The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit won’t halt the Trump administration’s order that reclassified medical cannabis.
A three-judge panel of circuit court judges rejected a cannabis prohibitionist motion to stay the Trump administration’s Schedule III cannabis order on Sept. 9 while an underlying lawsuit proceeds.
The National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association (NDASA) and MMJ International Holdings, whose subsidiary holds an active DEA Schedule I analytical laboratory registration, asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in June to stay U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche’s April 22 signed order reclassifying state-licensed medical cannabis to Schedule III until a lawsuit seeking to vacate the entirety of the order is resolved.
NDASA, which promotes drug-free workplaces, and MMJ, an aspiring cannabinoid pharmaceutical company, argued in the motion that they’d suffer irreparable harm should the court allow the Schedule III order to remain in effect. They further argued that a stay would “avoid the devastating effects that will flow from ballooning access to marijuana while this case is pending.”
But the D.C. Circuit judges were not persuaded.
“Petitioners have not satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending court review,” the judges wrote in Wednesday’s order.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) had previously argued in response to the motion that NDASA and MMJ have “pocketbook interests” in prohibition, and that those interests don’t “systematically align” with the American public.
The judges on Wednesday also denied a motion by two medical cannabis companies – MedPharm Iowa LLC (d/b/a Bud and Mary’s) and Tri-Mountain Pure LLC – to intervene in support of the DOJ’s Schedule III order.
The companies argued in July that they already applied for Schedule III registration status with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) under the administration’s order, and that they’d lose the benefits of deducting ordinary business expenses under Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code if the court reverses the order.
Although the D.C. Circuit judges denied this request to intervene, ordering that the “Medical Marijuana Companies fail to demonstrate that their interests in this litigation are not adequately represented by existing parties,” the judges granted an alternative request permitting the companies to participate through amicus briefs.
The court also granted a similar request allowing cannabis industry attorneys to participate as amicus curiae – meaning they won’t be an official party in the lawsuit but can provide legal arguments and information to assist the judges.
The American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp (ATACH) applauded the D.C. Circuit’s decision.
“With the medical marijuana order clearing this key hurdle and DEA registrations well underway, the U.S. is ushering in a new era of safe access for all medical marijuana patients,” ATACH President Michael Bronstein said. “No amount of prohibitionist rhetoric can undermine this clear legal authority or roll back the progress made in creating a safer and more accessible medical marijuana market.”
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