"DEA has already admitted its tribunal system was unconstitutional. Yet dirty cops and unethical attorneys like Aarathi Haig are still in positions of power. Every day she remains, patients suffer - and it proves DEA reform is still just talk." - Duane Boise, CEO, MMJ International Holdings
WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESS Newswire / September 28, 2025 / In February 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice quietly admitted in federal court what patient advocates and constitutional lawyers have argued for years: the DEA's administrative law system is unconstitutional. In MMJ BioPharma Cultivation v. Bondi, DOJ conceded that the removal protections for DEA Administrative Law Judges violate Article II of the Constitution - and that the government would no longer defend them.
This historic reversal should have triggered a wholesale housecleaning inside the DEA's Diversion Control Division. Instead, even as President Donald J. Trump dismantles the regulatory chokehold that kept cannabis research in limbo, one glaring question remains:
Why is DEA attorney Aarathi Haig - who helped enforce this unconstitutional regime - still in power?
Trump's Deregulation Order Strips Away DEA's Excuses
On September 15, 2025, President Trump's Department of Justice announced the withdrawal of 16 pending rulemakings and 38 projected rules - including the DEA's most critical marijuana initiatives (RINs 1117-AB83, 1117-AB50, 1117-AB77, 1117-AB86).
For years, DEA officials claimed that marijuana research rules were "in process." These phantom proposals served as the agency's cover story for years of inaction, blocking companies like MMJ BioPharma Cultivation from supplying FDA regulated cannabis for clinical trials.
With Trump's Executive Order 14192 ("Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation"), those excuses are gone.
"This DOJ notice proves what we've said for years: the DEA kept MMJ and other companies in limbo by pointing to phantom rulemakings. Those rules will be withdrawn. There are no more excuses," said Duane Boise, President & CEO of MMJ International Holdings.
The DEA Wall of Marijuana Dishonor
The DEA's Diversion Control Division is already collapsing under scrutiny:
Matthew Strait - Retired
Thomas Prevoznik - Retired
DEA ALJ System - Declared Unconstitutional
Yet Aarathi Haig, a career DEA attorney who played a central role in defending retroactive rulemaking, shifting regulatory goalposts, and enforcing sham tribunal proceedings, remains untouched.
Worse, New Jersey bar records confirm that Haig was not in good standing as of 2023 due to failures in mandatory attorney obligations, including payments to the Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection and Continuing Legal Education compliance.
Still, she continues to represent DEA in court, undermining the credibility of the very reforms President Trump and Administrator Terry Cole are trying to advance.
The Stakes: Patients, Law, and Science
MMJ BioPharma applied in 2018 to become a DEA-registered bulk manufacturer of pharmaceutical-grade cannabis for FDA-authorized clinical trials in Huntington's disease and Multiple Sclerosis. The company has secured two FDA Orphan Drug Designations, built a DEA-compliant facility, and passed inspections - yet remains in regulatory limbo.
Every day of delay means patients lose more time:
Families watching loved ones decline can't afford DEA's unconstitutional stalling.
Science is ready, but bureaucracy still blocks progress.
"DEA has admitted its tribunal system was unconstitutional. So why is one of its chief defenders still making decisions that affect patients' lives?" - Duane Boise, CEO, MMJ International Holdings
Trump's Playbook: Patients Over Bureaucrats
By eliminating Biden's stalled rulemakings, Trump has positioned himself as the reformer who cut through DEA's procedural chokehold. Advocates expect the White House to soon advance a major cannabis policy package that could:
Codify protections for medical marijuana research.
Push DEA to act on long-stalled applications like MMJ's.
Clarify the role of FDA-approved cannabis medicines in U.S. healthcare.
"President Trump and Administrator Terry Cole don't have to choose between marijuana chaos and prohibition," Boise added. "The real choice is between Big Weed and FDA-regulated cannabis medicine. MMJ has already built the science, manufactured the capsule, and is prepared for clinical trials. All we're asking is for the DEA to finally follow its own law."
Moving Forward: All Eyes on DEA AdministratorTerry Cole
With Trump's deregulation order stripping away the DEA's last excuse, Administrator Terrance "Terry" Cole must decide:
Will he honor the President's directive and approve medical cannabis research?
Or will he leave the agency's credibility in the hands of Aarathi Haig, the last architect of DEA's unconstitutional blockade?
For the thousands of patients awaiting new therapies, the clock is ticking.
MMJ is represented by attorney Megan Sheehan.
CONTACT:
Madison Hisey
MHisey@mmjih.com
203-231-85832
SOURCE: MMJ International Holdings
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/president-trump-clears-the-path-for-medical-marijuana-reform-but-why-1079131
