California’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state’s cannabis program. It reversed an earlier court decision that implied federal prohibitions could be used at the local level to sabotage the cannabis industry.
A company from Santa Barbara County filed a suit in which it objected the use of easements, or the right to use someone else’s land, to transport cannabis-related products that are legal in the state. An appellate state court decided in January to side with the company. It ruled federal law took precedence over state law and the easement couldn’t be used for cannabis transport.
The highest court of the state reversed the decision and revoked the order.
In a Thursday press release, DCC director Nicole Elliott stated: “We’re pleased that the Court has agreed to review the Court of Appeal ruling at Department of Cannabis Control (DCC’s) request. This decision supports California law and the legal cannabis industry in California.”
While the case—JCCrandall V. County of Santa Barbara—was specific to the company and county, DCC said that the appeals court’s original decision “suggested more broadly that California’s cannabis regulations were unlawful because cannabis is federally illegal.”
If the State Supreme Court had not intervened to reverse the decision, the state would have been vulnerable to other lawsuits that challenged its marijuana laws.
DCC reported that other California courts have for years upheld California’s marijuana regulations and ruled they don’t conflict with federal legislation. The California Legislature also stated that any commercial cannabis activity carried out in accordance with California laws and local standards was legal and could not be used to void easements.
The state Supreme Court ruling also comes just weeks after California officials unveiled a report on the current status and future of the state’s marijuana market—with independent analysts hired by regulators concluding that the federal prohibition on cannabis that prevents interstate commerce is meaningfully bolstering the illicit market.
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Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) did sign a bill in 2022 that would have empowered him to enter into interstate cannabis commerce agreements with other legal states, but that power was incumbent upon federal guidance or an assessment from the state attorney general that sanctioned such activity.
Following a review of the policy proposal, however, California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s (D) office ultimately determined in 2023 that the state could put itself and its employees at “significant legal risk” of federal enforcement action if it were to authorize interstate marijuana commerce.
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development announced last month that the marijuana tax-funded grant program will award $18,4 million to the cities and counties in California to fund equity programs and to remove barriers of entry into the cannabis industry.
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