President Donald Trump’s pick for the new head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has cannabis industry stakeholders raising their eyebrows and chewing their nails.
Last week Trump announced on Truth Social that he was nominating Virginia’s Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Terrance Cole to take over the DEA at a crucial time for marijuana reform. The agency is currently poised to decide whether to reschedule weed under the Controlled Substances Act, which would free it up for pharmaceutical research and affect the way cannabis businesses pay their taxes.
But that plan could potentially be sidetracked under the new leadership. Cole — a DEA veteran with over two decades of experience at the agency prior to his current role — has repeatedly voiced his opposition to the legalization of weed.
The possibility of Cole heading the DEA under the control of a Justice Department headed by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi — who also has a strong anti-pot history — is leaving some marijuana stakeholders nervous about the future.
For his part, Cole has been pretty explicit about his disdain for weed. Last year, in his role overseeing Virginia’s Cannabis Control Authority — the agency in charge of the state’s marijuana program — Cole posted about his visit on LinkedIn, saying: “Everybody knows my stance on marijuana after 30 plus years in law enforcement, so don’t even ask! #justsayno #disorders #notlegal4distribution #healthissues #thinblueline #backtheblue.”
In February of last year, Cole posted on X, linking to an article claiming that teens who use marijuana, tobacco or alcohol are five times more likely to have suicidal thoughts, implying a causal link.
Later that month, he posted anti-marijuana propaganda on X that said weed is four times as potent today as it was three decades ago and posed a major public health danger. “Higher THC levels in marijuana are linked to increased problems with memory and learning, distorted perception, difficulty in thinking and problem-solving and loss of coordination,” reads the article. “Higher THC also exacerbates the effects associated with regular use of cannabis, including physical dependence and withdrawal following discontinuation, as well as psychological addiction or dependence.”
Notably, the article also makes unproven claims that THC is linked to the onset of psychosis and schizophrenia, stunts brain growth and can contain lead or mercury. It even links cannabis use to autism through the alteration of sperm DNA.
Throughout his career in federal law enforcement, Cole has been involved in overseeing operations against illegal drug trafficking — including those involving weed. His career has largely been defined by a “tough on drugs” approach that is consistent with current federal enforcement priorities, and he is unlikely to support any efforts at reform. But despite his outspoken views, Cole hasn’t publicly taken a clear position on rescheduling marijuana.
The reaction to the news in the marijuana world has been mixed but generally pessimistic. The current scene is a stark contrast to the end of last year, when Trump’s controversial pick for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, signaled a possible end to the War On Some Drugs. Gaetz was a vocal supporter of cannabis law reform, but he withdrew as the nominee following close scrutiny of allegations of sexual misconduct, and Bondi took his place. Unlike Gaetz, Bondi repeatedly stood in the way of medical cannabis during her time as Florida’s attorney general and was even on an opioid crisis commission during the previous Trump administration that claimed marijuana use was linked to opioid use disorder.
However, she hasn’t explicitly voiced any particular stance on the rescheduling issue since she was appointed attorney general. Since Trump endorsed cannabis reform while on the campaign trail, there’s a chance that Bondi will move forward with the plan. If that’s the case, Cole’s feelings about marijuana may not matter all that much, as the whole rescheduling process was initiated without the DEA’s input in the first place — a move that reportedly blindsided a former DEA administrator who was also dead set against marijuana reform.
Before nominating Cole, Trump was notably considering Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister for the head of the DEA. Like Gaetz, the pick made it appear that the new Trump administration would be much friendlier to weed than the last time around, since Chronister is a strong advocate for marijuana decriminalization. But conservative lawmakers criticized his handling of COVID-19 safety measures, and he backed out.
Meanwhile, Trump’s pick for the head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been very vocal about his support of decriminalizing marijuana in the past. But cannabis stakeholders were disheartened earlier this month when he told congressional lawmakers that he would defer to the DOJ and DEA, refusing to endorse the plan.
The process of rescheduling cannabis has already encountered numerous setbacks. Administrative hearings that were scheduled to begin in January were recently delayed following a successful appeal by pro-weed witnesses in December.
The witnesses alleged that the DEA was communicating inappropriately with anti-weed groups and intentionally using outdated and legally rejected criteria to determine the medical efficacy of cannabis.
This delay followed a previous one in which the DEA pushed back a December deadline by citing a need for more information about the witnesses to confirm their expertise.