Terry Cole, a drug warrior who comes from a public safety administrator role in Virginia, is no friend to cannabis
President Donald Trump has nominated career DEA official Terry Cole to be the head of the drug enforcement agency. If approved, Cole will replace Acting Administrator Derek S. Maltz.
Cole previously spent over 20 years in leadership roles at DEA. Currently, he serves as Virginia’s secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security.
Throughout his tenure in law enforcement, Cole has taken a hardline approach to marijuana and has expressed support for the ‘Just Say No’ strategies of the 1980s.
If confirmed, Cole will oversee the next phase of an ongoing administrative petition to reschedule marijuana. Hearings were set to begin in January but were postponed pending the resolution of an interlocutory appeal.
Commenting on the appointment, NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said: “Trump’s nominee to head the DEA is a lifelong drug war hawk whose outdated attitudes toward cannabis are out of step with those of most Americans.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, Trump’s pick epitomizes the failed policies and approaches of the past.”
This brief was republished via NORML. You can read the original version here.
