By Karla L. Palmer – On January 22, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit dismissed a petition for review filed by several interest groups and individuals who petitioned DEA to initiate the federal rescheduling of marijuana. The case stems …
By Karla L. Palmer & Larry K. Houck – Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) Administrator Michele M. Leonhart, accompanied by officials from Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations (Richard Weber), Immigration and Customs Office of Homeland Security (James Chaparro), and U.S. Postal Inspections, held a press conference yesterday announcing …
By John A. Gilbert, Karla L. Palmer & Larry K. Houck – The Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (“FDASIA”) (S. 3187), which is on its way to the President for enactment after the Senate passed the bill by a 92-4 vote, may impact …
By Larry K. Houck – The Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) has published a Final Rule increasing initial registration and renewal fees for all registrants. 77 Fed. Reg. 15,234 (Mar. 15, 2011). DEA published the applicable Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) on July 6, 2011, which was …
By John A. Gilbert & Larry K. Houck – On February 29, 2012, the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), exercising its emergency scheduling authority under 21 U.S.C. § 811(h)(2), extended the temporary scheduling of five synthetic cannabinoids: JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH-200, CP-47,497 and cannabicyclohexanol until August 29, 2012. …
By Kurt R. Karst – Following a long court battle in which a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed a November 2010 decision from the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming granting FDA’s Motion to Dismiss a …
By Karla L. Palmer & John A. Gilbert – On September 8, 2011, the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) published a Notice of Intent to temporarily place into Schedule I of the Federal Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) three synthetic cathinones. 75 Fed. Reg. 55616 (Sept. 8, 2011). …
By Karla L. Palmer & Larry K. Houck – Consistent with its November 24, 2010 Notice of Intent, the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) published its Final Order temporarily placing five synthetic cannabinoids into Schedule I under the Federal Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) to avoid imminent hazard to …
By Karla L. Palmer and Peter M. Jaensch On November 24, 2010, using its emergency authority under section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) (21 U.S.C. § 812), the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) published a Notice of Intent to temporarily place five synthetic cannabinoids in Schedule …
By William T. Koustas – The confirmation hearing for Michele M. Leonhart for the Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) was held by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, November 17, 2010. Ms. Leonhart has been Acting DEA Administrator since the resignation of former …
By Larry K. Houck – In a departure from US DOJ policy, Attorney General Eric Holder announced formal federal guidelines for U.S. Attorneys in states that have authorized marijuana for medical use. The guidelines, set out in an October 19, 2009 memorandum authored by Deputy Attorney …
On September 24, 2007, the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) published a notice of proposed rulemaking that would expand the classification of dronabinol, commonly known as delta-9-tetrahyrdocannabinol (“THC”), as a Schedule III controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act. THC is a federally-controlled Schedule I controlled …
On August 7, 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held in Abigail Alliance for Better Access to Developmental Drugs v. von Eschenbach in an 8-2 opinion “that there is no fundamental right ‘deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and …
In a case that may have wider implications for the data on which FDA bases its decisions, a medical marijuana rights group, Americans for Safe Access (ASA), has sued HHS and FDA for violating the requirements under the Data Quality Act, 44 U.S.C. § 3516 …
