: Cannabis companies hire Microsoft antitrust lawyer David Boies to sue U.S. government for federal pot prohibition

TerrAscend Corp. CA:TSND, Green Thumb Industries Inc. GTBIF, Verano Holdings corp. VRNOF, Ascend Wellness Holdings Inc. AAWH, Poseidon Investment Management, and Eminence Capital said late Thursday they hired Boies Schiller Flexnor to file suit against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in U.S. federal court in Massachusetts in an attempt to overturn federal prohibition of cannabis because it restricts state-legal commerce. “Federal criminalization of safe, regulated, intrastate cannabis legal in 38 states is unconstitutional and unfair to small business,” according to a statement from the group. Boies Schiller Flexnor was the firm that won an antitrust case against Microsoft Corp. MSFT on behalf of the U.S. government. The firm also overturned California’s same-sex marriage ban. The AdvisorShares Pure U.S. Cannabis ETF MSOS is down by 30.4% in 2023 compared to a 20.3% increase by the Nasdaq COMP.

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