US: DEA sued over "unconstitutional hearing"

MMJ BioPharma Cultivation announced that it will file for an emergency motion for injunctive relief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island following a controversial ruling by a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) administrative law judge (ALJ) to vacate a previously granted stay, thereby green lighting a hearing before a DEA constitutionally flawed tribunal.

MMJ, which applied to register with the DEA to cultivate cannabis for research purposes, previously sued the DEA, alleging that the agency unlawfully delayed its application process for several years in violation of the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act, causing the company significant financial harm.

When the DEA issued an order for MMJ to show cause why its application should not be denied, MMJ requested an ALJ hearing process. However, the company reversed course and filed a lawsuit arguing that present constraints on the president's power to remove DEA judges are unconstitutional following a Department of Justice statement in February suggesting just that.

The company's forthcoming lawsuit for emergency injunctive relief will seek to block the DEA's administrative hearing process, which MMJ contends violates the Supreme Court's ruling in Axon Enterprise Inc. v. FTC and represents irreparable harm to its constitutional rights.

"We are not just challenging policy; we are defending the Constitution," said Duane Boise, CEO of MMJ BioPharma Cultivation. "The DEA cannot sidestep Supreme Court precedent and force us into a hearing that, by their own partial admission, is unconstitutional."

MMJ has been seeking DEA approval since 2018 to manufacture pharmaceutical-grade cannabis for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clinical trials aimed at treating Huntington's disease and multiple sclerosis.

Despite passing multiple DEA inspections, receiving a DEA Schedule I analytical lab registration, obtaining FDA orphan drug designation, and submitting investigational new drug (IND) applications, the organization has waited more than 2,300 days, well beyond the 60-day review period mandated by the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act.

"This is a direct threat to the right of every American business to a fair process under the law," Boise said. "We will not submit to an unconstitutional tribunal."