Marijuana companies seeking to shield their operations in the state from federal law enforcement are asking a judge to schedule oral arguments to respond to arguments presented by the Justice Department at a recent briefing on the case — including its position that legalization of cannabis attracts out-of-state tourism, empowering it to uphold the Constitution’s prohibition.
The marijuana corporations filed a request for oral arguments in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Western Division on Friday. This comes about a week after the DOJ filed a motion to dismiss the case in court.
The main lawsuit against the federal government is being brought by multi-state operator Verano Holdings Corp. and Massachusetts-based cannabis businesses Canna Provisions and Wiseacre Farm, along with Treevit CEO Gyasi Sellers. They are represented by the law firms Boies Schiller and Flexner LLP and Lesser, Newman, Aleo and Nasser LLP.
“The case presents numerous constitutional questions and concerns matters of great importance both in the Commonwealth and across the country,” said the law firm representing industry stakeholders. “Oral arguments will allow for meaningful review of these issues.”
David Boyce, whose past client list includes the Justice Department, former Vice President Al Gore and the plaintiffs in the case that overturned California’s same-sex marriage ban, is prosecuting the case.
He said in the new one-page letter to Judge Mark G. Mastroianni that oral arguments “would be particularly helpful in addressing the issues first raised in the defendant’s response, including whether the Controlled Substances Act’s (CSA) prohibition on intrastate marijuana can be supported as an attempt to regulate “marijuana tourism.”
Attorneys for the Justice Department said the government “does not take a position on the request for oral argument” in a statement included in the motion.
“It is a matter of discretion for the court whether to conduct oral argument,” it said. “If the court elects to hold oral argument, the defendant will be prepared to present arguments.”
Part of the Justice Department’s argument in its filing earlier this month is that it claims “it is rational to conclude that Massachusetts’ regulated marijuana industry fuels a different type of marijuana-related interstate commerce: marijuana tourism.” .
“This is especially so because the Massachusetts marijuana business generates hundreds of millions of dollars in sales each year, and dispensaries like Canna Provisions serve out-of-state customers,” it states.
In other words, while the plaintiffs’ contention is that the Constitution’s Commerce Clause should prevent the Justice Department from interfering with state legal activity because it is centrally regulated within state borders, legalization attracts cannabis tourism from people out of state without legitimate programs that would prefer to buy from regulated storefronts.
“As the Supreme Court ruled decades ago, Congress has the authority to regulate businesses that cater to out-of-state tourists, even if the business’s transactions are conducted entirely within the state,” the DOJ filing said.
All of this comes amid a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) review of marijuana’s scheduling under the CSA. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has recommended moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III.
And while the Biden administration has argued that people should not be criminalized for possessing or using marijuana, the Justice Department has continued to fight reform efforts in the courts, including the current case for a broad ban as well as litigation challenging the ban on marijuana. weapon of cannabis users rights.
Read the request for oral hearings in the marijuana case below:
Biden, Harris, top Justice Department official promote marijuana pardons as they mark ‘Second Chance Month’
Photo features courtesy of rawpixel and Philip Steffan.
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