Donald Trump's DEA Nominee: Reviewing Cannabis Rescheduling Will 'Be One Of My First Priorities'

President Donald Trump's pick to run the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is apparently considering a proposal to federally reschedule cannabis. The DEA administrator nominee, Terrance Cole, says it will be "one of my first priorities" if he's confirmed.

"If confirmed, it'll be one of my first priorities when I arrive at DEA to see where we are in the administrative process," Cole told Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday. "I'm not familiar exactly where we are, but I know the process has been delayed numerous times—and it's time to move forward." Marijuana Moment first reported this story.

Cole, however, declined on several occasions to commit to supporting the proposed rule to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which of course is at the core of the reform process.

When pressed on the issue of removing marijuana from its onerous classification as a dangerous drug and moving it to Schedule III, Cole said he needed more time to better understand the situation. "I need to understand more where [agencies] are and look at the science behind it and listen to the experts and really understand where they are in the process."

At the moment, cannabis remains on the DEA's list of Schedule I drugs, along with heroin, LSD and meth and is defined by the agency as a drug "with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse."

The marijuana rescheduling process was initiated during the Biden administration but never got off the ground. As such, it remains federally illegal until such time the DEA makes a significant move.

Meanwhile, due to that classification, cannabis companies are subject to various limitations, including an Internal Revenue Code known as Section 280E, which disallows all normal business deductions or credits. This applies even to cannabis companies in the 39 U.S. states where marijuana sales are legal.

It’s also worth noting that the total U.S. economic impact of regulated marijuana sales could top $123.6 billion in 2025, about 9% more than last year, according to a newly released MJBiz Factbook update.

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Photo: Shutterstock, Eugenio Cuppone via Pixabay