Does Derek Maltz at the DEA Now Kill All Cannabis Legalization and Rescheduling Hopes?

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Is There Hope For Cannabis Rescheduling With Maltz In Office?
 

In January, fear spread across the nation when Derek S. Maltz was appointed as the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)’s Acting Administrator.

On January 21st, 2025, he took office, but we’re yet to find out if he’s the great threat to cannabis rescheduling that we think he is. Having Maltz in the DEA office could quite literally be a cannabis prohibitionist’s dream: he has all the right ingredients in place to keep cannabis illegal and stop it from progressing. Rescheduling? Don’t even think about it.

NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano even commented on the appointment, saying: “The new acting DEA Administrator is a lifelong drug war hawk whose outdated attitudes toward cannabis are out of step with those of most Americans. At a time when most Americans are demanding long overdue changes in federal cannabis policy, Derek Maltz epitomizes the failed policies and approaches of the past.”

You see, Maltz has long been vocal about his skepticism surrounding cannabis, including the benefits it can provide if rescheduled. And while the DEA press release describes Maltz as a “champion” when it comes to fighting global drug trafficking as well as terrorism, he’s not so hot about rescheduling cannabis.

Yes, even if Trump showed support for rescheduling weed! Just last September 2024, Trump posted on his social media site, Truth Social: “As a Floridian, I will be voting YES on Amendment 3 in November.”

“As President, we will continue to focus on research to unlock the medical uses of marijuana to a Schedule 3 drug, and work with Congress to pass common sense laws, including safe banking for state authorized companies, and supporting states rights to pass marijuana laws, like in Florida, that work so well for their citizens,” he said.

However, Maltz openly doubted the legitimacy of government efforts to reclassify cannabis, saying that under Biden, the government was “placing politics above public safety.”

As reported by Marijuana Moment, Maltz also put cannabis in a negative light and said it causes psychosis, during an NTD interview last year during a Turning Point USA event. “Marijuana is not the marijuana from the 70s or the 80s or the 90s. This is higher, pure-THC marijuana,” Maltz said.

“I’ve even talked to doctors about this. It’s actually causing psychosis, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety – so it’s really a gateway drug for these kids that don’t know any better,” Maltz said. “The mental illness – the depression and anxiety – is off the chats in America. So these kids are turning to drugs for help,” he was quoted as saying.

How Else Is Maltz A Threat To Cannabis Legalization?

In addition, Maltz’ decorated career in law enforcement, particularly his strict stance on organized crime and drug trafficking, may influence his positions when it comes to marijuana regulations and the businesses in the industry.

If Maltz continues his focus on policing, this could seriously hurt profits and the industry as a whole. There is no doubt that the political climate is turbulent at best, and with Maltz at the helm, with his claims of focusing on public safety and fighting against drugs, the pro-cannabis camp is more worried than ever. It does not help that the hearings initially scheduled to debate cannabis rescheduling was delayed; it should have pushed through in order to assess the rescheduling proposals so that cannabis may have been on its way to be listed as a Schedule III substance.

Unfortunately, the unstable and chaotic political climate as of late did nothing but delay these discussions.

Furthermore, Maltz might be spending a lot of time, money, and effort on capturing these so-called narco-terrorists during his time in the Drug Enforcement Agency. According to him, traffickers and drug cartels still rule the marijuana markets. This isn’t good if it happens, since this could cause more DEA raids or random, unnecessary investigations in legal cannabis markets. Besides, Maltz thinks that the cartels fuel the black market in America today. Maltz even said: “People aren’t going to pay for marijuana, for example, with these high taxes in these states that have legalized. They’re going to get it from the cartels, and that’s just reality.”

Conclusion

Trump’s stance on marijuana has continued to confuse people; it’s been mixed over the past few years. While Trump himself says supports rescheduling, his administration can quite literally make the decision to stop the rescheduling process completely. After all, administrative law states that if a federal agency hasn’t made a final decision before a new government takes place in the White House, then the appointed president has the freedom to direct that the rules be completely withdrawn.

On that note, we’d need a strong DEA head to change things. Things are hard enough as it is, the last thing we need is an obstacle in the government.

It’s truly unfortunate that we have Maltz in office; with him in leadership, any hopes for progressing on federal cannabis reform might go back to being just a dream. What he does over the next few months could create a serious divide between federal enforcement as well as state legalization efforts, and instead increase the hardships faced by businesses and public health.

While the future seems bleak, we have to keep a close eye on how political negotiations in the Trump Administration will fare in the near future. That said, we must never give up and continue to fight for legalization however we can.

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