Lewis & Clark Law Review Publishes Edition on Cannabis Legalization

The Lewis & Clark Law Review, ranked 41st among general-interest law reviews by Washington & Lee Citation Rankings, released Volume 23, No. 2, which focuses on marijuana in the law.

The new issue features five articles that discuss marijuana legalization and its legal implications for racial disparity, federalism, insurance, zoning, and drug decriminalization more broadly. The issue also features three notes and comments that ‘dig into the weeds’ of the constitutionality of marijuana legalization.

“It is important to address marijuana legalization in part because it represents a nexus of fundamental change and friction within the law,” said contributing author and former Notes and Comments editor of the Lewis & Clark Law Review Zachary Nelson ’19. “Legalization simultaneously affects individuals and abstract doctrines, while evolving alongside our societal understanding of marijuana and those doctrines. The study of marijuana legalization, then, is itself the study of gradual yet significant shifts in our society, culture, and law.”

Three 2019 graduates authored pieces in this edition.

Blake Marvis ’19, magna cum laude, authored, “Reefer Madness in Federal Court: An Overview of How Federal Courts Are Dealing with Cannabis Litigation and Why It Is Necessary to ‘Dig into the Weeds’” He will begin working with Davis Rothwell Earle & Xóchihua in February 2020. Before law school, Blake co-founded an edibles company after helping start and manage a dispensary in Oregon.

Zachary Nelson ’19, summa cum laude, authored “If It Looks Like a Duck: Equal Protection, Selective Prosecution, and Geographic Differences in the Federal Prosecution of Marijuana Crimes Under the Controlled Substances Act.” Prior to graduating from Lewis & Clark Law School, He earned his MA from Colorado State University in 2016 and his BA from the University of South Dakota in 2013.

Hayley Hollis ’19 authored “Cannabis Law, the Constitution, and the ABA Model Rules.” Before coming to the law school, she earned her her MEd in Educational Technology Leadership from Lamar University, MA in Communication Studies from Sam Houston State University, and her BS from the University of Texas.

Distinguished Professor of Law Susan Mandiberg published, “A Hybrid Approach to Marijuana Federalism,” in which she asks and answers the question: how should the federal and state governments organize regulation in the event that the federal government decriminalizes marijuana?

The authors hope that expanding the legal dialogue about marijuana now will help prepare for the future.

“This edition contributes to a growing body of legal scholarship and, in so doing, carries forward the Promethean torch toward a reality of public policy and legal understanding that adequately addresses the competing demands and concerns that arise from the steady legalization of marijuana,” Nelson said. “At this point, questions concerning marijuana legalization far outpace answers, and this edition will hopefully help mitigate that gap.”