Cannabis ban overview:
- Who: Canna Provisions, Gyasi Sellers, Wiseacre Farm and Verano Holdings filed a lawsuit against Merrick Garland in his official capacity of U.S. Attorney General.
- Why: The Massachusetts companies claim the Department of Justice’s enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act’s federal marijuana ban on intrastate trade is harmful and unnecessary.
- Where: The marijuana ban lawsuit was filed in federal court in Massachusetts.
A group of four Massachusetts legal marijuana businesses have filed a lawsuit against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to end enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act and its marijuana ban related to intrastate commerce.
Canna Provisions, Gyasi Sellers, Wiseacre Farm and Verano Holdings all highlighted the issues that they face due to the federal cannabis ban including not being able to obtain loans, federal assistance, federal agricultural grants, posting jobs on certain websites and more.
“All of these harms, along with numerous other harms to Plaintiffs alleged herein, are caused by the federal government’s unconstitutional ban on cultivating, manufacturing, distributing, or possessing intrastate marijuana,” the cannabis ban lawsuit says.
Massachusetts has legalized marijuana sales within the state despite the federal ban but that ban adds complications for those businesses who operate in the marijuana industry.
Federal government has abandoned attempt to outright ban cannabis, lawsuit argues
In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Congress intended to eradicate marijuana from interstate commerce. However, both Congress and the executive branch have since abandoned that attempt as many states have begun the legalized sale of marijuana, the cannabis ban lawsuit argues.
The plaintiffs called the Controlled Substances Act’s cannabis ban as an “unjustified vestige of a long-abandoned policy” while also calling it unconstitutional. The marijuana ban, therefore, is not fungible with the legal sale of the products within states.
“This unjustified intrusion of federal power harms plaintiffs, threatens the communities they serve, and lacks any rational purpose,” the marijuana ban lawsuit says.
U.S. health officials have reportedly recommended that marijuana be changed from a Schedule I substance to the less restrictive Schedule III under federal drug policy.
Have you purchased legal marijuana at a store? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiffs are represented by Michael Aleo, Thomas Lesser and Joshua I. Schiller of Lesser, Newman, Aleo and Nasser LLP.
The cannabis ban lawsuit is Canna Provisions Inc., et al. v. Merrick Garland, in his official capacity of U.S. Attorney General, Case No. 3:23-cv-30113, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts Western Division.
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