Arizona Tribune - DEA Marijuana Hypocrisy Exposed: MMJ Legal Drug Blocked While Cartels Thrive in Marijuana Legal States

WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESS Newswire / May 18, 2025 / As the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) releases its 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment, a stunning contradiction emerges: while the DEA points fingers at states that have legalized marijuana for allegedly aiding transnational cartels, it continues to obstruct MMJ International Holdings and its subsidiaries - MMJBioPharma Cultivation and MMJ BioPharma Labs from lawfully developing cannabis based pharmaceutical drugs under full federal compliance.

For seven years, MMJ BioPharma has adhered strictly to federal statutes. It has received two Investigational New Drug (IND) applications from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and been awarded Orphan Drug Designation for its treatment of Huntington's disease. It has passed DEA security inspections and holds a DEA Schedule I Analytical Lab Registration. Yet, the DEA refuses to grant the necessary Schedule I Bulk Manufacturing Registration required for growing pharmaceutical grade cannabis for clinical trials, stonewalling innovation and delaying potential life-saving treatments.

Meanwhile, in its own report, the DEA claims that legal cannabis states are being exploited by Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations (TSOs), which operate under "state-level business registrations" and ignore plant limits, production quotas, and licensing laws. The report claims these groups exploit inconsistencies in state regulations to shield illicit operations from federal enforcement.

Yet ironically, the DEA's continued blockade against legitimate federal drug developers like MMJ BioPharma is pushing innovation and pharmaceutical investment offshore. MMJ has openly criticized the agency's delays as "a violation of law, science, and democracy."

DEA Federal Hypocrisy on Full Display

DEA Acting Administrator Derek Maltz, who has called cannabis a "gateway drug," maintains the agency's hardline stance against MMJ's drug development despite its legal compliance and scientific rigor. Meanwhile, the agency paradoxically admits that the marijuana smuggled across state lines is primarily destined for non-legal states-a tacit admission that prohibition itself sustains the illicit market.

This undermines the DEA's narrative that legal states are the core problem. Instead, the report validates what advocates have long argued: that prohibition breeds black-market activity, while federal obstruction stalls medical progress.

Unelected Bureaucrats Holding Back Science

Thomas Prevoznik, DEA Deputy Assistant Administrator, has been directly implicated in MMJ's years-long delay. Legal filings and correspondence point to his central role in repeatedly stalling the company's application without justification. Despite the DOJ's withdrawal of support for unconstitutional ALJ procedures, DEA attorneys like Aarathi Haig continue to advance flawed legal defenses that conflict with DOJ policy and Supreme Court precedent.

"One unelected bureaucrat should not have the power to derail federally authorized drug development," said Duane Boise, CEO of MMJ International Holdings. "The DEA is creating a regulatory paradox where science is stifled and illegal activity is tolerated."

Public Health Versus DEA Policy Posturing

Patients suffering from progressive diseases like Multiple Sclerosis and Huntington's continue to wait as DEA leadership prioritizes outdated drug war narratives over FDA-approved research. This obstructionism occurs while the agency allows illicit products grown in so-called "legal" states to flood into black markets across the country.

The irony is lost on no one: the DEA has become both the gatekeeper and the roadblock to cannabis reform, impeding law-abiding researchers while blaming states for consequences rooted in federal dysfunction.

The Need for Congressional and Executive Action

The call for reform is now urgent. Congressional oversight must investigate the DEA's Diversion Control Division, its treatment of MMJ BioPharma, and its failure to execute consistent, science-based policies. President Trump's incoming DEA nominee Terrance Cole has promised to prioritize rescheduling marijuana but has yet to provide a definitive stance.

If the United States is serious about revitalizing its pharmaceutical industry and leading in medical cannabis innovation, agencies like the DEA must be held accountable. Otherwise, the message is clear: follow the law, and you'll be blocked. Break it, and you'll be blamed-but only after your profits are made.

MMJ BioPharma's legal struggle represents more than one company's battle; it symbolizes a national crossroads between science and stagnation, between integrity and institutional decay. The time for excuses is over.

The time for accountability is now.

MMJ is represented by attorney Megan Sheehan.

CONTACT:
Madison Hisey
[email protected]
203-231-85832

SOURCE: MMJ International Holdings

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

G.P.Martin--AT