The "cannabimimetic agents" definition now names 18 more substances

The Drug Enforcement Administration's final rule expanding the regulatory definition of "cannabimimetic agents" to name 18 more substances published January 20, 2026, and takes effect February 19, 2026.

AM-1220, AM-2233, EAM-2201, JWH-098, JWH-184, JWH-193, JWH-210, MAM-2201, JWH-007, JWH-022, JWH-147, JWH-302, JWH-307, JWH-412, WIN 55,212-2, CP-55,940, CP-47,497 C6 homolog, and CP-47,497 C9 homolog were already schedule I under the Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act and earlier regulation [1]; this rule only adds them to the text of 21 CFR 1308.11(g) and does not change their schedule I status [1].

What actually changes is the shape of the category. The rule codifies a structural-and-pharmacological definition of "cannabimimetic agent" directly into 21 CFR 1308.11(g), based on CB1 receptor agonism [1]. Most cannabimimetic agents are now assigned a single DEA drug code, 7000, once the rule takes effect [1].

Two older names move within schedule I rather than being newly added: JWH-018 and AM2201 shift out of the cannabimimetic-agents paragraph, (g), and into the hallucinogens paragraph, (d), keeping their existing drug codes, 7118 and 7201 [1]. Paragraph (d)'s introductory text extends control to positional isomers, so once the rule takes effect, any positional isomer of JWH-018 or AM2201 becomes a schedule I substance in its own right — again without anyone having to list that isomer by name [1].

For anyone handling synthetic cannabinoids, the point to take from this is not that 18 new substances became controlled on February 19: they were already schedule I before this rule and remain schedule I after it [1]. The final rule publishes January 20, 2026, and its provisions take effect February 19, 2026 [1].

References

1. Definition of “Cannabimimetic Agents” and Assignment of an Administration Controlled Substances Code Number for All “Cannabimimetic Agents” — Federal Register