Koch-Backed Americans for Prosperity Foundation Urges Supreme Court to Strike Down Federal Marijuana Prohibition

OG article by Anthony Martinelli

November 24, 2025

The Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF), backed by Charles Koch, has filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court urging it to strike down federal marijuana prohibition under the Controlled Substances Act, asserting that the law overreaches by criminalizing activity confined entirely within states like Massachusetts. AFPF argues this violates core federalism principles, as the Constitution grants states the general power of governing, with Congress limited to specific authorities; intrastate marijuana operations, fully tracked and regulated from seed to sale under state law, fall within state police powers without any proven interstate commerce connection. The brief criticizes the Court's 2005 Gonzales v. Raich decision as an outlier that improperly expanded the Commerce Clause to include local activities based on a vague "rational basis" theory, disregarding the framers' intent and trampling state authority. AFPF highlights the Massachusetts petitioners—Canna Provisions, Gyasi Sellers, Wiseacre Farm, and Verano Holdings—as ideal, given their strictly intrastate, regulated operations and product tracking systems that distinguish licensed marijuana from illicit cross-state traffic, undermining Raich's assumptions. The group calls for the Court to accept the case, overturn Raich, and restore constitutional limits to bolster dual sovereignty. The underlying petition was submitted last month by Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, with the Justice Department opting not to intervene, leaving the decision to the justices. This move could reshape federal-state relations on cannabis policy if granted.