One of Connecticut's largest cannabis growers is part of a lawsuit that, if the U.S. Supreme Court agrees, could legalize cannabis nationwide. Verano, which owns CT Pharma and Zen Leaf-branded cannabis dispensaries, is among a group of four cannabis industry companies that filed a lawsuit in 2023, arguing that the federal cannabis prohibition is unconstitutional.
Verano, along with three other cannabis producers doing business in Massachusetts, alleged that the controlled Controlled Substances Act exceeds Congress's powers under Article I of the United States Constitution and violates the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, if it is applied to activities within a singular state.
The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to announce by Dec. 15 whether it will hear arguments in the case. If it does, it could render void all national laws governing the legality of cannabis, according to William Dunlap, a constitutional law professor at Quinnipiac University.
"California had a state statute that allowed people to grow marijuana on their own property and use that marijuana on their own property for medicinal purposes," Dunlap explained. "Congress has a statute that prohibits the growing and possession and other things of marijuana. So two California residents sued to try to get the court to invalidate the congressional regulation on the ground that it conflicted with the California law."
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