DEA starts federal oversight for Texas medical marijuana shops
The Department of Justice began issuing Schedule III registrations to dispensaries in seven states, marking the first step in a new regulatory framework.
By Pavel Henderson ·
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Oct. 30 that the Drug Enforcement Administration has begun issuing federal registrations to qualifying medical marijuana dispensaries in Texas and six other states.
This action places specific state-approved marijuana activities under federal oversight. The registrations represent the initial phase of an April 23 order signed by U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche. That order moved certain state-regulated medical marijuana products to Schedule III of the federal Controlled Substances Act.
The Department of Justice did not release a state-by-state count of the new registrations. The agency confirmed the first group includes businesses in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. More than 900 businesses nationwide are moving into this new system.
To qualify, each business had to meet federal requirements. This includes successfully completing a pre-registration investigation by the DEA. State licenses do not automatically grant federal registration. The agency is continuing to review applications and will issue registrations in phases.
Registered dispensaries must comply with federal rules for security, recordkeeping, and inventory controls. These safeguards are standard for controlled substances. The order also moved FDA-approved marijuana products to Schedule III and created a faster administrative process to decide if marijuana should move from Schedule I to Schedule III more broadly.
The DOJ is currently reviewing applications from manufacturers and distributors that supply products to dispensaries. These applications require extra scrutiny, including facility inspections and production controls. Businesses that applied during the initial 60-day period and are still pending may continue certain medical marijuana transactions with qualified applicants and newly registered entities, provided they follow the order's requirements.
The federal action does not legalize recreational marijuana. It also does not authorize marijuana activities outside the order's scope. Any marijuana not covered by this order remains a Schedule I controlled substance.
Source: KTBC
