The U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected a challenge by Massachusetts cannabis businesses that argued cannabis prohibition could no longer be considered constitutional, as ruled by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005, Reuters reports. Lawyers for the businesses contended that Congress had abandoned its goal of controlling all cannabis in interstate commerce, which was a predicate of the Supreme Court ruling.
In the 2005 case, Gonzales v. Raich, the Supreme Court found that the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution gave Congress the authority to criminalize cannabis possession and use even in states that allow medical cannabis use, and Congress used that power for the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
During arguments before the appeals court, attorney David Boies noted that Congress, in 2010, permitted Washington, D.C. to move forward with medical cannabis legalization through a rider in an appropriations bill; however, Chief U.S. Circuit Judge David Barron, writing for a three-judge panel, said that the rider was of “limited scope” and did not apply to the cultivation and distribution of cannabis for non-medical purposes.
“After all, notwithstanding those appropriation riders, the CSA remains fully intact as to the regulation of the commercial activity involving marijuana for non-medical purposes, which is the activity in which the appellants, by their own account, are engaged.” — Barron, in the ruling, via Reuters
Barron said that ruling in favor of the plaintiffs would result in a nationwide exemption of the CSA’s drug schedule, which would be broader than what the Supreme Court rejected in 2005, which concerned only medical cannabis.
U.S. District Judge Mark Mastroianni last year rejected similar arguments made by the Massachusetts businesses, ruling that only the Supreme Court could overturn the 2005 ruling upholding the law.
Get daily cannabis business news updates. Subscribe
Ganjapreneur is made possible by our partners:
