An attorney has filed a lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for allegedly violating federal public records laws, requesting that a court compel the agency to disclose communications with a prohibitionist group during the ongoing marijuana rescheduling process.
Just days after a DEA administrative law judge (ALJ) denied a motion to remove the agency from hearings on the cannabis proceedings—while recognizing the seriousness of the alleged ex parte contact with Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM)—attorney Matt Zorn on Thursday sued to obtain the records.
He said he filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the DEA on October 29, seeking email correspondences, on an expedited basis, between the agency and SAM related to the rescheduling effort. DEA failed to provide a response within 20 days (excluding weekends), as required under statute.
Therefore, he's now asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to step in and order the DEA to "search and immediately produce responsive records within 20 days."
Read more at Marijuana Moment