HHC gets its own Schedule I listing and drug code
On May 4, 2026, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) gave hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) its own Schedule I listing and drug code in a final rule that took effect the same day it published.
This does not change HHC's Schedule I status. HHC has been a Schedule I controlled substance in the United States since it was captured under the general "tetrahydrocannabinols" drug code, 7370, because it meets that definition [1]. The new rule doesn't alter that status — DEA is explicit that it "does not affect the continuing status of hexahydrocannabinol as a schedule I controlled substance in any way" [1]. What changes is bookkeeping: HHC now has its own dedicated code, 7220, separate from the general THC listing [1].
DEA addresses the hemp exemption directly: it covers only cannabis-derived tetrahydrocannabinols at or below 0.3% delta-9 THC by dry weight, and synthetic tetrahydrocannabinols are not included in that exemption [1]. HHC produced through chemical conversion is treated as synthetic under the Controlled Substances Act even when the starting material is hemp [1], and DEA describes HHC itself as a synthetic substance structurally related to tetrahydrocannabinols [1]. Readers who want the fuller picture on how HHC is made and sold can see the HHC molecule page.
The rule traces back to a June 9, 2025 letter in which the United Nations notified the U.S. government that HHC had been added to Schedule II of the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances [1]. The Department of Health and Human Services concurred with giving HHC its own CSA listing and code in a letter dated December 3, 2025 [1].
Procedurally, this is a final rule, not a proposal — it is already in force. DEA skipped the usual notice-and-comment process, finding it unnecessary because HHC was already controlled and this is a technical amendment to 21 CFR 1308.11(d) rather than a substantive scheduling decision [1].
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