The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has announced that they are calling for a large increase in the production of several federally illegal substances in order to facilitate more research.
In a legally required post on the Federal Register, the DEA says it is seeking large increases in the production quotas for several substances for medical and scientific purposes.
The DEA is seeking to increase the production of marijuana-derived THC from 1,166,130 grams to 1,523,040 grams. This would be a drastic increase over the 628,460 grams of THC produced in 2023, which was already increased over the 384,460 gram THC quota at the start of 2023. The 1.5 million grams of THC would by far be the largest amount of THC ever produced by the federal government.
The DEA is also seeking to increase the amount of psilocybin (“magic mushrooms”) produced, from 15,000 grams to 20,000 grams, as well as increasing the production of DMT from 3,000 grams to 11,000 grams.
Despite these increases, the DEA is seeking to retain the the following quota:
- 6.6 million grams of marijuana
- 1 million grams of marijuana extracts
- 150 grams of ibogaine
- 12,000 grams of MDMA
- 12,000 grams of MDA
- 1,200 grams of mescaline
The proposed increases from the DEA opens up a 30-day public comment period that is legally required before the changes can take effect.
