“We know where we are,” Padilla told the nominee. “We know what the directive is: Get it to Schedule III,” he said, referring to a rescheduling recommendation from the Department of Health and Human Services.
“Are you committed to seeing it to fruition?” the senator asked.
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen it,” Cole said.
“So you’re leaving the door open to changing course,” the senator said.
“I’m leaving the door open to studying everything that’s been done so far, so I can make a determination,” the prospective DEA head said.
Cole also said in response to questions from Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) at the hearing that he feels it’s appropriate to form a “working group” to look at the federal-state marijuana law disconnect in order to “stay ahead of it.”
Tillis raised concerns he had about the fact that an Indian tribe has legalized marijuana for adult use on their territory within North Carolina, which has not yet enacted legalization at the state level.
“The whole patchwork of state laws around legal marijuana, medical marijuana, it’s very confusing. I think it’s out of control,” the senator said. “And, ultimately, I believe the United States, the federal government, needs to set boundaries.”
“It’s pretty clear to me that most states are going to legalize it at some level—so this is not intended to be a message about the future of marijuana, but it’s about the present of marijuana,” he said before asking the nominee if he would commit “to look through the mechanics of this operation and give me a definitive answers to questions” he raised with the prior administration last year.
“Yes, sir, you have my commitment, Cole said, adding that he’d want to first consult with the U.S. attorney in the region as well as DEA counsel to provide an adequate response.
“Does it make sense, at some point for law enforcement purposes, that we should come up with the rules of the road so there’s consistent application [of marijuana laws] across the 50 states?” Tillis asked.
“I think this is definitely worthy of a working group, because, to your earlier points, we need to stay ahead of it,” Cole said.
The lines of questioning didn’t produce a definitive answer as to the question of where Cole ultimately stands on marijuana policy or how he’d treat the rescheduling process if confirmed. But it does signal he’s given the issue some amount of thought as he potentially enters into the critical role of DEA administrator.
“No matter what you think of Senator Tom Tillis‘s questions or comments, anytime the issue of cannabis is brought up in the Senate Judiciary Committee, we are winning,” Don Murphy, co-founder of American Cannabis Collective, told Marijuana Moment. “We are making incremental steps that will lead to an end to prohibition sooner rather than later.”
Cole has previously voiced concerns about the dangers of marijuana and linked its use to higher suicide risk among youth.
The nominee worked at DEA for 21 years and currently serves as Virginia’s secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security (PSHS), where part of his responsibility is to oversee the state Cannabis Control Authority (CCA).
After a visit to CCA’s office last year, Cole posted on LinkedIn: “Everybody knows my stance on marijuana after 30 plus years in law enforcement, so don’t even ask!”
Trump initially chose Hillsborough County, Florida Sheriff Chad Chronister to lead DEA, but the prospective nominee—who strongly advocated for marijuana decriminalization—withdrew from consideration in January amid scrutiny from conservative lawmakers over the sheriff’s record on COVID-related public safety enforcement actions.
As far as the marijuana rescheduling process is concerned, DEA recently notified an agency judge that the proceedings are still on hold—with no future actions currently scheduled as the matter sits before the acting administrator, Derek Maltz, who has called cannabis a “gateway drug” and linked its use to psychosis.
Meanwhile, although shutting down licensed marijuana dispensaries doesn’t “rise to the top” of his priorities, a U.S. attorney who recently warned a Washington, D.C. cannabis shop about potential federal law violations says his “instinct is that it shouldn’t be in the community.”
Separately, last week, an activist who received a pardon for a marijuana-related conviction during Trump’s first term paid a visit to the White House, discussing future clemency options with the recently appointed “pardon czar.”
A marijuana industry-backed political action committee (PAC) has also released a series of ads over recent weeks that have attacked Biden’s cannabis policy record as well as the nation of Canada, promoting sometimes misleading claims about the last administration while making the case that Trump can deliver on reform.
Its latest ad accused former President Joe Biden and his DEA of waging a “deep state war” against medical cannabis patients—but without mentioning that the former president himself initiated the rescheduling process that marijuana companies want to see completed under Trump.
Pennsylvania Governor Will Put Marijuana Legalization In His Budget, But Top GOP Senator Remains Skeptical
No comments so far.
Be first to leave comment below.