Terrance Cole's Choice: Reformer or Cover-Up Artist? New DEA Administrator Terrance Cole stands at a crossroads:
Break rank, clean house, and restore the DEA's marijuana research credibility by approving MMJ BioPharma's application.
Or protect the old guard's corruption-and go down as the next puppet in a failed prohibitionist machine.
Quotes From Inside the Agency Reveal Systemic Corruption, Regulatory Negligence, and Public Health Betrayal.
The DEA's war on cannabis research is not just a failure of policy-it's a failure of morality.
WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESS Newswire / August 10, 2025 / While patients suffering from Huntington's disease, Multiple Sclerosis, and other debilitating conditions await life saving cannabis based treatments, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) continues to flaunt its profound ignorance, regulatory negligence, and outright corruption. The agency's mission claims to "ensure an adequate and uninterrupted supply of controlled substances for medical and scientific needs," but internal statements and actions reveal a shocking pattern of incompetence, deceit, and deliberate obstruction.
From field agents to senior leadership, the DEA's handling of cannabis research applications has devolved into a circus of bureaucratic malpractice-one that prioritizes power over patients, red tape over science, and self preservation over public health.
The DEA's Greatest Hits: A Compilation of Cluelessness and Corruption
Here are actual quotes from DEA officials tasked with overseeing cannabis research-exposing an agency that is either catastrophically inept or intentionally sabotaging medical progress:
Thomas Cook, Diversion Investigator, Rhode Island: (2021)
"I know nothing about marijuana. Are you growing it in the 10 by 20 vault?"This is the DEA's idea of an "expert" on controlled substances-an investigator who openly admits complete ignorance of the plant he is supposed to regulate. How can an agency that enforces pharmaceutical compliance employ personnel who lack even basic knowledge of the substances they oversee?
Mark Rubins, New England Diversion Supervisor: (2022)
"If your doctor doing the clinical trial had a Schedule I Researcher's Registration previously that expired, just tell him to reapply and DEA Headquarters will approve him."A hollow promise from an agency that has systematically denied nearly every cannabis research application for decades. Thousands of patients suffer while DEA bureaucrats like Rubins dismiss their plight with empty reassurances.
Matthew Strait, DEA Deputy Policy Administrator: (2023)
"The other applicants that got approved just did the Bona Fide Supply Agreement with the DEA purchasing the marijuana from the growers-that will be OK."Strait's comment exposes the DEA's Catch-22 trap: Applicants must have a DEA registration to secure a Bona Fide Supply Agreement (BFSA), but the DEA refuses to grant registration without a BFSA. This rigged system has blocked legitimate companies like MMJ BioPharma Cultivation for seven years, despite FDA-approved clinical trials for Huntington's and Multiple Sclerosis.
Ricardo Quintero, DEA Section Chief: (2023)
"Oh, you are calling about your MMJ bulk manufacturing application? And why do you want to know?"The arrogance is staggering. Quintero's dismissive response to a company following federal law and investing millions in compliant research underscores the DEA's contempt for transparency.
Aarathi Haig, DEA Chief Counsel (to MMJ's attorney Megan Sheehan): (2024)
"Oh, the DEA will settle your litigation-just have your client withdraw their application, and we will expedite their new one."A blatant extortion attempt. Haig, who is not in good standing with the New Jersey Bar due to unpaid fees and lapsed legal education requirements, tried to strong-arm MMJ into abandoning its legal fight in exchange for empty promises.
Thomas Prevoznik, DEA Deputy Administrator (in a formal letter to MMJ): (2024)
"After a careful review of your application and consistent with my obligation to ensure public safety under the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801, et. seq.), I deny the request to discontinue or defer administrative proceedings. Furthermore, I have determined there is no potential modification of your application that could or would alter my decision in this regard."A premeditated blockade. Prevoznik, who has overseen the DEA's Diversion Control Division during its worst failures-including allowing contaminated cannabis to flood state markets while blocking pharmaceutical-grade research-has made it clear: The DEA's priority is obstruction, not public health .
The Bigger Scandal: A Culture of Corruption
These quotes are not isolated incidents-they reflect a systemic rot within the DEA's Diversion Control Division:
Fraudulent Licensing: The DEA rubber-stamped eight cannabis research licenses between 2021-2022, but seven are inactive, bankrupt, or non-compliant. One was even set up in a garage.
Unconstitutional Tactics: The DEA dragged MMJ into an administrative law tribunal that the Supreme Court has since ruled unconstitutional (Axon v. FTC, Jarkesy v. SEC).
Ethical Violations: DEA attorney Aarathi Haig remains on the case despite her lapsed bar standing, violating 28 U.S.C. § 530B (requiring federal attorneys to comply with state ethics rules).
The Human Cost: Patients Left to Suffer
While the DEA plays bureaucratic games:
Huntington's Disease patients face a 10-20 year death sentence with no effective treatments.
Multiple Sclerosis patients endure irreversible nerve damage while the DEA blocks potential therapies.
Children with epilepsy are denied FDA-approved cannabis medicines, while contaminated street products flood the market unchecked.
The Solution: Dismantle the DEA's Obstruction Machine
Congress, the courts, and the White House must act now:
Fire the Culprits: Prevoznik, Strait, Haig, Quintero, Cooke, and Rubins must be removed and investigated.
Transfer Oversight: Cannabis research should be moved to the FDA or NIH, where science-not stigma-guides policy.
End Unconstitutional Tribunals: The DEA's rigged Administrative Law Judge system must be dismantled per Supreme Court rulings .
Terrance Cole's Moment of Truth (2025)
New DEA Administrator Terrance Cole faces a choice:
Continue the cover-up, protecting the corrupt officials who sabotaged medical research.
Or clean house, approve MMJ's application, and end this national disgrace1015.
America doesn't need more anti-science bureaucrats-it needs leaders who put patients over politics.
The DEA's cannabis obstruction isn't just incompetence-it's institutional malpractice.
MMJ is represented by attorney Megan Sheehan.
CONTACT:
Madison Hisey
MHisey@mmjih.com
203-231-8583
SOURCE: MMJ International Holdings
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/terry-cole-fix-it-dea-blocks-fda-cannabis-trials-while-contaminated-m-1056547
