Arizona Tribune - DEA Marijuana Hypocrisy On Full Display: Why are U.S. Cannabis Companies Exporting Illegally While MMJ BioPharma Is Stonewalled?

WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESS Newswire / May 28, 2025 / While federally compliant pharmaceutical cannabis researchers like MMJ BioPharma Cultivation remain blocked from growing marijuana for FDA-authorized clinical trials, U.S. recreational cannabis companies are quietly shipping marijuana products, IP, and profits across the Atlantic - with virtually no resistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

This is not just a contradiction. It's a federal double standard thatprotects commercial profit over public health, sabotages scientific research, and undermines the DEA's credibility under the Controlled Substances Act.

DEA Allows Illegal Cannabis Exports?

According to a recent Forbes report, major U.S. cannabis companies - including Curaleaf, Cookies, and Active are aggressively expanding in Europe, despite marijuana remaining a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law. The DEA strictly prohibits interstate commerce and international export of THC-based cannabis without explicit DEA authorization.

So how are these companies doing it?

They exploit legal loopholes using foreign subsidiaries, licensing arrangements, and strategic partnerships, effectively laundering money and Schedule I products into global markets like Germany, Portugal, and the UK. Active, a U.S. vaporizer manufacturer, now derives over 5% of its revenue from European cannabis companies and expects to double that soon.

And yet - no DEA raids, no shutdowns, no warning letters.

MMJ BioPharma: Fully Compliant, Legally Paralyzed

Contrast that with MMJ BioPharma Cultivation, which has:

• Two FDA-authorized INDs for Huntington's and Multiple Sclerosis

• DEA-inspected Schedule I lab registration

• Orphan Drug Designation from the FDA

• A purpose-built, secure cultivation facility in Rhode Island

Since 2018, MMJ has been waiting for the DEA to issue a Schedule I bulk manufacturing registration to grow its research material. Instead of approval, MMJ received a legally and constitutionally defective Order to Show Cause, overseen by an ALJ whose appointment the DOJ itself has now conceded was unconstitutional.

Why the delay?

Because MMJ's business model doesn't align with recreational profits - it's built on scientific rigor, regulatory compliance, and public health impact. And in today's DEA, that seems to be a liability.

Federal Dysfunction: Policy by Profit, Not by Science

The DEA's inaction toward exporters and aggression toward MMJ reflects a broader bureaucratic rot. While state-licensed cannabis operators are treated as de facto legal - despite violating federal law daily - those seeking federal compliance for clinical research are punished with silence, obstruction, and delay.

This is not enforcement. It's economic favoritism posing as policy.

As Beau Whitney, founder of Whitney Economics, told Forbes:

"The U.S. market is state by state and dysfunctional… from an investment perspective, it's high risk, low return, which is upside down."

Will Terrance Cole Break the Cycle?

Incoming DEA Administrator Terrance Cole inherits a mess:

• A legally compromised ALJ system, now disavowed by the DOJ.

• A lawsuit from MMJ BioPharma, asserting constitutional violations.

• A global cannabis trade moving forward - with or without DEA oversight.

Cole's choice is simple:

• Restore scientific integrity and approve MMJ BioPharma's registration, allowing FDA trials to proceed.

• Or continue a selective enforcement policy that greenlights illegal exports for corporate brands while stifling legitimate medicine at home.

Time to Choose Between Cartels and Clinics

MMJ BioPharma Cultivation has followed the law. It has built the infrastructure. It has earned FDA authorization. And yet, it is treated as an outsider by the very agency tasked with enabling lawful scientific research.

Meanwhile, unlicensed exports are booming, and DEA looks the other way.

If Terrance Cole DEA (administrator to be confirmed) and the Trump administration are serious about federal cannabis reform, medical research, and agency accountability, they must answer this question:

Why is the DEA helping companies skirt the law overseas while blocking the one company that's trying to follow it at home?

It's time to stop the DEA clown show, and let science lead.

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

W.Moreno--AT