The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has determined that protections preventing the removal of Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) are unconstitutional and will no longer defend them in court, a move that could have significant implications for cannabis research.
According to MMJ International Holdings, which sued the DEA over what it called unjustified delays to its application to launch clinical trials into cannabis treatments for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Huntington’s Disease (HD), this ruling is set to strengthen its case.
The legal ruling comes amid an ongoing legal battle over whether the President can remove government officials without due reason.
Recently two officials, Cathy Harris (Merit Systems Protection Board Chair) and Hampton Dellinger (Office of the Special Counsel Head), sued President Donald Trump after he tried to fire them without reason. A federal court ruled in favor of Dellinger, but Trump is now asking the Supreme Court to overturn that ruling.
ALJs are impartial judges within federal agencies who oversee legal disputes involving government regulations, and were previously protected from being fired without ‘good cause’, with their removal requiring approval from a separate government body, the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).
The DOJ now argues that these removal restrictions interfere with the president’s authority to ensure laws are properly enforced. DOJ Chief of Staff Chad Mizelle stated that ALJs have had too much unchecked power and that the executive branch needs to be more accountable to the president and the public.
In regards to MJJ’s ongoing legal battle, it suggests that these ALJ protections contribute to bureaucratic inertia, making it nearly impossible to hold agencies like the DEA accountable for delays.
This shift undermines the DEA’s defense in MMJ’s lawsuit, where the company contends that excessive regulatory hurdles have obstructed its ability to conduct cannabis research.
“The DOJ’s decision to stop defending ALJ removal protections weakens the DEA’s legal position,” said Duane Boise, CEO of MMJ International Holdings. “This strategic shift reinforces our case that DEA delays are rooted in unconstitutional administrative practices.”
The lawsuit challenges the DEA’s prolonged application process, which has historically hindered researchers from obtaining federally sanctioned cannabis. If MMJ prevails, the ruling could accelerate the approval process for cannabis-related research applications, eliminating bureaucratic bottlenecks that have slowed progress in the field.
