The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has published a new Federal Register notice showing that California-based Royal Emerald Pharmaceuticals has applied to be registered as a bulk manufacturer of marijuana, marijuana extract and tetrahydrocannabinols under Schedule I. The notice was published April 1 under Docket No. DEA-1694.
According to the notice, the application was filed March 3 by Royal Emerald Pharmaceuticals at its Desert Hot Springs facility. DEA says the company is seeking authorization to bulk manufacture marijuana-related controlled substances in order to provide marijuana as botanical raw material and active pharmaceutical ingredients to DEA-registered researchers and manufacturers. The notice also makes clear that no other activities for those drug codes would be authorized under this registration.
The filing does not mean the registration has been granted. It is a notice of application, and DEA is allowing registered bulk manufacturers, along with other applicants, to submit comments, objections or hearing requests through June 1.
Royal Emerald has appeared in prior federal notices tied to marijuana-related registrations. In April 2025, DEA published a separate notice showing the company had applied to be registered as an importer of marijuana, marijuana extract and tetrahydrocannabinols, with the stated purpose of importing immature plants to continue cultivation under its bulk manufacturing registration. Federal Register records also show an earlier marijuana bulk manufacturing application by the company in 2019.
The new notice is notable because it shows DEA’s research and pharmaceutical marijuana pipeline continuing to move forward even as the broader federal rescheduling process remains unresolved, with a final ruling yet to be published over three months after President Trump signed an executive order directing Attorney General Bondi to finish the process expeditiously.
For now, however, the April 1 publication marks only the start of the public comment phase for this specific application, not final approval.
