Judge Allows Out-of-State Businesses to Operate Medical Cannabis Dispensaries in Maine

A federal court has overturned Maine’s requirement that all medical cannabis dispensaries must be owned by Maine residents.

U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Torresen ruled Aug. 11 in favor of Wellness Connection of Maine and its parent company, Delaware-based High Street Capital Partners, which both sued the state over its residency requirement, according to a Portland Press Herald report.

The ruling follows Maine’s agreement to scrap the residency requirement in its adult-use cannabis program last year due to a separate lawsuit brought by Wellness Connection.

In both lawsuits, the company claimed that the law violates the Dormant Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which bars states from passing legislation that discriminates against or excessively burdens interstate commerce, the Portland Press Herald reported.

State officials argued that the clause was irrelevant due to the illegality of cannabis under federal law, but Torreson said in her ruling that because qualified nonresidents can purchase medical cannabis in Maine and take it home with them, the state’s medical cannabis industry is not entirely intrastate, according to the Portland Press Herald.