Trump’s Nominee For DEA Chief Continues Evasive Stance On Marijuana Rescheduling

President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has repeatedly declined to say whether his agency will downgrade marijuana’s status under federal law.

But in what might be a sign of the agency’s attitude toward the drug if Terrance Cole is confirmed as administrator by the Senate, the DEA last week claimed that Chinese criminal organizations “dominate” American marijuana production, especially in states “where the cannabis industry is ‘legal,’” the agency wrote.

Cole, who worked as Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s homeland security chief after a career at the DEA, appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 30 and later provided written answers to senators’ questions.

Both New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker and California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla pressed Cole on the marijuana rescheduling question, including asking whether the DEA is bound by law to follow a finding by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that cannabis has a medical use in the United States.

And Cole gave them both the same answer, according to responses dated May 7.

Read the full article at MJBizDaily