U.S. Cannabis Law Future May Rest With in the Hands of the Courts

As one president after another over the last two decades has shown little interest in closing the yawning gap between state and federal marijuana laws, the future of cannabis in California – and the rest of America – may rest in the hands of the nation’s courts.

Over the last two decades, more 37 states have legalized medical marijuana and 19 allow adults to use recreationally. Yet sales across state borders are still aren’t happening, largely because the drug remains illegal at the federal level.

Cannabis has become a multibillion-dollar-a-year industry in California and across the U.S. But the federal government has pushed off regulation responsibility to the states – leaving a lot of open questions and hesitation on everything from security to labeling requirements to banking to insurance.

Ultimately, it may be the judicial branch of government that takes the reins on the issue. The problem with this is that the impact of the courts’ approach may be somewhat chaotic, potentially undermining efforts to protect public health and ensure industry diversity.

As our Orange County cannabis lawyers can explain, there are some states like California with cannabis programs that have been meticulously crafted to meet certain goals beyond merely legalization of adult recreational use. For instance, a top priority for some states has been ensuring that those awarded cannabis business licenses are either people of color and/or those who were somehow disproportionately affected by the failed war on drugs.

Now enter the courts. Those diversity programs typically require license recipients be state residents. But in a recent 2-1 federal opinion by the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, justices ruled this was unconstitutional. That ruling likely means we’ll see some changes and shifts in state-level import and export bans. Some states are already positioning themselves to be able to hit the ground running with a national market for marijuana sales.

Recently, California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, signed into law a measure that imbues the state with the right to enter into agreements with other states regarding the regulation of cannabis imports and exports. A similar bill was passed a few years ago in Oregon, and New Jersey is considering something similar.