Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, we look at cannabis and the dormant Commerce Clause. States would like some guidance on cannabis from the DEA, but so far, no luck. The CLAIM Act is back – will it finally make it into law? And finally, we now have a lot more scientific information about the munchies.
THE DORMANT COMMERCE CLAUSE
A man who lives in Michigan would like to sell cannabis in Oregon and Washington. Seems like that should be good, right? All of those are legal states. But no, Oregon and Washington only allow their own residents to sell cannabis within their boundaries. So what’s an entrepreneur from America’s Heartland with West Coast dreams to do? Invoke the Dormant Commerce Clause! What might that be? It’s a clause in the Constitution that forbids states from discriminating against non-residents in selling goods and services. But what if the goods in question are federally illegal? Good question, and one that has led to disagreement among the federal Circuit Courts. The First and Second Circuits found, in cases involving different parties, that state laws limiting cannabis businesses to state residents likely did violate the dormant Commerce Clause. The Ninth Circuit reached the opposite conclusion in a decision involving the Michigander in question, who has now petitioned the Supreme Court to hear his case and resolve the split. Stay tuned.
DEA GUIDANCE
States with marijuana programs would really like some guidance from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) now that medical cannabis has been moved to Schedule III. Sadly, they don’t seem to be getting any. According to California Department of Cannabis Control Director Clint Kellum, there have been efforts to contact the DEA and get information, not just by California, but by other states as well. So far, crickets.
The last thing that we want to do is try to be guessing what they’re going to be doing, and then trying to make changes that have widespread effects across our market, and then ultimately to find out that there’s some sort of different path or vision.”
CLAIM ACT
For the fourth time in as many Congresses, the Clarifying Law Around Insurance of Marijuana (CLAIM) Act has been introduced. Representatives Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) and Warren Davidson (R-OH) are leading the charge this time around, stressing that insurers are reluctant to offer policies to cannabis businesses, which leaves them facing total ruin should a fire or natural disaster occur. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) filed a related bill in the Senate earlier this year. History is against them, and this Congress still has quite a bit on its plate, but who knows?
AND FINALLY
Cannabis gives you the munchies does not seem like the sort of hypothesis that would require scientific study, but researchers at Washington State University and the University of Calgary decided to find out if this is fact or fiction. Spoiler alert: it’s true! This is good news for patients suffering from diseases or medical treatments that cause serious weight loss. What type of food do people crave? If you guessed Doritos, guess again. It’s beef jerky.
Be well everyone – we’ll see you next week.
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