It Is Probably Legal to Ship Marijuana Across State Lines - Professor Robert Mikos of Vanderbilt Law School Explains His Review of the Dormant Commerce Clause of the US Constitution on the Green Rush Live!
(CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE FULL SHOW!)
Professor Mikos has set the marijuana industry ablaze with his legal paper on the Dormant Commerce Clause in the US Constitution.
The cannabis industry was set ablaze by Professor Mikos' paper about how shipping marijuana across state lines may actually be Federally legal right now due to the Dormant Commerce clause in the US Constitution. (Here is the published paper) On our Green Rush LIVE show we sat down and discussed the legal argument presented in his paper with Professor Mikos. We also had a an all-start cast of lawyers and state regulators joining us, including:
Steve Hoffman - Head of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission
Beau Whitney - cannabis economist and business consultant
David C. Holland - New York cannabis attorney and advocate
Adam Smith - Founder of Alliance for Sensible Markets
Edward DeSousa - Managing Partner River Run Gardens
Andrew Kline - Senior Partner Perkins Cole
Professor Robert Mikos - Vanderbilt Law
David Rabinovitz - Green Rush Live
Scott Moskol - Burns and Levinson Law
The show is a fascinating look at the idea of interstate commerce and the evolving cannabis industry. Where do we stand right now in the legalization evolution? Should there be a transition period built in before interstate commerce in order to protect small businesses and social equity applicants? Is there any way that big Corporate Cannabis does not take over once interstate commerce is allowed?
Grab your popcorn and enjoy the show, click the video below!
Some interesting points brought up include:
1. The idea of state protectionism cuts both ways - Setting up legal moats to protect local small businesses and social equity businesses can be used by a state like California, that has too much legal grow and their SE business are struggling and need to export their product, or do you protect the SE and small businesses in states like Massachusetts and New York, who don't want to see their markets flooded with out-of-state weed? Which social equity company do you protect, the one in California or the one in Massachusetts?
2. The lack of interstate commerce is protecting small growers and small businesses, but at what cost to consumers? The price of a pound of cannabis grown in the Emerald Triangle is $700 to $800, yet the price for a pound of indoor grow in Massachusetts is $4,200. How do we bridge that difference, so the consumer is treated fairly while protecting small businesses and social equity programs? This is similar to "buy local" advertising. When we go do a store and see a product is 5 to 10% more than we could get it on Amazon, we swallow the price difference and say "buy local, support local business", but what if the price difference is 600%? Would you still buy local?
3. While the Dormant Commerce Clause my actually protect your rights in Federal court, all the panelist agreed that on every scenario you could come up with around transporting marijuana across a state line, you would indeed be breaking state laws. Not as bad as Federal laws but you can still go to prison for a long time if you break enough state laws and are reckless about how you do it.
4. Would medical be treated different under state laws and Federal law if cannabis is treated as a medicine? If you had a medical marijuana license and imported tested medical marijuana, would that fall under a different statue than say, a rec licenses holder going to California and buying 100 pounds of cannabis and driving back to say New York?
Professor Mikos' paper on how the CSA is an act of tyranny against the cannabis plant is a must read, too!
We cover all these topics and whole lot more, because once you get 4 lawyers in a room, you know that we are going to go over billed hours and into overtime!
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READ MORE ON PROFESSOR MIKOS' PAPERS ON CANNABIS BELOW...
IS STATE-TO-STATE MARIJUANA SHIPPING ACTUALLY LEGAL, READ OUR REVIEW!
