Texas natives serve as plaintiffs in lawsuit to federally legalize marijuana

By Ileana Najarro



Compassionate Cultivation is one of the first medical marijuana dispensaries operating in Texas. The first orders of the medication will go through this month.

Two Texas natives are key plaintiffs in a civil lawsuit to declare the federal government's classification of cannabis as a Schedule 1 drug unconstitutional. A U.S. district judge in New York will hear arguments for the lawsuit's dismissal Wednesday morning.

Marvin Washington, a former NFL player from Dallas, and Alexis Bortell, an 11-year-old intractable epilepsy patient from Tyler, are both challenging the constitutionality of cannabis' categorization as a dangerous drug under the Controlled Substance Act.

Washington seeks to legally expand his cannabis-based business to help professional athletes with head injuries. Bortell, who moved with her family to Colorado seeking medical cannabis to treat her seizures, seeks the freedom of flying across the U.S. and visiting federal lands even in states currently without legalized medical marijuana.

Michael Hiller, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, argues this lawsuit is the first of its kind with plaintiffs, claims, evidence and facts never before used in efforts to federally legalize marijuana.

This is not a lawsuit that's just about cannabis," Hiller said. "This is a human rights issue."

Hiller argues that in prior calls for the legalization of marijuana, there wasn't enough evidence as there exists today demonstrating the medicinal properties of the drug.