Trump’s New DEA Administrator Omits Cannabis Rescheduling From Top Priorities

Terrance Cole did not include rescheduling among his eight strategic priorities upon being sworn in, a U-turn from his confirmation hearing.

Cannabis rescheduling is not a top priority of President Donald Trump’s newly sworn-in Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) administrator, Terrance Cole, despite the promise he made three months ago.

After he was sworn in as the agency’s head on July 23, Cole released a list on July 25 of his top eight strategic priorities that “reflect a renewed focus on enforcement, partnership and public safety to meet the evolving threats of the global drug crisis.”

Absent from that list was reviewing where the DEA stands on a proposed rule to reclassify cannabis from a Schedule I to Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), something Cole said would be “one of my first priorities” during his Senate confirmation hearing in April. Cole told U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee members that “it’s time to move forward” with the rescheduling hearing process that’s been delayed by an interlocutory appeal since January.

However, it appears Cole has changed his order of operations.

Instead of listing the cannabis rescheduling process as a top priority, Cole placed an urgency on fighting foreign terrorist organizations, from targeting drug traffickers to dismantling Mexican cartels and disrupting the supply chain for illicit fentanyl manufacturers.

Read the full article at Cannabis Business Times