For Immediate Release
Hiller, PC
FEDERAL APPEALS COURT REFUSES TO DISMISS
THE FEDERAL CANNABIS LAWSUIT
In a groundbreaking decision, the
United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals became the first Court to refuse
to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Controlled
Substances Act. Quoting language from
the historic Brown v. Board of Education case, the Court in Washington
v. Barr ruled that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is required,
with all “deliberate speed,” to consider a petition by Plaintiffs to
de-schedule Cannabis, which could legalize it nationwide (at least under Federal
law).
The Washington v. Barr case,
filed in July 2017, has attracted national attention, as advocates have lined
up behind the Plaintiffs who have argued that the classification of Cannabis as
a Schedule I substance is unconstitutionally irrational, and violates the Equal
Protection Clause, the Commerce Clause, Substantive Due Process, the Right to
Preserve One’s Health and Life, and the Rights to Free Speech and Travel.
Michael Hiller, a Manhattan-based
attorney whose firm, Hiller, PC, has been representing the Plaintiffs pro
bono since the case started, was elated at the news of the Court’s
decision, saying, “For decades, people have been observing ‘4/20 Day’ on April
20th to celebrate the possibilities of legalized cannabis. Now, we can also celebrate ‘5/30 Day’ as the
moment the Courts began to use the power of the judiciary to require the
federal government to reconsider legalization and to do so ‘promptly.’” Hiller
went on to say that, “with 33 State-legal medical programs around the Country,
it is only a matter of time before the federal government acknowledges what the
rest of us have known for decades — that Cannabis is a harmless plant that
provides exceptional wellness benefits, and that laws criminalizing it violate
the U.S. Constitution.”
Joseph Bondy, pro-bono co-counsel
on the case, stated that “today’s decision confirms that the fight goes on, and
Plaintiffs and their lawyers won’t stop until Cannabis is de-scheduled.” The legal team expects the DEA petition to be
filed within the next 30-60 days.
Contact: Michael S. Hiller (212) 319-4000
Joseph A. Bondy (646) 335-3988
