Cannabis News
Supreme Court Should Hear Marijuana Case That Could Affect Other Issues, Man In Endangered Species Act Dispute Says
A public interest law firm representing a man who says federal law unconstitutionally violated his property rights has joined a chorus of voices calling for the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a case challenging a key foundation of the federal marijuana ban.
In an amicus brief filed with the court Wednesday, the Pacific Legal Foundation — representing Florida-based Michael Colosi — said its client’s property dispute “exemplifies” how the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution has been misinterpreted and misapplied, giving the federal government unauthorized authority over intrastate commerce.
In Colosi’s case, his local government told him he had to pay a $200,000 development fee to build a home on a specific property in Charlotte County because a species of bird known as the Florida scrub might someday populate the area. That’s because the federal government classifies the species as “threatened.”
“Colosi argued that the federal government lacks the authority to regulate an intrastate species without a direct connection to interstate commerce,” the brief states. “Colosi and petitioners face the same dilemma: they are aggrieved by federal regulation of activities that the Constitution does not authorize the federal government to regulate.”
Until then, the Massachusetts marijuana companies urging the Supreme Court to take up their case also argue that federal law unconstitutionally prohibits intrastate cannabis activity in violation of the Commerce Clause.
“Canna Provisions is not the first petitioner to ask this Court to clarify the scope of the Commerce and Necessary and Appropriate Clauses, but its case presents a unique opportunity to temper past wrongly decided precedents and protect property rights,” the filing states.
“Colosi’s effort to build a house was blocked by federal regulations because an endangered species within the state, the Florida scrub jay, can nest on the land. When questioned about the condition it placed on Colosi’s intended land use, the federal government used the Commerce and Necessary Clause to justify regulation of intrastate commerce by its impregnable Commerce and Clause argument. This Court’s adoption of its Commerce and Clause in Necessary and Appropriate Jurisprudence is not the first, And he won’t be the last landowner to be harmed by government overreach under federal laws.
“This court should take this opportunity to correct federal precedent in its Commerce and Necessary and Proper Clauses before more people are harmed,” he says, noting that the policy’s dissonance “has far-reaching negative effects on property owners, local governments, and the freedom that enumerated jurisdictions seek to protect. This court should grant the request.”
The filing highlights how the cannabis case, if taken up by the Supreme Court, could have far-reaching implications beyond the marijuana issue specifically, depending on what the justices decide.
Amicus short presented in one day by The Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, likewise, beg the courts to examine the case, Canna Provisions v. bond the court has scheduled a closed-door meeting for next month to address the issue.
Power law firm Boies Schiller Flexner LLP filed the writ of certiorari last month on behalf of its clients and the Department of Justice. he declined the opportunity to present a brief for or against the case the judges
A The lead attorney representing the petitioners told Marihuana Moment that he is “hopeful.”— even if a little “nervous” — about the judges ultimately deciding to take up the matter and address the key legal question of the constitutionality of the federal ban on cannabis.
“Time is of the essence,” said Josh Schiller, noting the dramatic shift in public opinion and state laws governing cannabis. “We believe the timing of this case is right out of necessity; the industry needs to get relief from federal oversight at this time.”
Before the conference was organized, it was founded by Koch The Americans for Prosperity Foundation also filed an amicus brief encourage judges to take up the case.
US Court of Appeals He rejected the arguments of the state’s illegal cannabis companies the company is being replaced in May. One of the final blows of the high-profile case was a dismissal of the claims by the lower court. But it has been widely reported that the plaintiffs’ legal teams have long intended to end the case before the nine high courts.
Four justices must vote to approve the cert petition for the court to hear the case.
While it’s unclear whether SCOTUS will ultimately take up the case, it’s a sign that they may at least be interested in appealing to the courts. 2021 Statement of Justice Clarence Thomasas the court denied review of a separate dispute involving a medical marijuana dispensary in Colorado.
Thomas’s comments at the time suggested that it would be appropriate to revisit the precedent-setting case, Gonzales vs. Raichwhere the Supreme Court specifically determined that the federal government could enforce a ban on the cultivation of cannabis that took place entirely in California under Congress’s authority to regulate interstate commerce.
The initial complaint in the current case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, argued that the government’s continued prohibition of marijuana under the CSA was unconstitutional because Congress had it for decades. “The states have rejected any hypothesis that federal control of regulated marijuana is necessary.”
