Career Drug Warrior Named Acting DEA Administrator

The Trump administration has named career special agent Derek S. Maltz as Acting Administrator of the US Drug Enforcement Administration.  Maltz replaces former Administrator Anne Milgram, who departed the agency last week.   

Maltz worked within the DEA as a special agent for 28 years before retiring in 2014.

Speaking with the Associated Press last year, Maltz questioned the legitimacy of administrative efforts to reclassify cannabis under federal law, opining that the Biden administration was “placing politics above public safety.” Last week, a DEA administrative law judge stayed in-person hearings on the matter of marijuana’s rescheduling, pending a resolution of an interlocutory appeal to the DEA’s Administrator.

Maltz has also been publicly critical of legislative efforts regulating the adult-use cannabis market and has claimed that rising levels of THC may be playing a role in the growing frequency of school shooting tragedies.

Commenting on the appointment, NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said: “The new Acting DEA Administrator is a lifelong drug war hawk whose outdated attitudes toward cannabis are out of step with those of most Americans. At a time when most Americans are demanding long overdue changes in federal cannabis policy, Derek Maltz epitomizes the failed policies and approaches of the past.”

A DEA press release highlighting Maltz’s appointment is available online.