Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas expressed dismay last year at the "contradictory and unstable state of affairs" created by the federal government's "half-in, half-out" approach to marijuana, which "simultaneously tolerates and forbids local use." A federal appeals court recently provided a striking illustration of that confusing situation by ruling that Maine's residency requirement for medical marijuana suppliers amounts to unconstitutional protectionism.
Maine's Medical Use of Marijuana Act, enacted in 2009, requires that the "officers" and "directors" of businesses that sell cannabis to patients be residents of the state. Those terms are defined broadly to include managers and anyone with an ownership interest, meaning that even stockholders must be Maine residents.
