The Trump administration has been eerily quiet on cannabis reform. With little news to go on, any hope of fulfilling Trump’s campaign promises seems to be fading.
Then, late Friday afternoon, a stunning piece of news broke: Matt Zorn, a prominent attorney known for his work on cannabis and psychedelics reform—and for repeatedly suing the DEA and other government agencies—has officially joined the Department of Health and Human Services as Deputy General Counsel.
As someone who has closely followed the winding, often unpredictable path of cannabis rescheduling, I could never have seen this coming. To say that Matt Zorn is passionate about drug policy reform would be the understatement of the year.
Here are just a few highlights of his career:
· Zorn represented a former DEA agent who was fired for using CBD oil. He successfully challenged the termination, getting the agent reinstated with back pay.
· Alongside attorney Shane Pennington, Zorn sued the DEA on behalf of Dr. Sue Sisley and the Scottsdale Research Institute to allow her to grow cannabis for clinical research—and won.
· He has repeatedly sued the DEA and HHS over Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, including the one that led to the public release of the HHS report on cannabis rescheduling.
· Most recently, Zorn represented Connecticut’s cannabis ombudsman pro bono so she could participate in the rescheduling hearings.
In past interviews, Zorn has called cannabis's Schedule I status “a sham” and “a fraud on the American public.”
The idea that this outspoken advocate is now joining the very government he has spent years challenging—likely for a significant pay cut—is eye-opening. While I haven’t spoken to him directly, I can only assume he accepted the role because he believes he can make a meaningful difference in drug policy—especially under RFK Jr., a vocal supporter of cannabis and psychedelics reform.
His former partner and fellow cannabis attorney, Shane Pennington, who we have interviewed before tweeted this after the news broke:
Now, sources say he’s being hired as a “psychedelics czar.” So what does that have to do with cannabis? My response: there’s simply no way he’s only going to advise on psychedelics. And here is Shane again:
In an interview last December, Matt Zorn made a notable comment about psychedelics reform. He stated that advocates of psychedelic rescheduling should be “following marijuana rescheduling extremely closely.”
Additionally, the Office of General Counsel—where Zorn is now joining—appears to be gaining significantly more power and influence within the government due to an ongoing restructuring. Why does this matter?
Because the DEA seems to be actively resisting the rescheduling process. It has stacked its hearings with anti-cannabis voices, dismissed HHS’s scientific findings, and even opposed its own administrative judge—all in an apparent effort to delay or block rescheduling.
So, if the goal is to push cannabis reform forward and hold the DEA accountable from within, what better move than bringing in someone like Matt Zorn? He has a proven track record of challenging the DEA and advancing cannabis reform—and now he’s stepping into a newly empowered role that could help complete not just cannabis rescheduling, but broader drug policy reform as well. And here is Shane Pennington again:
I heard some compare this to letting a fox into the henhouse. No—this is more like letting a lion in.
In my view, this single hire significantly increases the odds that the DEA will be dragged across the finish line on rescheduling. While cannabis rescheduling may not be imminent, with this one appointment, RFK Jr. and HHS are sending in a lion to get the process back on track.
And my money’s on the lion.
P.S. While Matt may be the lion I think he is, that doesn’t mean there aren’t also snakes in there with him in the form of prohibitionists. In fact, this weekend a far-right personality took to the internet and misrepresented the news of the hiring of Matt Zorn. This shows you that some people are really worried about Matt’s hiring and are trying to undermine him right from the very beginning.