According to 375 F.3d 1148 (D.C. Cir. 2004), the DEA's Drug Laws are in fact creating Monopolies.
The DOJ Anti-Trust Division responded saying that the DEA must lower the bar to entry to allow for Competition in the Market.
See: Memorandum of the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice as Amicus Curiae in Support of the Application of Johnson Matthey Inc
In 2016 the DEA themselves recognized their Marijuana Research Monopoly with the University of Mississippi, and began allowing people to request to be allowed to grow Marijuana for Research purposes.
See: Federal Register/Vol. 81, No. 156
All of this implies that there is a Public Interest for the Manufacture and Distribution of Drugs, yet not even a Religious exemption exists. The DEA and Congress must lower the bar.