The U.S. Senate this week confirmed President Donald Trump’s nomination of Terrance Cole as administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Senators confirmed the nomination on Tuesday by a vote of 50-47 as a proposal to reclassify cannabis under federal drug laws awaits action from the DEA.
Cole served as the Virginia Secretary of Public Safety from 2023 to 2025 after serving in the DEA for more than two decades. In March, Trump nominated Cole as DEA administrator, pending confirmation in the Senate.
DEA Weighing Cannabis Policy Reform
Cole’s confirmation as DEA administrator comes as the agency is weighing a bid began by the Biden administration to reclassify cannabis under federal drug laws. Under the proposal, marijuana would be removed from Schedule I of the federal Controlled Substances Act and placed in Schedule III, a move that would ease research into cannabis. Rescheduling would also likely benefit cannabis companies that are barred from taking advantage of most tax deductions for business expenses.
Cole has said that reviewing the proposal to reschedule cannabis “one of my first priorities” if confirmed as DEA administrator, according to a report from online cannabis news source Marijuana Moment. He declined, however, to indicate his views on the proposal.
Cannabis Advocates Call For Rescheduling Marijuana
Following Cole’s confirmation, cannabis industry organizations and executives were quick to call on the new DEA head to approve the proposal to reschedule cannabis, which has been put on hold since January because of procedural delays. Aaron Smith of the National Cannabis Industry Association sent a letter to Cole following his Senate confirmation, calling on the new DEA administrator to approve the pending proposal to reclassify cannabis under federal drug laws.
“The rescheduling process under the previous administration was unnecessarily protracted and fraught by allegations of malfeasance within DEA and we look forward to your renewed leadership to expedite this process and fulfill President Trump’s campaign promise to ‘unlock the medical uses of marijuana to a Schedule III drug’ and ultimately ‘implement smart regulations, while providing access for adults, to safe, tested product,’” Smith wrote in the letter cited by Marijuana Moment.
“As such, we strongly encourage your office to continue advancing the cannabis rescheduling process in a timely and transparent manner,” Smith continued. “Rescheduling would help eliminate unnecessary barriers to research, reduce burdens on legitimate businesses operating under state law, and bring federal policy more in line with overwhelming public opinion and decades of state-level reform.”
“As DEA considers next steps, we respectfully urge your administration to recognize the importance of collaboration with stakeholders who can offer real-world insights into the public health, enforcement, and operational impacts of federal cannabis policy,” the letter adds. “NCIA and our members welcome any opportunity to be constructive partners in that effort.”
Terry Mendez, CEO of Safe Harbor Financial, a firm that provides banking services to cannabis businesses, said that with “the rescheduling of cannabis under federal law stalled, the incoming DEA leadership will play a defining role in whether that reform moves forward—or remains mired in uncertainty.”
“While we welcome Terry Cole’s stated commitment to reviewing the rescheduling proposal, the industry needs more than vague assurances,” Mendez wrote in an emailed statement. “We need regulatory clarity, fairness and above all, urgency. The decisions ahead will directly impact the viability of thousands of licensed cannabis operators and the broader financial infrastructure supporting them.”