Trump DEA Pick Calls Cannabis Rescheduling Review Top Priority
May 6, 2025Terrance Cole, President Trump’s pick to lead the Drug Enforcement Agency, has indicated that completing the long-simmering federal scheduling review for cannabis will be among the early moves he makes at the agency. During his conformation hearing, Cole told Democratic California Senator Alex Padilla that “If confirmed, it’ll be one of my first priorities when I arrive at DEA to see where we are in the administrative process.”
Despite pressure from Senator Padilla, Cole would not confirm whether or not he intended to re-class cannabis as a schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. In addition to discussions of rescheduling, Cole indicated that he would be open to assembling a working group to monitor how federal and state cannabis laws interact.
Cole, as SNDC has previously reported, is a potentially hostile choice as DEA administrator for the cannabis industry. While he hasn’t outright stated that he’s opposed to rescheduling and legalization, his past statements on reform indicate that he is more of a prohibitionist.
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