Four U.S. District Court Judges In California Dismiss Lawsuits Filed On Behalf Of Marijuana Dispensaries
SAN FRANCISCO – In October and November 2011, lawsuits were filed in each of the four California federal judicial districts seeking to enjoin federal enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act against marijuana dispensaries on a variety of grounds, including that the federal government was judicially blocked from taking any legal action and that the legal action contemplated was a violation of the Ninth and Tenth Amendments, the Equal Protection Clause and the Commerce Clause. Following separate proceedings in each district, four different district court judges have issued orders dismissing the cases.
On Feb. 28, 2012, a lawsuit filed in the Eastern District by the Sacramento Nonprofit Collective doing business as El Camino Wellness Center, a mutual benefit non-profit collective; and Ryan Landers, an individual, was dismissed by U.S. District Court Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr.
In the Southern District, a lawsuit filed by Alternative Community Health Care Cooperative Inc. et al was dismissed on March 5, 2012 by U.S. District Court Judge Dana M. Sabraw.
On April 17, 2012, U.S. District Court Judge Dolly M. Gee dismissed a lawsuit filed in the Central District by the Conejo Wellness Center Cooperative Inc. et al.
In the Northern District, the lawsuit filed on behalf of three marijuana dispensaries, a landlord whose property was the site of one of the marijuana storefronts, and one marijuana dispensary customer was dismissed on July 11, 2012, by U.S. District Court Judge Saundra B. Armstrong. Judge Armstrong also denied the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction.
