On Tuesday, the Senate officially confirmed Terrance Cole as the new Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), marking the first permanent leadership appointment to the agency under President Trump’s second term. Cole’s confirmation comes at a pivotal moment, as the DEA faces mounting pressure to respond to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ recommendation to reschedule cannabis. His leadership will be instrumental in determining how — and whether — federal drug policy evolves to reflect public opinion, scientific evidence, and urgent mental health needs.
The appointment of Terrance Cole as DEA Administrator comes at a pivotal moment for
American drug policy. While the new Administrator has indicated that reviewing the federal proposal to reschedule cannabis will be among his priorities, he has not publicly committed to a position—a reminder that federal drug policy remains ambiguous, even as public consensus continues to move toward reform.Mr. Cole assumes this role in the wake of record-breaking overdose deaths, underscoring the magnitude of his responsibility. It has been clear for years that prevention and interdiction alone will not reverse this trend. For too long, drug policy has been shaped more by politics than by data, leaving a decades-long trail of incarceration, injustice, and neglect.Rather than reinforcing the worst outcomes of an outdated ideology, Mr. Cole has an opportunity to lead the DEA toward an approach that meaningfully reduces the social burdens of substance use disorders, criminalization, and stigma. Patients, practitioners, and researchers—especially those working to address mental health and addiction—cannot afford another era of indecision cloaked in bureaucratic process.
There are glimmers of progress: the introduction of legislation in Congress, attention from federal agencies, and reports of high-level officials engaging in substantive discussions about psychedelic therapies suggest a hopeful horizon. These developments speak to a multipartisan commitment—and a shared political urgency—to expand access to new, evidence-based treatments for trauma and substance use disorders. We urge the DEA to collaborate with state and federal colleagues to advance these critical conversations.
— Ismail L. Ali, J.D. , Interim Co-Executive Director
ABOUT MAPS
Founded in 1986, MAPS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research and educational organization that develops medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses of psychedelics and marijuana. MAPS’ conference flagship, Psychedelic Science, has been the leading convening of the psychedelic community since 2010. MAPS incubated Lykos Therapeutics, a drug-development public benefit company, and the Zendo Project, a leader in psychedelic harm reduction. Since MAPS was founded, philanthropic donors and grantors have given more than $150 million to advance research, change drug policy, and evolve education in the field of psychedelics.