Duane Boise MMJ CEO stated "At the center of the MMJ cannabis pharmaceutical litigation sits DEA Thomas Prevoznik, an unearthed official with no medical or scientific expertise, who wields unchecked power to deny therapies under the guise of public safety."
WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESS Newswire / May 15, 2025 / In the annals of American regulatory dysfunction, few agencies have earned the national embarrassment badge as thoroughly as the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). And now, the agency faces yet another federal lawsuit from MMJ International Holdings, MMJ BioPharma Cultivation, and MMJ BioPharma Labs-a pharmaceutical company with two FDA-approved INDs-for doing exactly what it's become notorious for: nothing.
Congressman Buddy Carter (R-GA)didn't mince words when he declared during a recent hearing that the DEA "is the epitome of ineptitude." Turns out, he was being generous.
MMJ: Blocked for Doing Everything Right
MMJ BioPharma Cultivation is the only company supporting FDA-authorized clinical trials using pharmaceutical-grade cannabinoid cultivars to manufacture softgel capsules for Huntington's Disease and Multiple Sclerosis. They've secured FDA orphan drug designation, passed DEA inspections, built a compliant facility, and submitted detailed corrective action plans. And still?
Meet Thomas Prevoznik and Matthew Strait- No license. No explanation. No action.
Seven years into its application to cultivate marijuana for FDA trials, MMJ's path has been strangled by a bureaucratic black hole-controlled not by science, but by closed-door decisions and unchecked DEA mid-level managers like Thomas Prevoznik and Matthew Strait, whose rogue obstruction is now being challenged in federal court.
Meanwhile, as MMJ fights for life-saving research, the cannabis marketplace is shifting beneath Washington's feet-and the DEA is asleep at the switch.
Welcome to Federal Cannabis Chaos
In what can only be described as the darkest irony, the hemp sector-derided by many regulators-has become the most dynamic part of the cannabis economy. Why? Because hemp operators figured out what the DEA can't:
Growth comes from access, not red tape.
Consumers want choice, not overregulation.
THCA flower, Delta-8, hemp-based vapes and gummies-these products are sold online, at gas stations, and in stores like "Green Place" in Key West, where signage proudly reads: "Tourists welcome. No medical card required."
Compare that to the federally "legal" THC side:
Over regulated
DEA Bias Policy
Market analysts now project a 4% decline in 2025 revenue among the top 12 multi state operators (MSOs). That's not just stagnation-that's collapse. While MMJ gets blocked from producing FDA-backed medicine, intoxicating hemp is booming, shipped through the mail.
Why Is the DEA Still in Charge?
Here's the brutal truth: if cannabis is medicine, the FDA should regulate it. If it's more like alcohol, then the DEA should step aside completely. Instead, the DEA occupies a broken middle ground, where it enforces outdated policy with unconstitutional judges and political cowardice.
And the hypocrisy runs deep:
You can buy enough Jack Daniels to kill five people in one trip to the liquor store-no questions asked.
But try developing a standardized cannabis capsule for neurological disease? The DEA says, "Let us drag and delay this until MMJ goes away." But MMJ has not.
It's a clown show. And MMJ's lawsuit may be the only way to stop it.
The Clock Is Ticking
With every month the DEA delays, patients suffer, researchers are silenced, and the regulated market crumbles. What the hemp sector has exposed-intentionally or not-is that federal cannabis policy is fundamentally broken. And the DEA? It's not just ineffective. It's actively harmful.
Congress must act. The courts must intervene. The DEA must be reined in.
Because when the agency blocking FDA-approved science is also being outpaced by vape carts at gas stations, it's not just ineptitude.
It's malpractice.
MMJ is represented by attorney Megan Sheehan.
CONTACT:
Madison Hisey
mhisey@mmjih.com
203-231-8583
SOURCE: MMJ International Holdings
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