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In the US Constitution, there is something called the ”Dormant Commerce Clause,” which prohibits state legislation that might affect interstate or even international commerce. The clause helps in situations where different states have different legislations on different matters, and hands the issue over to federal supervision, as opposed to being a state issue. For example, the clause was first used in 1873, when one state wanted to tax the railroads that passed through it. The Supreme Court, however, ruled against it citing this clause, which prevented the state from benefiting itself while affecting an individual in another state. Currently, many states who have legalized some form of cannabis have decided to limit the licenses to residents of the state. States like Colorado, which was the first to legalize recreational use, saw an increase in migration to the state for those hoping to get into the state’s new cannabis industry. But now, even though cannaibis is still federally illegal, it looks like limits on licenses for state residents only may be subject to this Dormant Commerce Clause. In Maine, a lawsuit was filed against the state for it’s ban on out of state residents holding a license. And the state lost, thanks to this clause. New York state is currently in the middle of a similar lawsuit recently filed. The Dormant Commerce Clause could likely also affect the transportation of cannabis across state lines, because removing the existing ban on it would improve the efficiency of multi state operators. Right now a similar type of interstate issue is currently before the U.S. Supreme Court. This one involves the interstate commerce of pork products and a new California law. That case has different Justices of the Supreme Court considering different angles of the Dormant Commerce Clause. Nothing has been decided at this time, but the outcome could definitely affect the cannabis industry.
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