Terrance Cole, has been confirmed as the new permanent head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and will now be responsible for the oversight of the landmark cannabis rescheduling project.
In a confirmation hearing in the US Senate today (Tuesday, July 22), senators voted by 50-48 to approve Cole’s nomination.
It came after Cole narrowly passed a vote on Monday (44-43) to invoke cloture, effectively ending debate and paving the way for his final hearing today.
The future of the rescheduling project, and the future near-term prospects of the US cannabis industry, now rest in the hands of the 22-year DEA veteran of the former homeland security chief under Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin.
With former President Biden’s cannabis rescheduling project stuck in limbo since January this year, even greater influence over the process has been placed in the hands of the DEA administrator.
Earlier this month, as part of its requirements to update on progress every 90 days, the DEA issued a statement to the DEA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) John Mulrooney stating that no progress had been made in six months.
This was attributed largely to the temporary nature of the DEA’s leadership, with the report stating that the ‘interlocutory appeal Motion to Reconsider remains pending with the Acting Administrator (Robert Murphy), and no briefing schedule had yet been set.’
Mulrooney had asked the DEA administrator’s office to set a briefing schedule and entertain oral arguments to move the hearing process forward, but those steps have remained on hold pending Cole’s confirmation.
The uncertainty has led to frustration among reform advocates and industry groups, some of whom have filed lawsuits or requested clarification on their role in the proceedings.
With only the formal signing in to his post by President Trump left to complete, something that typically happens within a few days, the industry will be hoping he’ll make good on his word to get the process moving again.
During a confirmation hearing in May, he informed lawmakers that reviewing the stalled process would be ‘one of my first priorities’ if confirmed.
However, the long-serving law enforcement official stopped short of endorsing the proposed reclassification itself, citing a need to study the issue further.
Cole acknowledged delays in the DEA’s ongoing review of cannabis’s status under federal law, stating that he was ‘not familiar exactly where we are, but I know the process has been delayed numerous times, and it’s time to move forward.’
When pressed by Sen. Alex Padilla, a Democrat from California, as to whether he would commit to seeing the process through, he declined to offer a concrete position, stating only that he ‘need(s) to understand more where the agencies are, and look at the science behind it,” he said, adding that he wanted to ‘listen to the experts’ before making a determination.
The post Terrance Cole Confirmed as Permanent DEA Administrator, Seeing Rescheduling Process Placed Firmly in His Hands appeared first on Business of Cannabis.
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In a confirmation hearing in the US Senate today (Tuesday, July 22), senators voted by 50-48 to approve Cole’s nomination.
It came after Cole narrowly passed a vote on Monday (44-43) to invoke cloture, effectively ending debate and paving the way for his final hearing today.
The future of the rescheduling project, and the future near-term prospects of the US cannabis industry, now rest in the hands of the 22-year DEA veteran of the former homeland security chief under Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin.
With former President Biden’s cannabis rescheduling project stuck in limbo since January this year, even greater influence over the process has been placed in the hands of the DEA administrator.
Earlier this month, as part of its requirements to update on progress every 90 days, the DEA issued a statement to the DEA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) John Mulrooney stating that no progress had been made in six months.
This was attributed largely to the temporary nature of the DEA’s leadership, with the report stating that the ‘interlocutory appeal Motion to Reconsider remains pending with the Acting Administrator (Robert Murphy), and no briefing schedule had yet been set.’
Mulrooney had asked the DEA administrator’s office to set a briefing schedule and entertain oral arguments to move the hearing process forward, but those steps have remained on hold pending Cole’s confirmation.
The uncertainty has led to frustration among reform advocates and industry groups, some of whom have filed lawsuits or requested clarification on their role in the proceedings.
With only the formal signing in to his post by President Trump left to complete, something that typically happens within a few days, the industry will be hoping he’ll make good on his word to get the process moving again.
During a confirmation hearing in May, he informed lawmakers that reviewing the stalled process would be ‘one of my first priorities’ if confirmed.
However, the long-serving law enforcement official stopped short of endorsing the proposed reclassification itself, citing a need to study the issue further.
Cole acknowledged delays in the DEA’s ongoing review of cannabis’s status under federal law, stating that he was ‘not familiar exactly where we are, but I know the process has been delayed numerous times, and it’s time to move forward.’
When pressed by Sen. Alex Padilla, a Democrat from California, as to whether he would commit to seeing the process through, he declined to offer a concrete position, stating only that he ‘need(s) to understand more where the agencies are, and look at the science behind it,” he said, adding that he wanted to ‘listen to the experts’ before making a determination.
The post Terrance Cole Confirmed as Permanent DEA Administrator, Seeing Rescheduling Process Placed Firmly in His Hands appeared first on Business of Cannabis.
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