Marijuana Moment reports….
A federal appeals court dismissed a lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) over the classification of marijuana last week after the plaintiffs announced they would not pursue an administrative policy change as the court had recommended.
Now, the plaintiffs—a coalition of medical cannabis patients and activists, including Alexis Bortell and former NFL player Marvin Washington—plan to take their case all the way to the Supreme Court.
The suit, which was first filed in 2017, argued that keeping marijuana in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) is unconstitutional because it creates undue burdens that jeopardize patients’ lives by preventing access to what a majority of states now regard as a medicine. They sought a court mandate to enjoin DEA and require the agency to cease enforcement of federal cannabis prohibition.
A U.S. District Court dismissed that request, stating that the plaintiffs must first seek administrative relief through existing channels such as a petition asking DEA directly to reclassify cannabis. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld that decision last year, concluding that it “cannot be seriously argued that this remedy is not available through the administrative process.”
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DEA Marijuana Scheduling Lawsuit Will Be Appealed To Supreme Court Following Dismissal
