In my opinion, when an institution or individual avoids straightforward issues, makes me think it is an attempt to hide deeper failures. Every time someone hides from basic facts its always the cover up of a bigger problem not with the question at hand, Take for example the reclassification of cannabis , The American people are asking the DEA a simple question: Is marijuana less harmful than alcohol, and does it have medical benefits? Yet, the DEA has responded with decades of there usual lines that the American people are not buying anymore. The agency’s latest stall tactics in rescheduling cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III are evident in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). This document reveals the DEA’s reluctance through vague references to consultations with the Office of Legal Counsel, potential new restrictions, and international treaty obligations. Moreover, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram did not sign the rescheduling order, which was instead overseen by the Department of Justice and signed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, suggesting possible internal resistance or procedural complications.
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The DEA’s reluctance to reschedule marijuana from its current Schedule I classification likely stems from the DEA desire to hide deeper institutional failures. Consider the following statistics: In 1973, the year the DEA was established, there were 6,100 drug overdose deaths in the United States, with a USA population of approximately 203 million. Fast forward to 2020, and the number of drug overdose deaths had surged to 93,331, despite a population increase to about 331 million. By 2023, the situation worsened further, with overdose deaths reaching 107,543 that year . This represents a nearly 20-fold increase in deaths from drug overdoses, despite less than doubling the population size. Is a American citizen and lifelong cannabis user I am concerned. These less then flattering numbers has not stopped congress from funding the DEA. The DEA budget in 1973 was 75 million, in 2024 the DEA budget is 3 billion, yet we have this startling increase in overdose deaths and even more insulting to taxpayers and the American people is the DEA top brass reluctance to drop the war on the American people through the war on marijuana. Let me just take one second to thank the younger newer DEA agents in the field everyday dedicated and risking there lives to stopping fentanyl from hitting the streets I thank you. I am not for one second disillusioned that DEA agents in the streets of America are worried at all about cannabis, and are basically stopping fentanyl grom taking over America. Those agents are heroes.
What I am saying is its time for the top brass of the DEA to publicly be honest with Americans and say that marijuana, cannabis whatever you want to call it poses no public health risk all and the only reason that the DEA and law enforcement like that cannabis is illegal is for there “easy wins” against what law enforcement perceive is criminals. Easy wins equate to approximately 78 million Americans who smoke cannabis so they smell like cannabis the cannabis users car gets searched “easy win” although several states have taken this tool away from law enforcement. The cannabis industry is estimated to be around 157 billion by 2030 so you can imagine the DEA loves the seizures that the can bestow on the American people anyway it can!
Travis Cullen adamantly believes that the DEA’s lack of responsibility in re-scheduling marijuana, combined with its inadequate statistical results in the fight against the deadly drug fentanyl, demonstrates that the agency can no longer effectively lead or combat this crisis. The DEA needs to be disbanded and rebranded as the Fentanyl Enforcement Agency. How can an agency that is failing so miserably continue to be trusted with the safety of the American people? The DEA receives billions of dollars each year to protect Americans, yet I assert that they are failing! The agency is struggling so significantly that it won’t even identify who the enemy is. Fentanyl is the enemy, while cannabis is our ally. This is what any DEA field agent who actually witnesses the struggles of addicts will tell you: cannabis can help individuals break free from the deadly grip of fentanyl. Cannabis should no longer be a focus for the DEA; instead, the top brass should be publicly emphasizing that our communities are grappling with a public health crisis due to fentanyl, that research into cannabis use for attics should continue 10-fold.
Furthermore, reasoning on why the DEA should be disbanded includes how poorly the agency understands the public health crisis of fentanyl and how it allocates its resources. The DEA simply cannot handle the fentanyl crisis and is losing the battle badly, with the American public paying the price. Fentanyl is an enemy that the DEA is ill-prepared to confront. It comes from China in the form of small chemicals and is supported by the Chinese government. This raises an important question: when has a Chinese government official ever been indicted and brought to the U.S. to face fentanyl charges? The answer is never. The DEA can only indict government officials from weak democracies for cocaine charges. While the DEA previously excelled in tackling cocaine, heroin, and foreign marijuana, they are now overwhelmed by fentanyl. So, what does the DEA do when they are getting their backsides kicked at the cost of millions of dead Americans? They cling to the prohibition of the one substance that could help save lives: CANNABIS/MARIJUANA
Written by Travis Cullen I served 8 years in federal prison for cannabis at 21 I see the world and operate my business through that lens.