The Nevada Supreme Court has overturned a lower court ruling that deemed the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy’s designation of marijuana as a schedule I drug as unconstitutional, allowing the board to continue classifying cannabis as a controlled substance on par with cocaine and heroin.
The justices wrote in their opinion that the plaintiffs in the case, Antoine Poole and the Cannabis Equity and Inclusion Community (CEIC), “do not clearly demonstrate the injury-in-fact or causation components of standing, and they cannot show redressability in view of Nevada’s statutory scheme.”
Poole, one of the plaintiffs who sued the pharmacy board, is a Nevada resident who was found guilty of Class E felony marijuana possession pursuant to Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) 453.336, which prohibits possession of a schedule I controlled substance without legal authorization. His conviction took place on April 20, 2017, after cannabis was legalized both medically and recreationally in Nevada, according to court documents.
However, the justices argued that Poole was unable to prove that the pharmacy board’s classification played a role in his conviction and that suing the board was not the correct way to address allegations of a wrongful conviction.
“The constitutionality or illegality of a conviction must be challenged through a postconviction petition for habeas corpus, and Poole and CEIC fail to establish justiciability because they do not demonstrate how their alleged injuries would likely be redressed by the relief sought,” the justices wrote. “The district court therefore erred in granting relief and subsequently awarding respondents attorney fees, and we need not reach the remaining arguments.”
The high court’s ruling allows the pharmacy board to continue classifying marijuana as a schedule I listed drug under state law, despite the fact that the substance is legal in Nevada for both medical and recreational purposes, highlighting a potential conflict within Nevada’s legal framework.
The lower court ruling stemmed from a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Nevada on behalf of Poole, who was found guilty of felony cannabis possession after it became legal for recreational purposes, and CEIC, a pro-cannabis advocacy group.
The plaintiffs contended that the pharmacy board was ignoring the will of voters, the Nevada Constitution, and other state laws by continuing to designate cannabis as a schedule I controlled substance—a category reserved for substances that have no medical purpose and cannot be safely distributed, such as methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine.
The Nevada pharmacy board argued in legal briefs that it is highly unlikely that any Nevadans would be prosecuted for marijuana possession based on the schedule I classification given that medical marijuana has been legal in Nevada since 2000 and recreational use since 2016. The board stated that the plaintiffs’ allegation that its regulation causes marijuana users to be subjected to unjust criminal prosecution is “unsubstantiated.”
The pharmacy board further argued that its decision to keep marijuana as a schedule I substance helps maintain consistency between state and federal regulatory activity. At the federal level, marijuana remains classified as a schedule I substance because the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has determined that marijuana has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.
“To the extent that there is regulatory overlap between state and federal law as it pertains to marijuana, that measure of consistency benefits the public and practitioners alike,” the pharmacy board argued in a legal brief. “Consistency is important from a regulatory perspective because persons engaged in interstate commerce, whether producers or consumers, reasonably expect consistency between state and federal regulatory practices.”
Neither ACLU Nevada nor the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy responded to a request for comment on the ruling.
