DEA Doubles Down on Decision To Fire Agent Who Tried To Replace Opioids With CBD

The Drug Enforcement Administration recently defended its decision to fire an “outstanding” special agent who was fired earlier this year for using CBD oil instead of painkillers, a decision that led to him testing positive for marijuana. showed a reaction.

according to court documents, Special Agent Anthony Armor filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the DEA in May of this year. In a recently filed response brief, the Drug Enforcement Administration fully defended its decision to fire Agent Armor, calling his actions “reckless” and “in line with the agency’s sole mission of enforcing our nation’s drug laws.” “It goes against the law.”

Mr. Armor worked as a DEA agent for 15 years before undergoing a random drug screen and testing positive for THC. Mr. Armor reportedly volunteered samples of CBD products he was using for laboratory analysis, two of the three of which were below the 0.3% THC limit set by the Controlled Substances Act. and the third one was 0.35%. It is within the allowable error range.

Armor said in his lawsuit that he used CBD products to treat pain from injuries sustained while playing football and during his career in law enforcement. Needless to say, as a member of the DEA, Mr. Armor is well aware of the dangers of opioids and commercial hemp products (and a whole bunch of other weird shit).

“For Armor and many other companies in this country, this change meant new opportunities, particularly with respect to CBD, the non-THC cannabinoid found in the cannabis plant,” the lawsuit states. “Mr. Armor expected CBD oil to play a role in pain management. It’s no surprise that he did it. From Martha Stewart to Wrigley Field, CBD has become a part of American culture. It is incorporated into.”

Despite Mr. Armor’s rationale, and despite the lawsuit he filed, the DEA doubled down on its decision in a court response brief filed on August 30th.

“Mr. Armor was an outstanding Drug Enforcement Administration agent when he took the opportunity in 2019. He believed that CBD products were less likely to result in a positive marijuana test, but the “I purchased and consumed these unregulated products on the Internet knowing that this was a possibility,” the brief said. “Mr. Armor claims he “demonstrated negligent or poor decision-making” and that the DEA properly held him accountable for his poor decisions when he tested positive for drugs. he claimed. The DEA lost confidence in Mr. Armor and properly removed him. ”

The response brief was filed days before the Department of Health and Human Services’ official recommendation to move cannabis to Schedule 3, leaving it up to the DEA court to decide whether to honor DHHS’ recommendation. It was not immediately clear whether rescheduling cannabis would allow federal agents like Agent Armor to use cannabis products.

The submission further stated: “This was an unfortunate end to a long and fruitful career in federal law enforcement. However, the DEA is responsible for enforcing our nation’s drug laws, and federal agents are not responsible for what they put in their bodies.” There is a clear and real relationship between the elimination of illegal drug use and the efficiency of operations within the Drug Enforcement Administration.”

Since ending Armor in 2020, the DEA has made it clear that agents should not use CBD products for this very reason under any circumstances. All hemp contains at least trace amounts of THC (hemp and cannabis are the same plant, after all), so it’s possible to accidentally or accidentally test positive for THC while using such products. is very easy. They also revealed that synthetic cannabinoids and some hemp-derived cannabinoids are not legal products within that range. Their continued fight against opioid abuse also continues, albeit in a somewhat paradoxical manner.

“So why would they defend the firing of a special agent who was taking these dangerous drugs off the streets by simply ingesting a product advertised as CBD oil for pain without his knowledge?” “Some people may wonder why he’s defending himself in federal court because of that,” Armor’s attorney said. “They would test the line between drugs and marijuana — precisely because they didn’t want to use opiates.” . marijuana moment on friday.