A group of cannabis companies looking to overturn the plant’s illicit status at the national level could be on their way to the U.S. Supreme Court. And there is reason for them to be optimistic that at least one justice is willing to take the case.
Last week the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the group, upholding a lower courts rejection of their lawsuit challenging the federal prohibition of cannabis.
Verano Holding Corp., which operates in 14 different states, along with Massachusetts-based companies Canna Provisions, Wiseacre Farms, and cannabis courier Gyasi Sellers sued the government in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts on Oct. 26, 2023, arguing that the CSA should no longer apply to cannabis because of the federal government’s growing acceptance of legal state markets over the last decade.
At the same time, the plaintiffs say that the law unfairly limits access to federal grants, banking services, payroll services and investments, as well as from processing credit cards for purchases. Cannabis operators are often required to deal in large sums of cash, which they argue makes them ripe for robbery, potentially creating a public safety risk.
“We thus conclude that the appellants have failed to show that there is no rational basis for concluding that their activity substantially affects interstate commerce,” wrote Chief Circuit Judge David Barron in a 22-page opinion released May 27.
The next legal venue for the plaintiffs would be the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS), but only if the court agrees to hear the case. There is no guarantee that SCOTUS will agree to hear a case, but Associate Justice Clarence Thomas has made it clear that he thinks it is time that the highest court in the land reconsiders the legality of cannabis.
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