Arizona Tribune - Is DEA Administrator Terry Cole Just Another Anti Marijuana Crooner in A Suit? Or A Cannabis Policy Reformer

WASHINGTON, D.C. / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 / The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has declared war-not on drug cartels, not on fentanyl traffickers, but on science, patients, and any company bold enough to follow the law. And the proof is now overwhelming.

At the center of this disgrace are five names that should live in DEA regulatory infamy:

Anne Milgram's tenure as Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will be remembered not for advancing science or protecting public health-but for perpetuating outdated ideology and obstructing life-saving cannabis research.

Thomas Prevoznik, the DEA's entrenched Assistant Administrator, whose retirement cannot come soon enough;

Matthew Strait, the DEA's policy Administrator who's legacy is one of regression-marked by bureaucratic sabotage, scientific censorship, and a failure to uphold the DEA's own mission to ensure an adequate and uninterrupted supply of controlled substances for medical and scientific purpose;

Aarathi Haig, an DEA lawyer whose contempt for due process and disregard for constitutional limits has become the stuff of legal nightmares; and

John "McLooney" Mulrooney, the now-retired Chief Administrative Law Judge whose kangaroo court was finally exposed by the U.S. Supreme Court as an unconstitutional charade.

The Scientific Crime: Blocking FDA-Authorized Cannabis Research

MMJ BioPharma Cultivation-a federally compliant pharmaceutical company developing cannabis-based medicines for Huntington's Disease and Multiple Sclerosis-has spent seven years and millions of dollars navigating the DEA's supposed "research licensing" process.

The company secured:

• FDA Orphan Drug Designation

• Two Active INDs

• An FDA-inspected facility

• Partnerships with European pharmaceutical suppliers

And yet the DEA said "no."

Why?

Because MMJ did not have a "bona fide supply agreement" (BFSA) with a DEA-registered Schedule I researcher-a requirement that did not even exist when MMJ applied in 2018. But wait MMJ realy had the agreement however the DEA just misplaced it, hmmmm.

This is classic regulatory sabotage.

The "Catch-22" That Kills Innovation

The BFSA requirement, which the DEA now uses as a pretext to deny applications, creates a legal paradox:

You can't get a registration without a supply agreement.
You can't get a supply agreement without a registration, and even if you have one we will bury it so no one knows.

This isn't policy. It's a weaponized bureaucratic chokehold designed to kill innovation and protect a cartel of fake registrants who grow nothing, contribute nothing, and do nothing.

Contaminated Cannabis, No Accountability

While MMJ's pharmaceutical-grade capsules sit in legal limbo, the DEA has allowed contaminated, mold-infested, pesticide-laced cannabis to flood state markets unchecked.

The scandal in Massachusetts-where Assured Testing Laboratories falsified safety reports and exposed thousands to unsafe cannabis-should have triggered a national emergency.

Instead?

Not a single DEA action.
No recall. No enforcement. No accountability.

Where was Prevoznik? Sitting in his office rubber-stamping rejections of legitimate researchers while Americans were poisoned.

Where was Haig? Filing smug legal briefs pretending that denying science serves the public interest.

Where was Mulrooney? Retiring quietly, leaving behind a legal dumpster fire that even the DOJ now refuses to defend.

Constitutional Collapse: Axon, Jarkesy, and the End of DEA's ALJ Scam

Let's be clear: the DEA's internal "court" system is dead. The Supreme Court ruled in Axon v. FTC and Jarkesy v. SEC that agencies cannot act as investigator, prosecutor, judge, and executioner. But that's exactly what DEA did for years-until now.

Haig, in her July 25, 2025, response, openly admitted that constitutional questions were "legally meritless." In reality, they were so legally valid the Department of Justice dropped its own defense of the ALJ process entirely.

She lied. And the courts proved it.

MMJ Fights Back: The Legal Case They Can't Bury

MMJ's formal legal exceptions-filed July 3, 2025-lay bare the unconstitutional delays, structural bias, and retroactive rules that define the DEA's obstruction. And DEA's weak reply, written by Haig and backed by nothing but circular logic and selective precedent, proves they have no case-only power they're desperately clinging to.

Even Haig's citation of Craker v. DEA fails: that case never addressed companies like MMJ with active FDA trials and pending INDs.

This isn't Craker. This is cancer patients waiting. This is Huntington's Disease research frozen. This is regulatory malpractice of the highest order.

Time for a DEA Reckoning

We call on Congress, the White House, and the incoming DEA Administrator Terrance Cole-if he dares to break from the "good old boy" ranks-to:

Fire Thomas Prevoznik for gross negligence
Investigate Aarathi Haig for unethical conduct and possible New Jersey bar violations
Dissolve the DEA's control over cannabis research licensing
Transfer oversight to the FDA, where science-not sabotage-guides public health

"We followed the law. We built the facility. We got the FDA approvals. We even submitted a corrective action plan. And still, the DEA said no. That's not regulation-it's revenge."
- Duane Boise, CEO, MMJ BioPharma Cultivation

The DEA Can't Be Trusted to Do the Right Thing

If you think the DEA will suddenly become a friend to science, ask yourself:

Would you trust the arsonist to run the fire department?

The Verdict Isn't In Yet-But the Evidence Is Overwhelming

Terrance Cole may wear a new badge, but unless he breaks rank with the old guard, nothing will change. And if he doesn't act swiftly to grant MMJ's registration, he won't just be rubber-stamping a denial-he'll be rubber-stamping the DEA's obituary as a credible regulator.

America doesn't need another anti-marijuana crooner in a suit. It needs a reformer with courage.

Which one is Terrance Cole?

The next move is his.

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

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