Arizona Tribune - DEA Marijuana “Do-Nothing” Team Rewarded with Dubai Trips While MS and HD Patients Waited

WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESS Newswire / June 17, 2025 / MMJ BioPharma Cultivation is calling for a full-scale federal investigation into senior Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials who, during the Biden administration, systematically obstructed cannabis research for FDA-approved clinical trials only to be rewarded with international speaking engagements in Dubai at taxpayer expense.

At the center of this expose: The two powerful figures inside the DEA's Diversion Control Division who spent years delaying science, defying Congress, and denying patients access to life-saving clinical trials.

"The Biden era DEA didn't just fail to act, they actively protected the officials who sabotaged progress," said Duane Boise, CEO of MMJ BioPharma. "And then they sent them to Dubai. Who paid for that trip? Patients did with their lives."

2,300 Days of Obstruction, Then First Class Flights to Dubai

Since 2018, MMJ BioPharma has sought DEA approval to cultivate cannabis for FDA authorized trials targeting Huntington's Disease and Multiple Sclerosis conditions with no cure. Despite full legal compliance and FDA cooperation, the application was stalled for over 2,300 days.

Meanwhile, in 2024, DEA administrators were flown to Dubai's World Police Summit to speak as global drug policy experts-the same individuals who helped kill progress at home.

• Trip reportedly funded in part by the DEA Diversion Fee Account, which collects money from the very pharmaceutical researchers the agency blocks.

• Patients died waiting for research the DEA refused to allow-while obstructionists were flying business class abroad.

DEA Violated Its Own Policy Manual in Handling MMJ's Application

MMJ BioPharma Cultivation's registration was not only delayed-it was mishandled in direct violation of the DEA's own Training and Policy Manual:

• DEA policy mandates that pre-registration investigations be conducted "at the earliest possible time" following receipt of the application especially in cases involving public interest or FDA-approved trials.

• The manual emphasizes "strong consideration to timeliness" in applications involving orphan drug status and urgent therapeutic need.

• DEA field offices are explicitly instructed not to use delay as a means of denial.

MMJ received no such formal denial. No proper administrative procedure was followed. Instead, the company was forced into an unconstitutional Administrative Law Judge proceeding, in defiance of recent Supreme Court precedent (Axon v. FTC).

"The DEA's own manual makes it clear-what happened to MMJ BioPharma wasn't legal, wasn't procedural, and wasn't acceptable," said Boise. "This was sabotage disguised as process."

The Biden Administration's Willful Inaction

Despite bipartisan support for medical cannabis reform and multiple Supreme Court rulings, the Biden Department of Justice refused to intervene.

• Aarathi Haig, DEA counsel leading the case against MMJ, was reportedly ineligible to practice law in New Jersey-yet no action was taken.

• The Right to Try Act, federal orphan drug laws, and patients' rights were trampled by DEA foot-dragging.

• And not a single ethics investigation was launched against the agency's internal misconduct.

"This wasn't just bureaucratic paralysis. This was political protectionism at the cost of human life," said Boise.

Terry Cole Must Act-Now

With the DEA Administrator nominated to lead the DEA, MMJ BioPharma Cultivation is urging him to:

• Freeze all ALJ proceedings involving cannabis policy, pending legal review

• Audit Diversion Division personnel and travel records

• Investigate DubaiGate-the use of public funds to reward policy obstruction

• Transfer cannabis oversight to the FDA and NIH, where science-not politics-sets the agenda

"The era of rogue regulators must end," said Boise. "If Terry Cole wants to restore credibility, he must start by naming and removing the Biden-era 'Do Nothing' team."

No More Quiet Retirements. No More Coverups.

The American public deserves to know who killed cannabis reform, who buried medical science, and who funded the trips to cover it up.

"This is the DEA's Watergate moment," said Boise. "And it's time for full accountability."

MMJ is represented by Attorney Megan Sheehan of Rhode Island.

CONTACT:
Madison Hisey
mhisey@mmjih.com
203-231-8583

SOURCE: MMJ International Holdings

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

N.Mitchell--AT