Several mid-Atlantic state legislatures recently took significant action on the cannabis front, setting the stage for a major expansion of the cannabis market in the region. The impact of these laws varied widely, as shown by the summaries below.
Maryland
Maryland has supported a medical marijuana market since 2012, with currently over 100 licensed dispensaries.
Under the sponsorship of Representatives Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and Angie Craig (D-MN), congressional lawmakers recently renewed their effort to force the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) hand in regulating cannabidiol (CBD) products. The two proposed bills would require FDA to do what it stated in early 2023 it could not do: regulate CBD and other
The Virginia General Assembly recently passed — in both chambers — a bill to regulate delta-8 THC products in the commonwealth. The bill now awaits the governor’s signature. Governor Youngkin and the Republican-controlled House of Delegates have prioritized the control of these novel hemp-derived products over legislation to legalize the retail sale of adult-use marijuana
On February 9, Attorney General William Tong sued five Connecticut retailers for violating the state’s Unfair Trade Practices Act (UTPA) by selling allegedly illegal delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) products, many of which mimicked snack foods and candies popular among youth.
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is typically associated with the high consumers feel when consuming marijuana products. Delta-8 THC
On January 26, the Food and Drug Administration essentially threw up its hands and announced that Congress needs to create a new regulatory pathway for cannabidiol (CBD) products because the existing pathways are inadequate to mitigate possible health risks. The agency simultaneously denied three long-pending requests to allow marketing of CBD products as dietary supplements.
The Senate recently passed the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act (the Act) by a voice vote after the House of Representatives passed the bill with strong bipartisan support (325-95) last July. The Act is the first stand-alone marijuana legislation passed in decades and, according to some news sources, President Biden will likely
On November 3, Judge Gary L. Sharpe of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York issued a preliminary injunction, blocking cannabis regulators from issuing marijuana retail licenses for five geographic regions across the state, while a constitutional challenge to the program proceeds.
Continue Reading Federal Judge Finds NY Cannabis Residency Rules Likely Unconstitutional and Discriminatory Against Out-of-State Applicants
FDA has hired Norman Birenbaum, an experienced cannabis policy expert, as a senior public health advisor at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). The move signals the agency may soon develop a regulatory framework for cannabis-derived products, including cannabidiol (CBD) products — something that CBD stakeholders have been anxiously awaiting.
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Is delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) legal to sell in Virginia? We previously reported that the legislature rejected the governor’s attempts to stymie sales of delta-8 THC, but recent developments in the commonwealth call into question the legal status of the popular cannabinoid with respect to foods and beverages.
Delta-8 THC is derived from cannabidiol (CBD) (often
Certain states where cannabis (or marijuana) is legal have long been getting away with a practice that has been declared unconstitutional in almost all other contexts: giving their residents preferential treatment over nonresidents when issuing permits to operate a cannabis business. Earlier this year, we wrote about the widespread use of residency rules in the