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On Nov. 14, the Oregon Court of Appeals halted the rules banning the sale of flavored cannabis vapes.
The court took that action in response to a 'motion to stay' filed by a cannabis company called Dyme Distribution on Nov. 1. Dyme asked that the flavored ban rules applicable to cannabis vapes be halted until full judicial review of the lawsuit opposing the state's temporary ban on flavored vapes concludes.
Today, in response to the halted rules, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission filed a court motion arguing against the stay.
The OLCC, the agency that regulates cannabis in the state, argued that the potential harms of cannabis vapes outweigh any financial burdens cannabis companies might suffer as a result of the ban.
"The court should not grant a stay because petitioner demonstrated little likelihood of prevailing on the merits and the balance of harms tips in favor of the state," the Oregon Department of Justice wrote on the OLCC's behalf. "With respect to the balance of harms, OLCC did not dispute that the temporary rule could have significant financial consequences for petitioner's business, but OLCC argued those concerns are substantially outweighed by the risk of harm to the public that prompted the governor to issue her executive order."
Kevin Jacoby, Dyme's attorney, called the state's challenge "routine."
The state called the stay "illogical."
"The [court] reasons that since there is no showing that flavored cannabis products in particular are implicated in the injury outbreak, there has been no showing of a risk to the public from their use," the DOJ filing says. "That is a mistake, and one that endangers the public. It is undisputed that vaping
products are causing the injuries, and that cannabis vaping products in
particular have been linked with most (but not all) of the injuries."