Supreme Court Will Take On CBD and RICO Case In October

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In April, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Medical Marijuana, Inc. v. Horn, a case that has drawn attention from the U.S. Hemp Roundtable to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. 

Now, we have an argument date: October 15.

The short story: Douglas Horn, a truck driver, was fired a decade ago for failing a drug test. He’d consumed a CBD product, branded as Dixie X, but it contained THC. He sued the company behind the mislabeled product, Medical Marijuana Inc., and his case rests upon the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). 

RICO “creates a civil treble-damages action for ‘[a]ny person injured in his business or property by reason of’ certain offenses,” the Court writes in its summary, which you can read here.

“The question presented is: Whether economic harms resulting from personal injuries are injuries to ‘business or property by reason of’ the defendant’s acts for purposes of civil RICO.”

The case is of interest to the U.S. Hemp Roundtable because they say that the outcome could have “major implications for the hemp products industry.” (You can read their amicus brief here.)

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s interest has nothing to do with cannabis. They are “urging Supreme Court to hold that RICO does not permit recovery of civil damages for economic harms resulting from personal injuries,” which would “harm businesses and create a flood of litigation.” (You can read their brief here.)

On Friday, Gov. Mike Parson issued Executive Order 24-10, which bans the sale of any foods containing psychoactive cannabis compounds unless they’re from an “approved source.” 

Parson hosted a news conference that included a slew of state officials, including Attorney General Andrew Bailey, DHSS Director Paula Nickelson, Department of Public Safety Director Sandy Karsten, and Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control (ATC) Supervisor Mike Leara.

The root of the issue, Parsons said, is the proliferation of “unregulated psychoactive cannabis products that put the health of Missourians at risk.” The products, Parsons noted, are of particular concern because they’re often untested and appealing to youth. 

+ More: as we’ve recently reported in this newsletter, the future of hemp-derived cannabinoid products is being debated from state legislatures to court rooms to Congress.