The saga continues for four Massachusetts-based business owners who filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Justice Department in an attempt to overturn cannabis prohibition.

The plaintiffs include owners of Canna Provisions, Inc., Gyasi Sellers, Wiseacre Farm, Inc., and Verano Holdings Corp., who are represented by David Boies and Josh Schiller of Bois Schiller Flexner LLP. The lawsuit was first issued in October 2023, and used the results of a court case from 2005, Gonzales v. Raich, to showcase how federal prohibition of cannabis is outdated. “The federal criminal prohibition on intrastate marijuana remains in place, an unjustified vestige of a long-abandoned policy,” the lawsuit states. “This unjustified intrusion of federal power harms Plaintiffs, threatens the communities they serve, and lacks any rational purpose.”

According to a news report published by The Boston Globe, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland filed a motion to dismiss the case on Jan. 23, stating that the plaintiffs have no standing on which to sue, and have presented no evidence that prohibition has caused them injury (such as being arrested or prosecuted). The motion stated that “Even if the court were free to disregard Raich ’s holdings (it is not), Plaintiff’s attacks on that holding are unpersuasive,” that the “Plaintiffs lack standing to challenge the CSA [Controlled Substances Act],” and “Courts have consistently, and correctly, held that no fundamental right exists to distribute, possess, or use marijuana.”

The Boston Globe noted that the Department of Justice declined to comment, as of Jan. 29.

In defense of the business owners, Schiller described how there is evidence that the longstanding illegality of cannabis from a federal standpoint is “well-established.” Schiller cited examples such as cannabis businesses being heavily taxed, forced to pay insurance premiums, cannot take credit cards as a form of payment, and usually pay a higher price for rent or mortgages, “Almost like they are illegal businesses.”

James Smith, of Smith, Costello, & Crawford, commented on the lawsuit and told The Boston Globe that winning a case like this one is a “high hill to climb.” Even still, Smith described Massachusetts’ regulatory framework for legalization as “pretty pristine.” The federal government has yet to make a move on federal legalization and has made no constructive decisions regarding major industry issues, such as banking. Smith added that with a lack of action from the federal government, that leaves state legislators to act—and courts are waiting for them to do so.

Another comment was provided by Boston University professor and author, Jay Wexler, who told the news outlet that if legislators lose interest in regulating cannabis federally, then expecting the federal government to take on the role of cannabis business in all states “falls apart.” Wexler also stated that this current case could eventually reach the Supreme Court. “These are cases where plaintiffs are aiming for the Supreme Court because there are precedents,” said Wexler. “It’s pretty unlikely that lower courts will feel comfortable agreeing with the plaintiffs.”

Schiller estimated that the lawsuit could take two years to reach a conclusion. But one of the plaintiffs, Gyasi Sellers, who owns a delivery service called Treevit, explained that it’s worth the wait. The opportunity to freely and legally take credit cards as a form of payment would improve his entire business, making delivery quicker and also maintaining a safe work environment for employees. Sellers described how prohibition would be “like getting our training wheels taken off, or our handcuffs taken off, depending on how you want to look at it. It’d be nice to say our fate is actually in our hands, and we have the ability to reach our true potential.”

The support for putting an end to prohibition continues to grow. Following the recommendation to move cannabis from a Schedule I to a Schedule III substance by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the industry eagerly awaits the decision of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Meanwhile, multiple House representatives and Senators are calling out to President Biden to make a move as well.

In a High Times exclusive interview, New York Senator Kristen Gillibrand called for an end to prohibition. “Studies show that legalizing marijuana could help reduce violence in international drug trafficking and generate billions of dollars for the economy,” Gillibrand said. “The vast majority of Americans agree that marijuana should be legalized—that’s why I’m calling on the Attorney General and the Drug Enforcement Administration to swiftly deschedule marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act.”

Many predict that rescheduling cannabis could give Biden a huge boost in the upcoming election later this year. A survey conducted by Lake Research Partner showed that Biden could benefit from an 11% boost from younger voters (based on the opinions of 900 voters used in the survey, spread out across the U.S.).

The post Massachusetts Cannabis Business Owners’ Lawsuit Against the U.S. Government Continues appeared first on High Times.

The post Massachusetts Cannabis Business Owners’ Lawsuit Against the U.S. Government Continues appeared first on Paradise Found.

