The Alliance for Recreational Cannabis Entities LLC filed suit against the District agencies that have carried out the last nine months of enforcement against unlicensed cannabis “gifting” shops.
As of last week, 13 unlicensed gifting stores have been padlocked and shut. Many of those were shutdown by a joint city task force after lengthy warning and legal processes that went through The ABC Board. However, the seven unnamed plaintiffs represented by Jacobie Whitley believe that the process was unjust and unconstitutional.
The lawsuit claims that the cease and desist orders “deprived store owners of significant property and liberty interests.” It also claims that the legal process through the ABC Board “deprived” the gifting shop owners of a right to a jury trial. Both these claims allege a constitutional violation by the District government of the plaintiffs Fifth Amendment rights.
The procedure of the ABC Board appeals eventually does escalate to a legal court outside of the ABCA structure, but stores can be closed before that under the current laws. The plaintiffs are made up of five companies owned by D.C. residents, one Virginia resident owned company and a business partially owned by a Maryland resident.
The lawsuit asks the court to stop enforcement action against unlicensed operators immediately and then grant a jury trial.
ABCA and the District attorneys have not responded to the lawsuit yet. The outcome of this lawsuit will be closely watched by cannabis industry stakeholders and legal experts alike. It could shape the future of cannabis regulation in the District of Columbia and set precedents for other jurisdictions considering similar regulatory schemes. New York has faced similar challenges to its efforts to stamp out illegal cannabis stores, but the State took a much more aggressive and rushed approach than D.C.
D.C. has constantly said that its slow enforcement is due to its efforts to avoid falling victim to a lawsuit such as the one filed last week.
