Senate Committee Approves Trump’s DEA Pick Who Has Refused To Say If He Supports Marijuana Rescheduling Proposal Before Agency

A Senate committee has advanced the confirmation of Terrance Cole to become the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) amid an ongoing review of a marijuana rescheduling proposal that he’s refused to commit to enacting.

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10, along party lines, to move the nominee to the full Senate for potential confirmation.

Prior to the vote, Cole demurred on multiple questions from two Democratic senators around marijuana policy issues, including the proposed rule to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) that was initiated under the Biden administration.

Cole—who has previously voiced concerns about the dangers of marijuana and linked its use to higher suicide risk among youth—said he would “give the matter careful consideration after consulting with appropriate personnel within the Drug Enforcement Administration, familiarizing myself with the current status of the regulatory process, and reviewing all relevant information.”

However, during an in-person hearing before the Judiciary Committee last month, he said examining the rescheduling proposal will be “one of my first priorities” if he was confirmed for the role, saying it’s “time to move forward” on the stalled process—but again without clarifying what end result he would like to see.

“I’m not familiar exactly where we are, but I know the process has been delayed numerous times—and it’s time to move forward,” he said at the time. “I need to understand more where [agencies] are and look at the science behind it and listen to the experts and really understand where they are in the process.”

Cole also said he feels it’s appropriate to form a “working group” to look at the federal-state marijuana law disconnect in order to “stay ahead of it.”

Cole, whose nomination next heads to the Senate floor, previously worked at DEA for 21 years and has been serving as Virginia’s secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security (PSHS), where part of his responsibility is to oversee the state Cannabis Control Authority (CCA).

After a visit to CCA’s office last year, Cole posted on LinkedIn: “Everybody knows my stance on marijuana after 30 plus years in law enforcement, so don’t even ask!”

Trump initially chose Hillsborough County, Florida Sheriff Chad Chronister to lead DEA, but the prospective nominee—who strongly advocated for marijuana decriminalization—withdrew from consideration in January amid scrutiny from conservative lawmakers over the sheriff’s record on COVID-related public safety enforcement actions.

As far as the marijuana rescheduling process is concerned, DEA recently notified an agency judge that the proceedings are still on hold—with no future actions currently scheduled. The matter sat without action before an acting administrator, Derek Maltz, who has called cannabis a “gateway drug” and linked its use to psychosis. Maltz has since left the position.

Meanwhile, although shutting down licensed marijuana dispensaries doesn’t “rise to the top” of his priorities, an interim U.S. attorney who recently warned a Washington, D.C. cannabis shop about potential federal law violations said his “instinct is that it shouldn’t be in the community.” The president has since rescinded his consideration for unrelated reasons, however, and he’s now been tapped to serve as U.S. pardon attorney under the Justice Department.

Separately, last month, an activist who received a pardon for a marijuana-related conviction during Trump’s first term paid a visit to the White House, discussing future clemency options with the recently appointed “pardon czar.”

A marijuana industry-backed political action committee (PAC) has also released a series of ads over recent weeks that have attacked Biden’s cannabis policy record as well as the nation of Canada, promoting sometimes misleading claims about the last administration while making the case that Trump can deliver on reform.

Its latest ad accused former President Joe Biden and his DEA of waging a “deep state war” against medical cannabis patients—but without mentioning that the former president himself initiated the rescheduling process that marijuana companies want to see completed under Trump.

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