Arizona Tribune - The DEA Is Defying Supreme Court Axon in MMJ's Cannabis Case - Is DEA a rogue agency?

WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESS Newswire / April 15, 2025 / The Supreme Court has spoken. In its landmark Axon Enterprise, Inc. v. FTC decision, the Court affirmed that Americans have the right to challenge unconstitutional agency structures in federal court before enduring prolonged and potentially unlawful administrative proceedings. This ruling was meant to be a shield - protecting individuals and companies from bureaucratic abuse. But the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has decided it doesn't care.

In its ongoing battle with MMJ BioPharma Cultivation, the DEA has done more than ignore Axon - it's practically dared the judiciary and the public to hold it accountable. Despite conceding that its own administrative law judges (ALJs) are unconstitutionally insulated from removal , the DEA continues to force MMJ through a regulatory meat grinder.

Duane Boise CEO of MMJ stated "Let's be clear: this isn't just administrative overreach. This is defiance of the Supreme Court by a law enforcement agency. The DEA, tasked with upholding the law, is now actively undermining it".

In Axon, the Court declared that when an agency's structure is alleged to be unconstitutional, federal courts can and should intervene immediately - no need to wait years while the flawed process grinds forward. Yet in MMJ's case, the DEA has done precisely the opposite: dismissing MMJ's federal constitutional challenge by arguing that no "irreparable harm" was done.

This argument is a slap in the face not only to MMJ but to the judiciary itself. Axon wasn't about requiring proof of harm - it was about protecting rights from being violated in the first place. The DEA's continued reliance on the Administrative Law Judge hearing process admits that the judges are improperly shielded from removal renders its entire process suspect.

And it gets worse.

MMJ Biopharma Cultivation's application to grow and research cannabis to manufacture cannabis-derived medicines for debilitating diseases like Huntington's and Multiple Sclerosis has been sitting idle since 2018. This is despite Congress mandating in the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act(MCREA) that DEA respond within 60 days. The DEA didn't just miss a deadline - it ignored federal law.

Add to that the stunning revelation that DEA's lead counsel, Aarathi Haig, is ineligible to practice law in New Jersey - a breach of 28 U.S.C. § 530B - and what emerges is a pattern of disregard for legality, ethics, and public duty. This situation has even prompted scrutiny from legal ethics experts and calls for audits and congressional hearings.

The agency's failure to follow Axon is not a bureaucratic oversight. It is a boldfaced assertion that the rules don't apply when the DEA doesn't want them to. This is not just about MMJ - it is about the legitimacy of every administrative action the DEA takes under structurally unconstitutional authority.

If the courts allow this to stand, the Supreme Court's ruling in Axon becomes meaningless. And if Congress stays silent, it signals that executive agencies can defy judicial authority without consequence.

America is watching. Patients are watching. The courts are watching.

And the DEA must be held to account.

For MMJ BioPharma Cultivation, this is a fight for justice. For the rest of us, it's a fight for the Constitution.

The question now is: Will the law enforcement agency charged with enforcing justice finally submit to it? The DEA's alleged obstruction, involving officials like Thomas Prevoznik,Matthew Strait and Aarathi Haig raises serious concerns about whether the agency is acting as a rogue entity, prioritizing its own agenda over the rule of law and the needs of patients.

MMJ is represented by attorney Megan Sheehan.

CONTACT:
Madison Hisey
[email protected]
203-231-8583

SOURCE: MMJ International Holdings

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

A.O.Scott--AT