This interview is behind a paywall
In late June the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a 40-year old precedent that has been enormously influential in how the federal government regulates industry. Known as Chevron Deference, it required courts to defer to how federal agencies’ interpretations of the law, which they reached through rulemaking processes. No longer. Federal courts are now empowered to challenge agency rules.
Until now, the federal regulatory state has had relatively little involvement in legalization. But this massive upheaval comes just as cannabis is in the midst of the high stakes rulemaking process around rescheduling, which is now in a 60-day comment period.
“It’s a very big deal,” said Hilary Bricken, a veteran cannabis lawyer and partner at Husch Blackwell in LA. WeedWeek spoke to her about whether the move to Schedule III will still happen, and what else Chevron means for the cannabiz.
