The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Monsanto, the manufacturer of the herbicide Roundup, in a lawsuit filed by a Missouri man who claimed the product caused his cancer. The court’s decision, written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, stated that the federal government’s regulation of herbicides preempts state law claims.

Background of the Case

The lawsuit was filed by John Durnell, a Missouri man who used Roundup in the parks around his home and was later diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. A jury initially awarded Durnell $1.25 million, but the decision was appealed by Monsanto.

The case has implications for thousands of other lawsuits filed against Monsanto over its weedkiller. The company has maintained that the active ingredient in Roundup, glyphosate, does not cause cancer, and that the federal government’s regulation of herbicides preempts state law claims.

Reaction to the Decision

The decision has been met with mixed reactions, with some business groups warning that a ruling in favor of Durnell could have led to a ‘state-by-state cacophony’ of regulations. The Trump administration had urged the Supreme Court to take up the case and supported Monsanto’s argument.

The case has also drawn attention from advocates for tighter regulations on pesticides, who argue that the use of glyphosate poses a risk to human health. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified glyphosate as ‘probably carcinogenic to humans’.

Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.