A federal court has turned down a motion by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita to dismiss a marijuana lawsuit .
Last year, the Midwest Hemp Council and Walls Organics of Evansville filed suit against Rokita over an official opinion that CBD was a controlled substance similar to heroin and cocaine. Rokita stated in the legal opinion that THC was a Schedule 1 drug and, therefore, is illegal.
State and federal law contradicted Rokita’s opinion. However, some CDB shops across Indiana were told to either stop selling the product or have their products confiscated by local law enforcement.
The MidWest Hemp Council filed the suit in federal court. They are asking for an injunction and for the court to declare Rokita’s opinion is contrary to state and federal law.
Rokita stated the Plaintiffs did not have standing to sue him because a favorable ruling would be “an impermissible advisory opinion” and would
not provide any redress because the Official Opinion is not binding law.
Rokita also argued that because the Attorney General does not prosecute or make decisions for financial institutions about whom to work with, there is nothing this Court could order him to do that would remedy the Plaintiffs’ alleged injuries.
The court disagreed…..
This argument both ignores the fact that Attorney General Rokita is the source of the Official Opinion and understates the impact of the state’s top law enforcement official on the decisions of local prosecutors and police. A favorable decision against the Attorney General would redress Plaintiffs’ injuries because without the Official Opinion, there would no longer be a reason for local law enforcement to target them nor for private parties who were otherwise willing to work with them to pull their partnership. Plaintiffs have shown that their rights and obligations are impacted by the now-murky legal status of their products.
The suit can now go forward with Rokita as a defendant.
You can read the opinion below.
Order on Judgment for Pleading and Motions to Dismiss
