The District of Columbia is moving to shut down a federal lawsuit filed by the Alliance for Recreational Cannabis Entities, arguing the group has no legal standing and its claims against the city’s cannabis regulations are baseless. The motion to dismiss, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, takes aim at the Alliance’s legal challenge on multiple constitutional fronts.
The Alliance, which represents a group of recreational cannabis businesses, accused the District of violating the U.S. Constitution with its regulations. The lawsuit, filed against the District, Mayor Muriel Bowser and several city agencies and officials, seeks to challenge the legal framework governing medical and recreational cannabis.
The District’s legal team, led by Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb, asserts in the motion that the Alliance’s case should be thrown out. The government argues the Alliance lacks the necessary standing to sue because it has not shown that its members face a concrete or imminent injury. The motion states that the Alliance relies on past alleged harms, such as fines and cease-and-desist orders, which are not sufficient to justify a request for a forward-looking injunction. The District also questions the Alliance’s legal status, claiming it has not demonstrated the “indicia of a traditional membership association” required to sue on behalf of its members…