Legal Insight: Contract Law & Marijuana

Hey all, marijuana is being legalized for medicinal and/or recreational purposes in the U.S. (I think 29 states have legalized medicinal use). However, marijuana and most of its psychoactive derivatives remain illegal at the federal level.

This has important implications for contracting purposes. Generally, judges will refuse to enforce a contract which requires an illegal act. For example, a court would never enforce a contract for an assassination.

This rule has the potential to invalidate any contracts, which require the production, possession, transference, or use of marijuana. The issue arose in a case involving marijuana tourism. As I understand it, the tour operator collected money from several people in exchange for a marijuana tour - during the course of which the tourists would receive marijuana from several vendors in Colorado.

When the tour operator absconded with the money, the customers sued him. The court refused to enforce the contract on the grounds that marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, and the contract required illegal acts.

This is just an issue to keep in mind if you own a marijuana-related business, or if you are planning on paying for any marijuana-related services. The law might not be there to back up any oral or written contracts which contemplate the production, transference, use, or possession of marijuana.