The Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services and a nonprofit trade organization called the Maine Cannabis Coalition have appealed a ruling that allows out-of-state businesses to operate medical cannabis dispensaries in Maine, according to the Portland Press Herald.
In August, a federal court overturned Maine’s requirement that all medical cannabis dispensaries must be owned by Maine residents.
Wellness Connection of Maine and its parent company, Delaware-based High Street Capital Partners, had sued the state over the residency requirement, arguing that the law violates the Dormant Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits states from passing legislation that discriminates or excessively burdens interstate commerce.
State officials argued that the Dormant Commerce Clause was irrelevant due to the federal prohibition on cannabis, but U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Torresen wrote in her ruling that because qualified nonresidents can purchase medical cannabis in Maine and take it home with them, the state’s medical cannabis industry is not entirely intrastate.
Torresen’s ruling followed Maine’s agreement to scrap the residency requirement in its adult-use cannabis program in 2020 due to separate litigation filed by Wellness Connection.
The state is pushing back against allowing out-of-state businesses to operate medical cannabis dispensaries in the state, however, as it appeals Torresen’s ruling in a federal appeals court, where the opinion could have implications in other states, according to the Portland Press Herald.
The state and the Maine Cannabis Coalition filed notices of appeal in September, the news outlet reported, and submitted written briefs last month. Oral arguments have not yet been scheduled.
