016-12-15T19:23:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:19:45.468Z","description":"The DEA finalized a new rule on marijuana extract this week","url":"https://time.com/4603780/marijuana-extract-dea/","keywords":["Drugs","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0eca9e22550c1e38/6988b3218e0601094d4689b3/cannabis-oil-extract-dea.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0eca9e22550c1e38/6988b3218e0601094d4689b3/cannabis-oil-extract-dea.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"cannabis oil extract dea","caption":"cannabis oil extract dea","creditText":"Jack Guez—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/drugs/","name":"Drugs"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4603780/marijuana-extract-dea/","name":"The DEA Just Issued a New Rule on Marijuana Extract. Here’s What It Means"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Marijuana, Gun, and Paycheck Initiatives Won on Election Day","description":"While America did choose their next President Tuesday, far more than a commander in chief was decided upon at polling stations across the country.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Q4DwAbfF/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-11-09T17:27:06.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Q4DwAbfF.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4603780/marijuana-extract-dea/","duration":"PT1M13S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4603780/marijuana-extract-dea/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}]
```
