Anti-cannabis hardliner takes over at DEA

Posted on January 30th, 2025 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , .

DEAPresident Donald Trump has appointed veteran DEA agent Derek Maltz as acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Maltz is a notorious old-scool hardiner where cannabis is concerned. In an interview last year, he recycled the discredited notion that cannabis is a "gateway drug" that leads to mental health problems. Maltz has previously linked the plant to school shootings. 

As Green State points out in its coverage of the appointment, it certainly bodes poorly for the current push for cannabis rescheduling. This will be met with special disappointment by industry leaders like Mike Tyson and Weldon Angelos, who told Fox News in an interview just days before the appointment that they thought Trump will "take bold and compassionate action" on cannabis in his second term.

DEA hearings on rescheduling were postponed earier this month, a setback to the process even before the appointment of Maltz. 

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

 
 

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