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A federal judge in Massachusetts has set May 22 as the date for oral arguments to begin in a case that is being co-led by cannabis multi-state operator Verano Holdings (OTCQX:VRNOF) that argues MSOs should be shielded from federal marijuana prohibition laws in states where the plant is legal.
The lawsuit is Canna Provisions v. Garland. Massachusetts-based cannabis businesses Canna Provisions and Wiseacre Farm are also plaintiffs, as well as Gyasi Sellers, founder and CEO of Treevit, a marijuana delivery company. Other MSOs are “foundational supporters” of the suit.
Large law firms are representing the plaintiffs: Boies Schiller and Flexner, and Lesser, Newman, Aleo and Nasser. David Boies, who represented former Vice President Al Gore in Bush v. Gore, and led the federal government’s antitrust case U.S. vs. Microsoft, is the lead plaintiff’s attorney, Marijuana Moment reported.
The key issue in the case is whether the federal government can interfere in cannabis businesses in states where it is legal based on the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause.
The federal government is arguing that there is marijuana interstate commerce going on in Massachusetts as individuals from out-of-state travel there to purchase cannabis.
“As the Supreme Court held decades ago,
