Marijuana business owners sue state commission – The Martha’s Vineyard Times

Vineyard marijuana entrepreneur Geoff Rose has filed a joint lawsuit with a Nantucket-based dispensary against the state Cannabis Control Commission in hopes it will permit the legal transport of marijuana to the islands for commercial sales. 

The lawsuit filed with the Suffolk County Superior Court on Tuesday wants the state to allow dispensaries to ship marijuana to the Islands by boat and not punish them for doing so. The plaintiffs are seeking an expedited hearing.  

“We’re at a critical juncture,” Rose said, who owns the cannabis store Island Time in Vineyard Haven. He jointly filed the suit with The Green Lady Dispensary on Nantucket. 

He said his business, as well as supplies for 234 medical marijuana users in Dukes County, are at stake unless a solution is found. 

Commissioners discussed this month whether to enact an emergency order to permit shipping marijuana on state-controlled waterways, where it is currently restricted. Marijuana is a controlled substance under federal law, and it is illegal to transport it across federal waters, such as Vineyard Sound. 

Fine Fettle in West Tisbury is the Island’s only legal marijuana grower but it plans to shut its doors by September, cutting off the local source. It has already stopped growing marijuana on the Vineyard. 

The commissioners unanimously voted on May 9 to meet with Vineyard officials in June about the broken supply chain. 

Tim Swain, one of the lawyers representing the dispensaries, said the commission was contacted about the problem in November. He said the commission maintained that the transportation of marijuana between the Islands and the mainland is banned. 

A commission representative did not respond to a request for comment regarding the lawsuit. 

Massachusett law requires “randomization” of marijuana shipments, which means that shipping it on regularly scheduled ferries is a potential problem. 

Swain said the lawsuit aims to get state permission for Rose to use a private boat to transport marijuana through state waters, which it classifies as seas within three miles of land. 

Island Time briefly closed in March, citing dwindling marijuana supplies, although it temporarily reopened in April. It shuttered again on May 14. 

Rose said he obtained marijuana from the mainland that allowed him to stay open for another month. He declined to say how he got the supplies to the Vineyard. 

The U.S. Coast Guard enforces federal maritime transportation laws. Diolanda Caballero, a Coast Guard spokesperson, told The Times that marijuana remains illegal under federal law so even if someone possesses the drug in amounts allowed by the state they are in, “the contraband will be seized,” and the possessor, or vessel operator, could be prosecuted.  

Rose said his business can’t wait for the commission to visit the Vineyard in June and then to meet again for a decision. He declined to say how long his business can hold on.