In today’s HK Cannabis Law Newsletter, we present information regarding the following topics: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ comments, suggesting the federal government’s prohibition on cannabis is nonsensical, the cannabis industry’s reaction to these statements, the Supreme Court of Mexico’s recent declaration finding that the country’s cannabis ban was unconstitutional, clearing the path for full legalization, and how U.S. Olympic hopeful’s Sha’Carri Richardson’s elimination from the Tokyo Games, based on a positive cannabis drug test, highlights the need for national cannabis reform… and more!
While the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of Standing Akimbo, who was seeking to have the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in favor of the Internal Revenue Service overturned, Justice Thomas published a statement calling out the ban on cannabis and suggesting it may not be constitutional.
Many in the cannabis industry rallied around Justice Thomas’s statements and feel bolstered by such a conservative, and typically not outspoken, Justice’s comments given the crucial role the Supreme Court could play in decriminalization.
The highest Court in Mexico ruled the country’s ban on cannabis was unconstitutional, as it stepped into the Legislature’s shoes because laws introduced to achieve the same goals were bogged in political quagmire, clearing the path for full legalization and opening another massive international cannabis market.
One of the U.S.’s brightest potential Olympic stars, Sha’Carri Richardson, was disqualified from competing at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, because she failed a cannabis drug test, and her disqualification has caused outrage nationally and internationally.
In reaction to Sha’Carri Richardson’s disqualification, President Joe Biden raised eyebrows because he stated the rules were clear on cannabis, but that those rules could change, which many are hoping is a sign that his own reluctance to change the federal status quo on cannabis may also change.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations softened its stance on cannabis use in would-be-applicants by only automatically disqualifying those who admit to using cannabis within a year of applying to the Bureau, yet another signal of the changing attitudes towards cannabis and its use.