An Oregon marijuana business has filed a new federal lawsuit against the state, challenging the constitutionality of laws prohibiting interstate cannabis commerce.
After filing an initial suit in 2022—and later withdrawing it amid expectations of unspecified “big things” coming—the cannabis wholesaler Jefferson Packing House (JPH) filed a revised complaint on Wednesday with the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.
The latest suit is lengthier than the original, and it makes additional arguments about the alleged illegality of state laws barring marijuana and hemp businesses from exporting products across state lines.
At issue in the case is the Dormant Commerce Clause (DCC) of the U.S. Constitution, which generally prevents states from imposing restrictions on interstate commerce in order to ensure competitiveness in the open market.
While marijuana remains federally illegal, the plaintiffs assert that the DCC still precludes Oregon from imposing trade restrictions between states.
“Oregon law harms JPH by increasing its operating costs and preventing it from taking advantage of economies of scale,” the filing states, adding that state statute also harms the business with respect to hemp, which was federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill.
Barring exports of marijuana and hemp puts JPH “at a competitive disadvantage in the market,” the complaint says, because it can’t source cannabis products from out of state and can’t ship products outside of Oregon, “both of which limit its customer base and ability to offer a complete range of products at the best prices.”
State law “discriminates against interstate commerce by nakedly prohibiting such commerce, without any legitimate, non-protectionist purpose, and is therefore prohibited by the Dormant Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution,” it says. “There is no constitutionally adequate reason for Oregon, or any other State, to bar the import or export” marijuana or hemp.
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