Four marijuana companies, including a multistate operator, have filed a lawsuit against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in which they allege the federal MJ prohibition under the Controlled Substances Act is no longer constitutional.

According to the complaint, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, retailer Canna Provisions, Treevit delivery service CEO Gyasi Sellers, cultivator Wiseacre Farm and MSO Verano Holdings Corp. are all harmed by “the federal government’s unconstitutional ban on cultivating, manufacturing, distributing, or possessing intrastate marijuana.”

Verano is headquartered in Chicago but has operations in Massachusetts; the other three operators are based in Massachusetts.

The lawsuit seeks a ruling that the “Controlled Substances Act is unconstitutional as applied to the intrastate cultivation, manufacture, possession, and distribution of marijuana pursuant to state law.”

The companies want the case to go before the U.S. Supreme Court.

They hired prominent law firm Boies Schiller Flexner to represent them.

The New York-based firm’s principal is David Boies, whose former clients include Microsoft, former presidential candidate Al Gore and Elizabeth Holmes’ disgraced startup Theranos.

Similar challenges to the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) have failed.

One such challenge led to a landmark Supreme Court decision in 2005.

In Gonzalez vs. Raich, the highest court in the United States ruled in a 6-3 decision that the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution gave Congress the power to outlaw marijuana federally, even though state laws allow the cultivation and sale of cannabis.

In the 18 years since that ruling, 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized adult-use marijuana and the federal government has allowed a multibillion-dollar cannabis industry to thrive.

Since both Congress and the U.S. Department of Justice, currently headed by Garland, have declined to intervene in state-licensed marijuana markets, the key facts that led to the Supreme Court’s 2005 ruling “no longer apply,” Boies said in a statement Thursday.

“The Supreme Court has since made clear that the federal government lacks the authority to regulate purely intrastate commerce,” Boies said.

“Moreover, the facts on which those precedents are based are no longer true.”

Verano President Darren Weiss said in a statement the company is “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.”

While the Biden administration’s push to reschedule marijuana would help solve marijuana operators’ federal tax woes, neither rescheduling nor modest Congressional reforms such as the SAFER Banking Act “solve the fundamental issue,” Weiss added.

“The application of the CSA to lawful state-run cannabis business is an unconstitutional overreach on state sovereignty that has led to decades of harm, failed businesses, lost jobs, and unsafe working conditions.”

Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/marijuana-companies-suing-us-attorney-general-to-overturn-federal-prohibition/

Thanks to the 2021 ruling in State v. Blake, countless people have received reimbursements from the state in regard to simple drug possession charges.

In July, Washington State recently opened its online reimbursement center, called the Blake Refund Bureau, to cover court-ordered fines or costs in relation to drug possession convictions. Since then, the state has already approved reimbursements for a total of $276,000.

The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) launched the Blake Refund Bureau more than two years after the court ruling was made for State v. Blake in February 2021, when the Washington Superior Court ruled that arresting people for drug possession was unconstitutional.

The foundation of the case involved a woman who received a pair of jeans from a friend in 2016, which had a small bag of methamphetamine hidden in the coin pocket. The state charged her with possession of a controlled substance, but she claimed “unwitting possession” in her defense.

This premise established a discussion of those who unknowingly handle or harbor drugs. According to Justice Sheryl Gordon McCloud, a postal worker can unknowingly deliver packages that contain drugs, or a roommate can hide drugs in a shared living space. “Attaching the harsh penalties of felony conviction, lengthy imprisonment, stigma, and the many collateral consequences that accompany every felony drug conviction to entirely innocent and passive conduct exceeds the legislature’s powers,” Gordon explained.

“In 2021, the Washington State Supreme Court found the law criminalizing drug possession unconstitutional,” AOC stated. “As a result of this decision, known as State v. Blake, any Blake-related convictions qualify to be removed (vacated) from one’s criminal record, and any legal financial obligations (LFOs) paid as a result qualify for financial reimbursement.” Washington State police departments were instructed to no longer arrest people for simple drug possession.

Anyone convicted of drug possession prior to the conclusion of State v. Blake, or before February 25, 2021, is eligible to have their conviction cleared, as well as reimbursed for any relative costs. The Olympian stated that an estimated 20,000 felony drug possession charges that date back to the 1970s could be eligible for vacating, in addition to 150,000 misdemeanor cannabis charges.

Robin Zimmerman, a senior communications officer at the Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts, recently told The Olympian that the reimbursement amount is increasing every day, and that “payments for the online application refunds are on track to be processed and issued within 90 days.”

