PORTLAND, Maine (Legal Newsline) - A Delaware company has taken issue with a Maine policy, the Residency Statute, that favors residents over non-residents in the growing legal marijuana industry.
Wellness Connection sued the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, the State of Maine, as well as Kristine Figueroa in her official capacity as the Commissioner of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services for the state. The lawsuit was filed in the District of Maine on March 20.
Wellness Connection details how profitable the marijuana industry is, pointing out that it made $12 billion last year in the U.S., and that Maine is quickly on the rise. The plaintiff noted that for Maine specifically, marijuana is the third-largest market in the state with sales of $111.6 million in 2019.
Still, Wellness Connection said it won’t be able to take advantage of it because of the Residency Statute that protects opportunities for those who have lived in Maine for at least four years.
“The purpose of the Residency Statute is to discriminate against non-residents,” the plaintiff alleged. “The Residency Statute violates the dormant Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution by explicitly and purposefully favoring Maine residents over non-residents.”
Wellness Connection is looking for a declaratory and injunctive relief that confirms the statute doesn’t comply with the U.S. Constitution. It also wants the defendants to be banned from enforcing the Residency Statute.