The U.S. Supreme Court is declining to take up a case challenging the constitutionality of federal marijuana prohibition—an issue that even one of the bench’s more conservative members, Justice Clarance Thomas, had previously argued must be resolved amid the state legalization movement.
The case, Canna Provisions v. Bondi, was on the agenda for a closed-door meeting of the justices on Friday. On Monday, the court posted an order list showing that the matter failed to receive the needed votes from four justices to grant certiorari.
Massachusetts-based marijuana businesses had asked the court to take their case because they argued that federal law unconstitutionally prohibits intrastate cannabis activity, contravening the Commerce Clause.
That issue was raised in amicus briefs filed by supporters of the suit over recent weeks. That includes a public interest law firm representing a man who says federal law infringed on his property rights, libertarian think tank the Cato Institute and the Koch-founded Americans for Prosperity Foundation.
The powerhouse law firm Boies Schiller Flexner LLP submitted their petition for writ of certiorari from the court on behalf of their cannabis industry clients in October, and the Justice Department subsequently declined the opportunity to file a brief for or against the
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