Zimmerman also added that state courts have paid out $9.4 million in LFO refunds. Before the Blake Refund Bureau was established, refunds were issued to state cities and counties until June 30. Now, more than 30,000 people have viewed the website, and 25,000 cases have been made online, with that number increasing daily. “Blake team members are working on processing applications and collaborating with justice partners in outreach efforts to help inform Blake-impacted individuals across Washington State about the relief opportunities now available,” Zimmerman said.

The initial court ruling was on track to expire this year on July 1, but in May 2023 Washington State legislators attended a special session to pass a law that was later signed by Gov. Jay Inslee.

According to Sen. June Robinson told The News Tribune in May that it was the most challenging legislation she’s worked on throughout her entire career. “Luckily we are moving as a society to understand that addiction is a disease,” Robinson said. “However, unfortunately, we do not have built-up infrastructure and committed and trained staff to suitably address this disease in every corner of our state today. Over and over again we’ve heard that a solution we propose needs to put treatment options in front. I believe this striking amendment does that.” 

May was a good month for Washington State, which also saw other bills passed by Gov. Inslee. He signed a bill that expands the number of social equity licenses by 52 between 2024 and 2032. Bill sponsor Sen. Rebecca Saldaña explained the importance of her bill. “Building pathways of opportunity and flexibility for people of color disproportionately harmed by the war on drugs is not only a moral imperative, but a crucial step towards a more just and equitable society,” said Saldaña. “We heal the harms of the past by our commitment to action and change today.”

Inslee also signed a separate bill that would protect employees from pre-employment drug testing. According to NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano, this was a huge step forward. “Urine screening for off-the-job cannabis consumption has never been an evidence-based policy,” said Armentano. “Rather, this discriminatory practice is a holdover from the zeitgeist of the 1980s War on Drugs. But times have changed; attitudes have changed, and in many places, the marijuana laws have changed. It is time for workplace policies to adapt to this new reality and to cease punishing employees for activities they engage in during their off-hours that pose no workplace safety threat.”

The Seattle Times reported in December 2022 that the state saw a decrease in sales for the first time since legalization began in 2014. Although the state reported $509 million in excise tax revenue for fiscal year 2022—an 8% decline compared to sales from fiscal year 2021. Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board spokesperson Brian Smith explained that one reason for this could be because of the transition from pandemic-based remote work back to in-person work. 

Source: https://hightimes.com/news/washington-state-pays-out-9-4-million-in-refunds-relating-to-drug-convictions/

Cannabis appears to have replaced the post-work drink for a significant portion of those living in legal marijuana jurisdictions.

Canadians like to drink. A 2017 World Health Organization report found that Canadians 15 years or older drank 10 liters of pure alcohol per capita in 2016, which is 3.6 liters more than the world average. The United States wasn’t far behind, consuming 9.3 liters per capita, and Lithuania far outpaced the competition, with a stunning 18.2 liters of pure alcohol per capita.

Pure alcohol is rather vague, so let’s get more specific. According to Beer Canada statistics, the average Canadian of legal drinking age consumed 210 cans of beer in 2018. That’s a lot of beer, especially when you consider 20% of the country abstains from alcohol consumption. However, the figure represented a 1.2% decrease from 2017, Beer Canada said, and national beer sales declined by 0.3% as well.

Those are small numbers, but they underline an important trend highlighted in a new Cowen and Co. industry report that could eventually make its way to the U.S.. In Canada’s first year of legal adult-use cannabis, domestic beer sales experienced their worst decline in six years. Domestic beer volume fell 3.9%, which is worse than the national beer volume fall at 3.0%.

This indicates a new lifestyle trend emerging in both Canada and legal cannabis states in America — weed on the weekday, beer and booze on the weekend. As Cowen analysts call it, consumers are also chasing a better “buzz for your buck.” Cheap beer used to serve as an easy way to wind down after a long day at work. Have a couple brews, don’t get that drunk, and relax.

Cannabis appears to have replaced that lifestyle function for a significant portion of those living in legal marijuana jurisdictions. Cowen analysts emphasized that serious downturns in beer consumption and sales will only continue in Canada, as many provinces roll out more marijuana products such as vaporizers, edibles, and tinctures in the coming year.

Proof of these trends exist in legal marijuana states in America, too. A 2019 report from the Distilled Spirits Council reported that per capita beer sales declined between 2.3 to 3.6% in legal marijuana states Colorado, Washington, and Oregon following adult-use cannabis legalization. While federal marijuana legalization remains at least several years away, we should likely expect similar trends to continue in the United States when that occurs.

Source: https://thefreshtoast.com/cannabis/is-weekday-weed-and-weekend-beer-trend/