Mike Tyson, a retired champion boxer and owner of a cannabis company, toured a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) lab with a federal prosecutor this week—donning a DEA jacket as he promoted his marijuana brand’s commitment to safety and learned about fentanyl-related issues.
As advocates continue to monitor developments in DEA’s cannabis rescheduling proceedings initiated under the Biden administration that have largely stalled, Tyson got a look behind-the-curtains at the federal agency’s New York City-based lab, where he was shown various confiscated drugs—from marijuana to psilocybin to fentanyl—and informed about the increased risk of contamination in the illicit marketplace.
“I just found out that a pin of fentanyl can kill somebody,” Tyson told The New York Post. “I was never educated on fentanyl and this is new to me. I’m just here to be educated on the laws.”
But the retired athlete also took the opportunity to connect the fentanyl issue back to his own cannabis enterprise, Tyson 2.0, saying he’s “trying to make the whole cannabis universe safe” with his products.
Tyson also acknowledged his past troubles using other substances such as cocaine and alcohol, which he said he hasn’t used for years. That experience informed his mission to ensure that people who choose to use marijuana have a access to an option manufactured with robust quality control standards in place.
Alina Habba, acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, accompanied Tyson on the DEA lab tour. She said there’s “a real toxic problem [in the illicit drug supply], and that’s the truth of it.”
“They are such proponents, the Tysons, of safe use—and making sure it’s not from China or a pesticide,” Habba, who previously worked in Trump’s White House and for his Super PAC, said.
Following the tour, Tyson asked in an X post on Tuesday, “How is cannabis a schedule I but fentanyl that kills millions is schedule ll? Something is broken and needs fixing.”
Just a day before visiting the DEA facility, the White House shared a photo of Tyson with President Donald Trump at a UFC event, which the retired boxer’s cannabis company described as “powerful.” It’s unclear whether the two discussed drug policy during the meetup.
Trump has been notably silent on marijuana policy issues since taking office, despite endorsing rescheduling, industry banking access and a Florida adult-use legalization ballot initiative on the campaign trail.
“Change comes from the inside,” the Tyson 2.0 company said in another X post on Monday. “We are all about safety and compliance. If you aren’t buying from a compliant dispensary where products are tested then you could be putting your health at risk.”
Tyson in 2019 also discussed his use of cannabis and DMT during an interview with Joe Rogan, saying, “I like who I am when I smoke [marijuana].”
“Without weed I don’t like who I am sometimes. That’s just real,” he said.
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Image element courtesy of Super Festivals.
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