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At oral arguments in the appeal late last yearDavid Boies told the justices that under the Constitution, Congress can only regulate commercial activity within a state—in this case, marijuana—if not regulating that state activity would “substantially interfere with or undermine Congress’s statutory authority.” interState trade”.
Boies, the firm’s president, has a long list of past clients, including the Justice Department, former Vice President Al Gore and the plaintiffs in a case that overturned California’s same-sex marriage ban.
The judges, however, said they were “unconvinced” that “the CSA remains entirely intact in terms of the regulation of commercial activity involving marijuana for non-medical purposes, which is the activity carried on by the appellants, on their own.”
The district court, meanwhile, said in the case that while there are “compelling reasons to reconsider” current cannabis programming, its hands were effectively tied by the US Supreme Court’s past precedent. go.
He is behind a decision by the Trump administration to re-regulate marijuana. President Donald Trump said in late August that within weeks cannabis would be subject to Section III of the CSA.
Meanwhile, last month the Supreme Court agreed to hear a A separate case on the constitutionality of a federal law prohibiting people from using marijuana or other drugs for the purchase or possession of firearms. The Trump administration has argued that the policy “targets a category of people who are at clear risk of firearm misuse” and should be upheld.
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as reported by Crain’s in DetroitMichigan’s cannabis industry is ramping up its legal battle over the 24% wholesale tax that will take effect on January 1st. The Michigan Cannabis Industry Association (MICIA) filed an appeal in the state appeals court on Tuesday, challenging the decision of Court of Claims Judge Sima Patel, who denied the group’s request to block the tax.
MICIA spokeswoman Rose Tantraphol told Crain’s that she “doesn’t think the Claims Tribunal made the right call” and that the case is “an exceptionally strong case on the merits.” The association says the wholesale tax violates the 2018 voter-approved cannabis law, the Michigan Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTMA), and “we will not back down from fighting for the will of the people in court,” it said.
A tax passed by lawmakers in late October to fund road repairs is already making waves in the state’s cannabis market. Ann Arbor-based C3 Industries is closing its 35,000-square-foot growing facility in Webberville, cutting 62 jobs, according to a state Workforce Adjustment and Retraining notice. CEO Ankur Rungta told Crain’s that the business “cannot operate the Michigan production facility profitably with the new wholesale tax.”
Marquette-based Higher Love, which runs ten dispensaries along with growing and processing operations, announced it will lay off nearly 30 percent of its workforce, citing tax reasons, though the exact number of workers affected is unclear.
MICIA’s legal challenge argues that the Legislature lacked the supermajority needed to change the voter-approved law and may have sidestepped the rules by introducing a toll road funding bill without a public hearing. Judge Patel disagreed that the tax violated the law, but left the door open for further review, and that courts should consider whether the 24% wholesale tax undermines the intent of the MRTMA’s original 10% retail excise tax, which aims to keep legal marijuana affordable and curb the illegal market.
With the new tax set to go into effect within days, MICIA is asking the Court of Appeal for a quick ruling to stop the wholesale levy before it takes effect.
Cannabis News
Florida Marijuana Campaign Sues State Over Invalidation Of 71,000 Signatures With Turn-In Deadline Weeks Away
A Florida campaign seeking to put marijuana legalization on the state’s 2026 ballot has filed a new lawsuit against state officials, alleging they improperly directed the cancellation of about 71,000 signatures as the filing deadline quickly approaches.
Smart & Safe Florida has fought several legal battles this cycle to ensure its initiative can be put on the ballot.
The latest lawsuit, filed Monday in Leon County courts, alleges that Secretary of State Cord Byrd (R) ordered county election officials to invalidate about 42,000 signatures from so-called “inactive” voters and about 29,000 signatures collected by out-of-state petitioners.
This comes after another court upheld a previous decision to strike with around 200,000 signatures, which the state said were invalid because the petition did not contain the full text of the proposed initiative. The campaign challenged the legal interpretation, but declined to appeal the decision, confident it had collected enough signatures to settle the dispute.
Now, about a month away from submitting 880,062 valid signatures by the Feb. 1 deadline, Smart & Safe Florida points out that additional cancellations could jeopardize their chances of getting on the ballot. Currently, the state has validated 675,307 signatures.
“Time is of the essence,” the new lawsuit says. according to Florida News Service. “Florida’s Secretary of State has issued two illegal directives that, unless stopped, will invalidate citizen initiative petitions signed by more than 70,000 registered voters.”
