January 02, 2026
A Ninth Circuit panel Friday rejected arguments by a would-be cannabis retail operator that said state and local residency requirements on marijuana business licenses are unconstitutional, ruling that the U.S. Constitution's dormant commerce clause doesn't apply to the cannabis industry because it's still illegal under federal law.
June 03, 2024
A Washington federal judge has tossed a challenge to the residency restrictions of the state's cannabis social equity program, saying that the dormant commerce clause argument advanced by an out-of-state litigant is unpersuasive since pot is federally illegal.
April 19, 2024
Federal appellate courts are mulling multiple challenges to state and local cannabis licensure programs, all brought by one California-based attorney and each alleging that the dormant commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution must apply to federally illegal marijuana.
March 12, 2024
Cannabis company Peridot Tree WA Inc. is urging a Washington federal judge to reject a bid to dismiss its suit alleging the state's cannabis social equity licensing scheme violates the Constitution's dormant commerce clause, saying the court should find that it applies to cannabis businesses.
January 08, 2024
A Washington state federal judge has denied an effort to block the state's cannabis social equity program from awarding retail licenses, saying that the dormant commerce clause argument advanced by an out-of-state litigant is likely to fail since pot is federally illegal.
December 11, 2023
Washington's cannabis authority urged a federal court to reject an effort to block the state's social equity program from awarding nearly four dozen retail licenses, noting that the out-of-state resident behind the bid has timed his litigation to apply maximum pressure on the state agency.