The U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to resolve a split among lower courts about whether state marijuana business licensing systems can discriminate against out-of-state residents.
The operator of companies that sought and were denied cannabis business licenses in Washington State and Sacramento, California due to his residency status filed a petition last week asking the justices to overturn an appeals court ruling that found that the Constitution’s Dormant Commerce Clause does not apply to federally illegal activities.
The Supreme Court has interpreted that clause to bar protectionist state laws that unduly restrict interstate commerce even in areas where Congress has not directly weighed in. Federal appeals courts have disagreed on its application to the marijuana industry, however.
Now, Michigan resident Kenneth Gay wants the Supreme Court to step in and reverse a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that upheld Washington and Sacramento officials’ denial of licenses to his companies, Peridot Tree WA, Inc. and Peridot Tree, Inc., because “the Dormant Commerce Clause need not be extended to facilitate interstate commerce that is illegal under federal law.”
The petition for a writ of certiorari notes that two other federal appeals courts—the First Circuit and the
Read full article on Marijuana Moment