As for “inactive” voters, the term refers to those who are registered but marked as undeliverable, resulting in their addresses being considered unconfirmed. This group can remain unregistered if they do not vote in two consecutive general elections.
“The absurd result of the Secretary’s directive is that ‘active’ voters can vote for the proposed amendment, but cannot count their petitions to vote to place the proposed amendment on the ballot,” the lawsuit states.
The out-of-state petitioner lawsuit, on the other hand, is about enforcement of a law passed earlier this year that prohibits the collection of signatures by non-Florida residents. Among the legal challenges, a federal court ordered its enforcement blocked for about two months before another judge lifted that order.
Smart & Safe Florida is arguing that the signatures collected during the mandate window should not be invalidated because they were obtained legally while the law was not in effect.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, Florida’s attorney general asked the state Supreme Court to review the constitutionality of the legalization initiative. The court granted the request and set a schedule for state officials and the cannabis campaign to file briefs next month.
The campaign said last month it had collected more than a million signatures to put the cannabis measure on the ballot, but it’s not. He has sued state Supreme Court officials for delaying the certification processarguing that the review of ballot content and summary should have gone ahead several months ago when the initial signature threshold was reached. The state then he agreed to proceed with the processing.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) campaigned hard against an earlier version of the proposed legislation, which won a majority of voters last year but fell short of the 60 percent threshold needed to pass a constitutional amendment. Former Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) unsuccessfully challenged the earlier initiative in court.
In March, two Democratic members of Congress representing Florida asked the federal government to investigate What they described as an “illegal diversion” of millions in state Medicaid funds through a group with ties to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). The money was used to fight a popular ballot initiative the governor vehemently opposed that would have legalized adult marijuana.
The lawmakers’ letter alleges that a $10 million donation from a state legislative settlement was misappropriated to the Hope Florida Foundation, which later sent the money to two political nonprofits, and sent $8.5 million to the anti-Amendment 3 campaign.
The governor said this in February The latest measure to legalize marijuana is in “big trouble” with the state Supreme CourtHe announced that it will be blocked from going before the voters next year.
“There are a lot of different views on marijuana,” DeSantis said. “It shouldn’t be in our Constitution. If you feel strongly about it, you have a legislative election. Bring back the candidates you think will be able to deliver what you think about it.”
“But when you put these things in the Constitution, and I think, I mean, the way they were written, there’s all kinds of things going on here. I think it’s going to have a lot of trouble getting passed by the Florida Supreme Court,” he said.
the last the initiative It was introduced to the secretary of state just months after initial versions failed in the November 2024 election, despite President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
The revised version of Smart & Safe Florida is expected to be successful in 2026. The campaign — which received tens of millions of dollars from cannabis industry players in the last election cycle, notably from multi-state operator Trulieve — introduced some changes in the new version that address criticisms of opponents of the 2024 push.
For example, it now specifically states that “smoking and vaping marijuana in any public place is prohibited.” Another section states that the legislature should adopt rules governing the “time, place and public manner of consuming marijuana.”
Last year, the governor accurately predicted this The campaign’s 2024 cannabis measure would survive a legal challenge From the state attorney general. It’s not entirely clear why he thinks this version will face a different outcome.
Although there is uncertainty about how the state’s highest court will navigate the measure, a poll released in February It showed the overwhelming support of a bipartisan voter for reform— 67% of Florida voters support legalization, including 82% of Democrats, 66% of independents and 55% of Republicans.
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Learn more about our marijuana bill tracking and become a Patreon supporter to gain access
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In hindsight, a recent survey by a Trump-linked research firm found that Nearly 9 in 10 Florida voters say they should have the right to decide whether to legalize marijuana in the state
Meanwhile, a pro-legalization GOP state lawmaker has just introduced a bill to change state law code that the public use of marijuana is prohibited.
Rep. Alex Andrade (R), the sponsor, said earlier this year Passing cannabis reform is a way for the Republican Party to get more votes from young people
Separately, there are medical marijuana officials in Florida actively expunging the records of patients and caregivers with drug-related criminal records. The policy is part of the sweeping budget legislation that DeSantis signed into law earlier this year. The aforementioned provisions address the State Department of Health (DOH). void the records of medical marijuana patients and caregivers if convicted of drug offenses, or pleaded guilty or no contest.
Mike Latimer’s photo.
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