The Trump administration appears to have made a good move — possibly a great one — by hiring Matthew Zorn, a well-known lawyer in drug policy reform circles who made a name for himself going up against the government. Now he’s working on the inside.

Marijuana Moment and Politico reported that Zorn joins the government as deputy general counsel at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

An HHS directory website confirms the news of his hiring, as does his LinkedIn profile, both listing the deputy general counsel role.

The news triggered far-right activist Laura Loomer, who has reportedly had some influence over Trump administration personnel decisions in the past. The New York Times reported last month that the president fired several National Security Council officers after what the Times called “an extraordinary meeting in the Oval Office with” with Loomer, “who laid out a list of people she believed were disloyal to the president.”

When it comes to Zorn, Loomer doesn’t appear to have taken such a drastic step. But she complained online about how his hiring was initially publicized, taking issue with reports that identified him as the “psychedelics czar” (Zorn is not listed as “psychedelics czar” in the HHS directory). Loomer wrote on social media:

Marijuana Moment reporter Kyle Jaeger contested Loomer’s account, responding that Zorn didn’t leak the story and has not described himself as “psychedelics czar.” Likewise, Psychedelic Alpha editor Josh Hardman, whose story Loomer cited in her social media post, said he didn’t speak to Zorn and that the lawyer didn’t coin the “psychedelics czar” term.

HHS did not immediately respond to MSNBC’s questions about Zorn’s hiring, duties and informal moniker.

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After Trump won the 2024 election but before he took office, Hardman conducted an interview of Zorn that illuminates his thinking and highlights how intriguing it is that he now works for the government. Asked how he viewed the then-incoming administration, Zorn answered, “I think you have to be bullish, simply because the status quo isn’t that great.”

So whether or not he’s known as the “psychedelics czar,” the fact that Zorn is working for the administration is significant, even heartening, for anyone hoping to move drug policy in a more logical and just direction, after both parties have fallen short for decades. He has worked to do that in litigating against the government, but working for it adds a new dimension and new possibilities. Time will tell what those are, exactly, and whether they come to fruition. Marijuana Moment reports that Zorn “will be assuming a critical role — and he was specifically recruited with the intent to have him spearhead the agency’s psychedelics policy work, the sources said.”

Hopefully, he’ll have a chance to make a positive contribution without Loomer or anyone else getting in the way.

Of course, the bright spot of this news comes as the Trump administration generally — and Kennedy’s HHS specifically — generates dark news across the board. Zorn’s hiring doesn’t change that. It’s simply a good thing happening while many other bad things are happening. My modest point in spotlighting this development is that I’m cautiously optimistic that it’s better for this good thing to be happening than not.

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