A handful of cannabis companies recently initiated a lawsuit with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland regarding the negative effects of federal prohibition, which hinders their business. According to the plaintiffs, which includes Massachusetts-based Canna Provisions Inc., Wiseacre Farm, Inc., and Gyasi Sellers, and Illinois-based Verano Holdings Corp., the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) causes harm to their respective businesses and is unconstitutional.

The lawsuit document filed on Oct. 26 refers to a court ruling, Gonzales v. Raich, from nearly 20 years ago. “In 2005, the United States Supreme Court held that because Congress intended to ‘eradicate’ marijuana from interstate commerce, including both economic and noneconomic uses of marijuana, the federal government had a rational and therefore lawful purpose in intruding on the states’ internal regulation of marijuana,” the lawsuit stated. “…This unjustified intrusion of federal power harms Plaintiffs, threatens the communities they serve, and lacks any rational purpose.”

The plaintiffs are represented by law firm Boies Schiller Flexner and Lesser, Newman, Aleo, & Nasser LLP, specifically principal David Boies, who has previously represented clients such as Microsoft, Al Gore, and a wide variety of others since it was founded in 1997.

Boies explained that with more than 38 states legalizing cannabis, the 2005 court case is. “Outdated precedents from decades ago no longer apply—the Supreme Court has since made clear that the federal government lacks the authority to regulate purely intrastate commerce; moreover, the facts on which those precedents are based are no longer true,”

Canna Provisions Inc. offers free training for those interested in a job in the legal cannabis industry, but because it’s illegal under the CSA, it “has been barred by one of the primary career services organizations in Massachusetts, MassHire, from posting jobs or running workshops.” Employees have also had their personal bank accounts closed and mortgages decline due to working “in a lawful intrastate marijuana businesses.”

While Wiseacre Farm, Inc. cultivates legally in Massachusetts, it was barred from leasing more farming land because its activities were deemed illegal under the CSA. “That illegal status renders farmers unwilling to lease their underused farmland to Wiseacre Farm out of fear that having marijuana cultivated on their land will cause them to lose federal agriculture grant money,” the lawsuit explained.

Gyasi Sellers, who is CEO of the delivery service Treevit, delivers to communities that were negatively impacted by the War on Drugs and offers jobs for ex-offenders, but faced many hurdles in order to operate his legitimate business. “These include not being able to obtain loans from the Small Business Administration, which deems his and all other marijuana businesses ‘ineligible for SBA financial assistance,’ regardless of whether they comply with state law,” the document stated.

Finally, Verano Holdings Corp., which is a Canadian-based company that is primarily based in Illinois but also operates in Massachusetts and in other states as well. However, the restrictions of the CSA prevent them from conducting various cultivation, manufacturing, medical, and adult-use licenses. “Because of that illegal status, Verano faces ongoing harms, including that Verano’s Massachusetts retail operations are unable to accept credit cards,” the document stated. “That illegal status also results in Verano having to pay higher insurance premiums and limits Verano in terms of service providers willing to work with the company.”

Following all of these individual experiences with the difficulties of operating a cannabis business under the CSA, the section concluded: “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.”

In a press statement, Boies explained how federal criminalization of safe cannabis businesses is unfair and denies small businesses the opportunity and services that they should be eligible for. “The federal government lacks authority to prohibit intrastate cannabis commerce,” Boies said. “Outdated precedents from decades ago no longer apply—the Supreme Court has since made clear that the federal government lacks the authority to regulate purely intrastate commerce; moreover, the facts on which those precedents are based are no longer true.”

Verano President Darren Weiss explained their intention to have the CSA ruled unconstitutional. “We are prepared to bring this case all the way to the Supreme Court in order to align federal law with how Congress has acted for years,” Weiss said. “We believe that the Supreme Court will adhere to the core value on which our country was founded and which is central to guaranteeing freedom: that the federal government’s powers are limited.”

Canna Provisions CEO and co-founder, Meg Sanders, also explained their desire for equal treatment as all other Massachusetts-based small businesses.

Many other lawsuits have attempted to challenge or address the CSA, including the previously mentioned 2005 Gonzales v. Raich lawsuit. In May 2022, a Pennsylvania court ruled that cannabis is still a controlled substance, but in October 2022, a Nevada state judge ruled that cannabis should be removed from the state list of controlled substances.

The post Massachusetts Cannabis Businesses File Lawsuit Against the U.S. Attorney General appeared first on High Times.

The post Massachusetts Cannabis Businesses File Lawsuit Against the U.S. Attorney General appeared first on Paradise Found.