Arizona Tribune - DEA's Internal Marijuana Resistance: MMJ BioPharma Delays Reflect a Wider Cannabis Rescheduling Crisis

WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESS Newswire / May 25, 2025 / When former White House Drug Czar Rahul Gupta revealed that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had intentionally delayed marijuana rescheduling from within its own ranks, it sent shockwaves through the cannabis policy world. For MMJ BioPharma Cultivation, the federally compliant pharmaceutical company developing cannabinoid-based treatments for Huntington's disease and Multiple Sclerosis, this revelation merely confirms what they have endured for years: bureaucratic sabotage from inside the DEA.

The similarities between MMJ's stalled license application and the national rescheduling impasse are too glaring to ignore. Both involve DEA officials subverting legal processes, ignoring scientific consensus, and acting contrary to Department of Justice (DOJ) directives. And in both cases, the ultimate cost is borne by suffering patients and U.S. scientific progress.

MMJ's Seven-Year Delay: Compliance Met with Contempt

MMJ BioPharma Cultivation has followed every federal rule:

• Two Investigational New Drug (IND) applications accepted by the FDA.

• Orphan Drug Designation granted for its proprietary cannabinoid capsule.

• DEA Schedule I Analytical Laboratory registration issued.

Yet the DEA has refused to issue a Schedule I Bulk Manufacturing License necessary to grow cannabis for clinical trials. The agency's inaction has persisted for over seven years, despite multiple inspections and full compliance.

The delay isn't based on science. It isn't based on law. It's based on unaccountable bureaucrats like DEA Deputy Assistant Administrator Thomas Prevoznik and marijuana policy administrator Matthew Strait, who wield unchecked power behind closed doors.

Echoes of the Rescheduling Crisis

Gupta's recent statement to The New York Times revealed that the DEA's internal resistance to rescheduling cannabis had torpedoed the Biden administration's efforts. Despite HHS and FDA recommendations, and Attorney General Merrick Garland's approval, DEA leadership stalled the process and raised suspect questions about the medical value of cannabis-a move critics call "rigged."

Sound familiar?

That's precisely what MMJ BioPharma Cultivation has alleged in court: that DEA officials have subverted the Controlled Substances Act and DOJ policies, intentionally obstructing the lawful drug development process.

Constitutional Violations, Ignored Directives

The Supreme Court's Axon ruling declared the DEA's Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) system unconstitutional. In line with this, DOJ formally informed courts it would no longer defend those ALJ tribunals. Yet MMJ's case was just sent back into that exact invalid hearing structure, scheduled for June 11, 2025.

This isn't mere delay. It's institutional defiance of the rule of law.

The Real Victims: Patients and Science

While DEA officials delay and deflect, patients with progressive neurological disorders continue to suffer. MMJ's therapies could offer relief, but the agency that should be enabling scientific advancement has instead become its greatest obstacle.

Meanwhile, as DEA devotes resources to sabotaging federally compliant companies, it admits in its own 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment that cartel-backed operations are thriving in legalized states, exploiting weak oversight.

"The irony is glaring," said MMJ CEO Duane Boise. "The DEA blocks lawful drug development while cartels profit. The agency is both gatekeeper and roadblock-and now, a constitutional liability."

Time for Accountability

MMJ BioPharma is calling on:

• Congress to launch immediate oversight into DEA misconduct.

• DOJ to enforce its own policies and halt illegal proceedings.

• DEA Nominee Terrance Cole to commit to ending this sabotage and comply with judicial precedent.

"This is no longer about science or safety," Boise concluded. "This is about entrenched power, defiance of the law, and a complete abandonment of the public interest. Congress must act 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

P.A.Mendoza--AT