The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will open a separate Schedule III registration portal for state-licensed medical cannabis cultivators, manufacturers, testing labs and distributors in the “coming weeks.”
This registration process, through the DEA’s Diversion Control Division, opened for state-sanctioned medical cannabis dispensaries on April 29, following Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s signed order to “immediately” reclassify medical cannabis in the U.S., pursuant to the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, an international drug treaty.
When that 60-day registration window opened for dispensaries – allowing those who apply by June 26 to receive an expedited review within six months – it was unclear if a separate registration portal would open for other medical cannabis license types, such as manufacturers, or if they were expected to use the DEA’s standard 225 Form to complete the process.
The answer appears to be both.
Those who click on the DEA Diversion Control Division’s 225 Form to register as a Schedule III “medical marijuana manufacturer” or “distributor” now see the following message:
“In the coming weeks, an updated ‘Medical Marijuana Manufacturer,’ ‘Medical Marijuana Bulk Manufacturer (grower/cultivator),’ ‘Medical Marijuana Analytical Lab’ and ‘Medical Marijuana Distributor’ application will be available specifically for handling Schedule III medical marijuana and posted on DEA Diversion’s Registration page.”
The “coming soon” notice also stipulates that:
“If you have already submitted your application to register for a DEA Registration as a manufacturer and/or distributor to handle Schedule III medical marijuana (drug codes 7362, 7353, and 7386) pursuant to the AG Order No. 6754-2026, we will be in contact with you shortly to continue processing your application – there is no need to reapply.
“Those interested in applying for a DEA registration to handle Schedule III medical marijuana pursuant to the AG Order No. 6754-2026, may do so utilizing DEA's current Form 225 application. When applying as a Manufacturer, Bulk Manufacturer (grower/cultivator), Analytical Lab or Distributor, you must only select the following applicable medical marijuana drug codes 7362, 7353 and/or 7386. Do not select drug codes that are not related to medical marijuana. We will be in contact with you regarding these applications.”
The one-year application fee is currently listed at $3,699 for medical cannabis manufacturers, $1,850 for medical cannabis distributors, and $296 for analytical labs under the Form 225 tab.
The nonrefundable application fee for medical cannabis dispensaries is $794, with the DEA currently accepting either a bank-to-bank transfer through an automated clearing house (ACH) or PayPal as forms of payment.
“We anticipate having additional forms of payment in the coming weeks,” the Diversion Control Division’s website states. “Application fees are not refundable.”
State-sanctioned medical cannabis dispensaries are asked several questions on the seven-section registration application, including two specifically that are raising some red flags under the “liability” and “activity” sections.
- 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?
- Will your firm be handling or dispensing recreational marijuana?
Those who answer yes are admitting to a federally illegal activity, the trafficking of a Schedule I controlled substance, to the federal government. Providing false info is punishable by up to four years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
Cannabis Business Times reached out to, and followed up with, the DEA regarding these questions and the registration process, but the department did not respond within its normal 48-hour window.
“Responses to non-urgent press queries may take up to 48 hours,” according to an automated response from the DEA on April 29.
Those who apply for the department’s expedited registration process could receive a first-mover advantage to certain federal protections; however, a Schedule III listing does not legalize medical cannabis – it merely loosens its control status.
That first-move advantage could also encompass potential access to export licenses, interstate commerce and compliance with any future regulations surrounding industry banking, exchange listings, credit facilities, and mergers and acquisitions, according to law firm Foley Hoag.
State-licensed operators can obtain multiple registration types, allowing companies to take advantage of their vertical integration across several states. The most immediate benefit to Schedule III compliance is the opportunity to deduct ordinary business expenses that Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code currently disallows for those involved in the handling of Schedule I and II substances.
While there are alternative viewpoints on whether all state-licensed medical cannabis businesses are required to register with the DEA, an April 30 legal sidebar from the nonpartisan Congress Research Service (CRS) stated this: “All entities that handle covered marijuana products, other than end users, will need to register with DEA in order to do so lawfully.”
Adult-use cannabis businesses, on the other hand, currently await an expedited administrative hearing process for pro- and anti-rescheduling parties to debate the merits of a proposed rule to reclassify all cannabis under Schedule III. The hearing is scheduled to run from June 29 through July 15.
Blanche reserved the authority to select an administrative law judge to oversee the hearing, while DEA Administrator Terry Cole, who will receive a recommendation from the judge for a final rule, indicated he would not stand in the way of President Donald Trump’s wishes to get the job done.
