Tag Archives: Attorney General Merrick Garland

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Lawsuits in New York, other states threaten to shut pot legalization

Citizens in New York and Connecticut filed lawsuits against their states.  Among the three in New York:

1. Filed in New York Supreme Court:

It attacks the state rules on medical marijuana, marijuana product labeling and marijuana advertising. It is based on federal preemption as it violates federal law to have marijuana medicine, labeling and advertising. Marijuana is a Schedule I drug and cannot be used as medicine or advertised and labeled as medicine.
2. To be Filed in the New York Supreme Court:  This suit argues preemption in that the state cannot spend state taxes on setting up marijuana stores. This practice involves marijuana trafficking and money laundering.
3. To be Filed in the New York Supreme Court: A third lawsuit will argue that there is a state constitutional right to clean air that is violated by public marijuana smoking. Marijuana smoke is more dangerous than tobacco smoke; it is carcinogenic and causes allergic reactions.  (It’s ironic to think how hard it was to get tobacco smoke out of public places, only to find the smell of marijuana ubiquitous.)

Connecticut

Residents of Stamford, Connecticut filed a lawsuit aiming to shut down pot shops throughout the state.  The Stamford Neighborhoods Coalition is seeking an injunction in Superior Court to prohibit commercial cannabis operations, not just in the city, but in all of Connecticut.     The chief argument supporting the petition is that the 2021 legalization of marijuana in the state violated the federal Controlled Substances Act and should never have happened.The lawsuit also argues that legalization is a public safety issue, saying, “Siting cannabis facilities anywhere in Stamford necessarily increases criminal  activity in Stamford, putting children at greater risk.”

The Massachusetts Lawsuit

In Massachusetts, David Boies filed a lawsuit on behalf of cannabis companies suing Merrick Garland to overturn the federal status of marijuana.    This BIG MARIJUANA case seems frivolous and greedy next to the cases brought by local citizens.

We’ve heard that citizens of other states such as Minnesota may also take action against the pot industry.

The problem is that once a state legalizes, the industry overpowers local citizens and forces pot shops on communities.

In this battle, knowledge is our strongest weapon – science, data, and evidence.

 

Uncategorized

Letter to DEA and DOJ opposes rescheduling cannabis

A national group of 104 parents and victims wrote to the DEA Administrator and the Attorney General, asking that cannabis not be rescheduled. The greatest number of people signing the letter were in California and Colorado; many asked to sign the letter after it had been mailed on December 2nd.  (A bipartisan group of former states attorneys also sent separately a letter to the DEA and DOJ; SAM put out a press release about the letter.)   Here’s the content of the letter:

Administrator Anne Milgram
Drug Enforcement Agency
8701 Morrissette Drive
Springfield, VA 22152

Honorable Merrick Garland                                                                                         US Department of Justice                                                                                         950 Pennsylvania Avenue                                                                                 Washington, DC 20530 – 0001

Dear Attorney General Garland and Administrator Milgram:

Everyone signing onto this letter has a personal or familial story of permanent damage caused by cannabis (marijuana). For some of us, a loved one died as a direct result of cannabis use. For others, cannabis brought unfathomable damage to mental or physical health. Others were in car crashes caused by THC. For most of us, it was because of the industrial strength pot of today, but we include on this list those harmed by the old-fashioned marijuana of the 20th century. Besides those who lost their lives, there are those living with chronic conditions like permanent Cannabis-Induced Psychosis (Schizophrenia) or Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome.

We are Victims of Marijuana even if we did not die from it. We also speak for victims who find speaking out on these issues is too painful.  A small number of the signatories have children who died from fentanyl or another drug, but blame marijuana for starting the loved one on drug use and/or addiction. Continue reading Letter to DEA and DOJ opposes rescheduling cannabis →

Drug Policy, Politics

Keep Cannabis a Schedule I Drug

The Secretary of Health and Human Services has recommended changing the Schedule I classification for marijuana (cannabis).  HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, an attorney from California who made the announcement,  has no background in science or medicine.  It was a political move, rather than scientifically-informed recommendation.

The ultimate decision falls on the DEA and the Department of Justice. If the HHS recommendation is followed, marijuana would be a “Schedule III” drug instead of its current “Schedule I” status.

Pro-cannabis supporters see that possibility as a major victory, because it would pave the way for expanded legalization. We encourage our followers to contact the DEA directly to object to this proposal, and also reach out to your elected officials.

Recent attempts to reschedule marijuana were rejected in 2016, under the Obama administration, and in  2015  by Judge Kimberly Mueller of the Ninth Circuit Court.  It was also dismissed in 2012, by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The three judges presiding on that panel included current Attorney General Merrick Garland.  Information about the dangers of marijuana has grown substantially in the last decade. Continue reading Keep Cannabis a Schedule I Drug →