DE Bill to Let Dispensaries Begin Adult Use Pot Sales Goes to Governor, 19 Dead in Mexico Drug Gang Clash, More... (7/3/24)

One of the companies whose challenge to federal marijuana prohibition was thrown out this week vows to take it to the Supreme Court, and more.

The Delaware state capitol. Lawmakers there have approved a bill to expedite adult-use marijuana sales and promote social equity applicants. (Creative Commons)

Marijuana Company That Lost Challenge to Federal Pot Prohibition Vows to Take Case to Supreme Court. Verano Holdings Corporation, one of the marijuana companies that just had their case challenging federal marijuana prohibition thrown out of federal court, is vowing to fight that decision at the US Supreme Court.

In that case, US District Court Judge Mark Mastroianni of the Western District of Massachusetts dismissed a lawsuit from major marijuana companies that sought to block the Justice Department from enforcing marijuana prohibition against their activities in states where it is legal.

While Mastroianni found that there were "persuasive reasons for a reexamination" of current federal marijuana policy, he also found that Supreme Court precedent dictated that the federal government can regulate controlled substances even within legal state borders.

Several companies, including Verano Holdings, Canna Provisions, and Wiseacre Farm brought the lawsuit. Still, Mastroianni found that "the relief sought is inconsistent with binding Supreme Court precedent and, therefore, beyond the authority of this court to grant." He added that the plaintiffs "do not provide a basis for this court to disregard the broad reading of the Commerce Clause."

Mastroianni noted that while he could offer no judicial relief, the plaintiffs "can pursue their claims and seek the attention of the Supreme Court." They are also "free to advocate for marijuana to be reclassified or removed from the" Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

"We're taking this all the way to the Supreme Court!" wrote Darren Weiss, president of Verano, in response.

The Supreme Court ruled in 2005 in Gonzalez v. Raich that Congress has the authority to ban interstate trade in marijuana despite state laws allowing marijuana cultivation and sale. At the heart of the plaintiffs’ new argument is that, since the Gonzalez v. Raich ruling, nearly half of American states have legalized marijuana.

Delaware Legislature Approves Bill to Allow Medical Marijuana Dispensaries to Start Selling to All Adults. In a bid to speed up the emergence of a legal marijuana marketplace, lawmakers have approved a bill that would allow existing dispensaries to apply for "conversion" licenses to be able to sell in the adult-use market, House Bill 408. The bill also specifies that funds from licensing will go to support social equity applicants.

When lawmakers approved marijuana legalization last year, there was no path for medical marijuana dispensaries to move into the adult-use market. If Gov. John Carney (D) signs the bill into law, adult sales could begin by March or April of next year.

"They're already established here," said state marijuana commissioner Rob Coupe, who helped draft the bill. "They're good businesses that were established in Delaware based on our need. They've been contributing to our employment; they've been contributing to taxes; they're providing the service to the patients. So, it's good business for us to create a pathway for them."

The medical marijuana operators would have to be $100,000 for manufacturing, testing, and retail permits and $200,000 for cultivation permits to transit into the adult-use market. That is the money that will go to social equity applicants.

"House Bill 408 has potential to raise up to $4.2 million in licensing fees," Sen. Trey Paradee (D) explained during the debate. "That money will then be used to help launch and support the social equity licenses in the form of grants."

International

Mexican Officials Find 19 Bodies in Back of Truck in Chiapas; Victims of Battle Between Sinaloa Cartel and Guatemalan Gang. Mexican security officials discovered the bodies of 19 men wearing dark clothing and tactical vests and carrying firearms clips in the back of a truck near the town of La Concordia, just north of the Guatemalan border in the state of Chiapas.

The officials said the men were members of a Guatemalan criminal gang attempting to seize territory in the areas which ran up against a cell of the Sinaloa Cartel, which traffics cocaine and heroin from Guatemala into Mexico and which more recently has profited from trafficking migrants seeking to get to the US.

Guatemalan members of a criminal group fighting for territorial control in the area.

"It's a criminal group that wants to get into the area. They're Guatemalans, and this is where they're facing off against several (criminal) cells, in this case from Sinaloa," a Mexican security official said. "As a result of the increase in migrant trafficking in the area, the Sinaloa cartel, which previously controlled drug trafficking there, has become very strong," the Chiapas security source said.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador referred to the incident as an "unfortunate confrontation" during his regular morning press conference Tuesday. Tens of thousands of Mexicans die in such confrontations between drug trafficking factions or with the state's repressive apparatus each year.