President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister to lead the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister.
Chronister, who has supported decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana in the past, was nominated Saturday. If confirmed by the Senate, Chronister will replace Anne Milgram, a Biden administration appointee and former New Jersey attorney general.
Chronister, a lifelong law enforcement officer, has served as sheriff of Hillsborough County, Florida, since 2018, overseeing Tampa and its surrounding areas.
Chronister is set to inherit the ongoing marijuana rescheduling process initiated under the Biden administration. Although he has not commented specifically on Biden’s rescheduling proposal, which would move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, Chronister has expressed cautious support for marijuana reform. In 2020, he testified in favor of decriminalizing possession of up to 20 grams of marijuana in Hillsborough County. He emphasized that the policy would allow law enforcement to concentrate on violent offenders. Despite this, Chronister has also voiced concerns about impaired driving related to marijuana, ramping up DUI enforcement after Florida’s medical marijuana market launched in 2017.
In addressing the opioid crisis, which will likely be his main focus as DEA Chief, Chronister has taken a progressive stance, advocating for treatment and education as critical tools. At a 2019 press conference alongside DEA officials, he acknowledged the limitations of law enforcement, stating, “We know we’re not going to be able to arrest our way out of the opioid crisis. It takes treatment.”
