Cannabis security company Helix TCS is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court in a fight over whether cannabis companies must follow federal labor law.
Canna Law Blog
- Per Canna Law Blog, “Helix’s main argument is that all participants in state recreational marijuana industries assume the risk that their activities will subject them to federal criminal sanctions and therefore they are not entitled to benefits under federal law, and cannot expect federal court to aid their conduct. Essentially Helix is arguing that the federal government would be assisting employees in drug trafficking if they afforded the employees the protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act.”
- A three judge panel of the Tenth Circuit unanimously rejected the argument.
- In the unlikely event SCOTUS hears the case, Canna Law Blog suggests a risk of “drastically unintended consequences.” The high court “may reaffirm federal illegality in a manner that is very detrimental to states that have legalized cannabis and operators within those states.”
