Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is urging Elon Musk, chair of the Trump administration’s newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), to target “unnecessary” federal enforcement against marijuana consumers and businesses as a key way to reduce spending by the federal government.
In a letter sent to Musk on Thursday, Warren laid out a series of recommendations for DOGE that she said would translate into upwards of $2 trillion in savings over the next decade. One of those recommendations concerned the federal government’s spending on cannabis enforcement.
“The United States could save hundreds of millions of dollars each year by reducing wasteful spending on unnecessary federal enforcement actions and detention,” Warren wrote. “For example, almost half of states have legalized recreational marijuana, yet federal arrests for marijuana possession account for roughly a quarter of all drug possession arrests, even though federal sentences for marijuana possession are rare.”
The senator also pointed out that “the Drug Enforcement Administration [DEA] and Customs and Border Patrol [CBP] continue to raid marijuana businesses and seize marijuana plants, including in states where marijuana is legal.”
“These arrests and seizures unnecessarily drain federal resources,” Warren said.
Warren cited reporting from Marijuana Moment and other outlets on DEA’s ongoing cannabis seizures, with the agency reporting that it eradicated more than 5.7 million marijuana plants in 2022, for example.
However, DEA has faced more recent criticism after failing to release updated annual data on marijuana-related arrests and seizures in 2024 as it has done in prior years.
With respect to CBP, the agency recently implored a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit from licensed New Mexico marijuana businesses that claimed the agencies have been unconstitutionally seizing state-regulated marijuana products and detaining industry workers at interior checkpoints.
Warren said in the new letter that “DOGE should recommend that [the Department of Justice] and [the Department of Homeland Security] conserve resources by deprioritizing costly arrests and other enforcement actions targeting marijuana activity, at least where the activity is legal in the jurisdiction where it occurred.”
The senator has been proactive in her outreach to the Trump administration, seeking clarification and making policy recommendations as cabinet nominees are in the confirmation process.
Last week, for example, Warren pressed Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—Trump’s choice to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—to reiterate his position on marijuana legalization amid the ongoing effort to federally reschedule cannabis.
Marijuana advocates and stakeholders are also closely monitoring leadership decisions at DEA. And it’s come to light that the official named to run the agency as acting administrator subscribes to the “gateway drug” theory for marijuana and believes most people living in states that have legalized cannabis will continue to obtain it from illicit sources such as cartels due to high taxes in regulated markets.
Derek Maltz, who retired from the agency in 2014 after 28 years of service, has made a series of sensational comments about cannabis—at one point linking marijuana use to school shootings, for example.
The announcement of his role comes as another former agency official, Jack Riley, says he’s being courted to potentially lead DEA under the newly inaugurated Trump administration. Riley has previously described marijuana as a “gateway drug.”
For now, administrative hearings on the rescheduling proposal that were scheduled to begin on Tuesday have been delayed, with an agency judge recently granting an appeal motion from pro-reform witnesses that will set the clock back at least three months amid allegations of improper communications between DEA and rescheduling opponents and more.
Trump initially chose Hillsborough County, Florida Sheriff Chad Chronister to lead DEA, but the prospective nominee—who strongly advocated for marijuana decriminalization—withdrew from consideration last month amid scrutiny from conservative lawmakers over the sheriff’s record on COVID-related public safety enforcement actions.
Meanwhile, Trump’s choice for U.S. attorney general, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (R), is declining to say how she plans to navigate key marijuana policy issues—including the ongoing rescheduling process and renewing federal enforcement guidance—if she’s ultimately confirmed.
Image element courtesy of Debbie Rowe.
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