The cannabis industry reacts to Robert Patterson’s retirement and hopes for a pro-cannabis replacement who will move federal marijuana policy reform forward.
Robert Patterson, the current acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), has announced that he is retiring at the end of the month.
Patterson has worked at the DEA for 30 years and has been the DEA Chief since October, when Chuck Rosenberg resigned after disagreements with Attorney General Jeff Sessions over marijuana research policy. Patterson has said that running the agency as a temporary replacement has become “increasingly challenging,” according to a Washington Post report.
“I would like to see a DEA chief that finally understands cannabis and focuses instead on the dangerous and addictive Schedule I drugs that actually belong on that list,” agreed Danny Davis, managing partner of Convectium, a provider of technology, infrastructure and automation to the cannabis industry. “We have come too far as a country—even President Trump is now saying he will support a bipartisan bill for state cannabis rights—to let another misinformed conservative stop the inevitable.”
