Welcome back to Higher Law, our weekly briefing on all things cannabis. I'm Cheryl Miller, reporting for Law.com from Sacramento. 

This week we're looking at:

  • Boies' suit challenging federal prohibition.
  • Ohio's Issue 2.
  • A failed challenge to Georgia cannabis licensing.
  • Ascend's new chief legal officer.

Thanks as always for reading. Got a story idea or feedback? You can send it all to me at [email protected]. You can also call me at 916.448.2935. Follow me on Twitter: @capitalaccounts

David Boies, Boies Schiller Flexner. Courtesy Photo

New: Massachusetts Operators Sue AG Merrick Garland Over Federal Criminalization of Marijuana

Boies Schiller Flexner and Lesser, Newman, Aleo & Nasser on Thursday filed suit against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in an attempt to end the federal prohibition on state-legal marijuana.

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Massachusetts, says the federal government has no basis for enforcing the Controlled Substances Act to prevent state-approved cultivation, sales and purchases of cannabis . The plaintiffs include Verano Holdings and three Massachusetts cannabis operators, Treevit founder and CEO Gyasi Sellers, Canna Provisions and Wiseacre Farm.