President Donald Trump has appointed veteran DEA agent Derek Maltz as acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Maltz is a notorious old-school hardliner 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.
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Senate confirms Trump's DEA chief pick
Cole’s selection was met with mixed reviews by cannabis industry stakeholders amid an administrative law judge (ALJ) hearing to consider a cannabis rescheduling proposal that’s been delayed by an interlocutory appeal since Jan. 13.Specifically, pro-rescheduling advocates offered concerns with Cole’s stance on cannabis based on LinkedIn comments he made last year during a "surprise visit" to the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority, when he said, "Everybody knows my stance on marijuana after 30-plus years in law enforcement, so don't even ask." Furthermore, Cole included the hashtag #JustSayNo.
Cole also promoted an article in 2024 that suggested cannabis is "four times more dangerous" than it was three decades ago, and he shared another article claiming there's a connection between cannabis and higher suicide rates among youth. (Cannabis Business Times)