Former DEA Admin Derek Maltz: Fentanyl A ‘Chemical War’
On today’s Trade To Black podcast, host Shadd Dales welcomes Derek Maltz, former Acting DEA Administrator and Special Operations Director, for a hard-hitting interview about America’s growing fentanyl crisis. Derek Maltz not only will give us a look at fentanyl’s devastation over the last eight years, he gives us a glimpse at how illicit cannabis operations, and Chinese criminal networks are adapting.
Maltz, a 28-year DEA veteran,shares what he’s personally witnessed on the front lines over the decades in special operations and his four months as acting administrator under the Trump administration. The rise of synthetic drugs—not just fentanyl, but increasingly dangerous nitazines and xylazine—are being linked to Chinese and Mexican criminal organizations. Maltz says it’s a “chemical war” against North America.
We also review the growing divide between regulated cannabis and the illicit market, and why that difference matters more now than ever. Illicit cannabis grow operations, often tied to Chinese nationals, are becoming widespread in states like Colorado, Oklahoma, Maine, and Texas. These grows, he said, involve toxic pesticides and deceptive practices.
Maltz explains how politics prevented past administrations from addressing the crisis. Rescheduling, he believes, is a complex, science-driven issue. However, he firmly condemns federal-state confusion and tainted cannabis entering legal markets, calling for clarity and better data.
From Homeland Security task forces to new strategies targeting global drug networks, Maltz outlines what coordinated enforcement could look like going forward. With rescheduling on the table and the cannabis industry pushing toward federal reform, this is a grounded, timely conversation with someone who’s been inside the system and still works to protect public safety every day.
Maltz believes the tide is turning—but only if America and Canada continue the conversation and commit to confronting the threat head-on. Be sure to catch the full interview on this episode.
