Judges appear unmoved by arguments challenging federal marijuana prohibition

A three-judge U.S. appeals court has indicated it’s unlikely to side with a group of cannabis businesses aiming to overturn federal marijuana prohibition via a constitutional challenge.

According to Reuters, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston voiced serious concerns that the legal challenge argued by superlawyer David Boies could upend precedent since the Supreme Court upheld the national ban in 2005 – despite major shifts in recreational and medical marijuana legalization across the majority of the country.

“Congress’ overarching goal was to control the supply and demand of controlled substances in both lawful and unlawful channels,” U.S. Circuit Judge Julie Rikelman, an appointee of President Joe Biden, said, according to Reuters.

“And that hasn’t changed.”

The appeals court expressed similar concerns made in May by a U.S. District Court judge in Springfield, Massachusetts, who said issuing a ruling contradicting the Supreme Court is a “big step,” Reuters reported at the time.

The lawsuit was filed in October 2023 against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland by and Chicago-based multistate operator Verano Holdings Corp. and three Massachusetts companies,  retailer Canna Provisions, Treevit delivery service CEO Gyasi Sellers and cultivator Wiseacre Farm.

The plaintiffs are challenging the merits of the Controlled Substances Act, a strategy that has failed in the past, as they hope to bring the case to the Supreme Court.

Since the high court upheld the ban in 2005, 24 states have approved adult-use sales and 41 states have established medical marijuana programs, according to MJBizDaily research.

Washington, D.C., also has approved both markets but has not yet established recreational cannabis sales.