Marijuana industry advocates are urging new Drug Enforcement Administration chief Terrance Cole to do what President Donald Trump promised and ease federal restrictions on marijuana.
The Republican-controlled Senate on Tuesday voted to install Cole, a former top DEA official and Trump’s second choice for the job, on a 50-47 party-line vote. All Democrats voted in opposition.
At the top of Cole’s to-do list for the legal cannabis industry: Determine whether marijuana should be reclassified as a less dangerous drug.
Marijuana industry hopeful for rescheduling under Cole
That’s something Trump said he supports during appearances on the presidential campaign trail last year.
In an open letter on Tuesday, the National Cannabis Industry Association urged Cole to “fulfill President Trump’s campaign promise to ‘unlock the medical uses of marijuana to a Schedule III drug.’”
The NCIA is one of the pro-rescheduling parties selected to participate in the administrative law judge hearings.
“The rescheduling process under the previous administration was unnecessarily protracted and fraught by allegations of malfeasance within DEA,” the letter read.
“As such, we strongly encourage your office to continue advancing the cannabis rescheduling process in a timely and transparent manner.”
Along with the country’s fentanyl crisis, Cole inherits the dormant marijuana rescheduling process, on indefinite hiatus since January.
Marijuana is medicine, if the DEA agrees
Federal health regulators declared cannabis to have a currently accepted medical use (CAMU) in August 2023.
However, the Biden Justice Department delayed a decision on whether to accept that recommendation pending the outcome of hearings before the agency’s top administrative law judge.
Those hearings were paused in January after criticism from pro-rescheduling advocates.
In lawsuits, several claimed the Biden DEA was biased toward keeping marijuana in Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act – and was scheming to rig the hearings to ensure that outcome.
After Cole declined to share specific insights into his thinking during his confirmation hearings, what he will do remains entirely speculative.
Trump DEA pick offers ‘chance to turn a long-overdue page’
Moving marijuana to a Schedule 3 drug, down from Schedule 1 alongside heroin and LSD, would allow plant-touching cannabis companies tax relief from IRS Section 280E.
It would also encourage government-funded universities to ramp up research efforts – and, the logic goes, encourage Congress to pursue further reform.
Weighing Cole’s anti-marijuana resume with Trump’s campaign promises on cannabis, which have yet to be repeated from the White House, advocates were hopeful but circumspect on Tuesday.
“Whether Mr. Cole will be a steward of regulatory modernization or a placeholder for the status quo remains to be seen,” said Anthony Coniglio, CEO of cannabis-focused real-estate investment trust (REIT) New Lake Capital Partners.
“But the next 100 days offer a chance to turn a long-overdue page.”
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