Cannabis

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Introduction

The cannabis industry in the U.S. is on the cusp of a potential transformation. On August 29, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) made a significant recommendation that could reshape the legal and regulatory landscape surrounding cannabis. In this post, we will delve into HHS’s groundbreaking proposal to reschedule cannabis from its current classification as a Schedule I substance to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), and the effect that rescheduling may have on cannabis industry participants. While this recommendation represents only the first step in the rescheduling processes, it is essential to understand the implications for various stakeholders.…

Continue Reading HHS Proposes Rescheduling Cannabis to Schedule III – What It Means for the Industry

It has been widely reported and confirmed publicly that, on August 29, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sent a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recommending that cannabis be moved from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). While this change would not lift the federal prohibition on cannabis, and the DEA will need to perform its own review, the move could have profound implications for researchers and industry participants.…

Continue Reading HHS Proposes Rescheduling Cannabis to Schedule III – What It Means for the Industry

On August 18, 2023, a New York Supreme Court judge has enjoined New York cannabis regulators from further processing, approving, or investigating any new or pending applications for a state conditional adult-use retail dispensary (CAURD) license, leaving New York’s nascent adult-use cannabis market in limbo.…

Continue Reading New York State Court Enjoins Licensing of Adult-Use Cannabis Dispensaries Statewide Amid Retail Cannabis Regulation Disputes

Published in Law360 on August 15, 2023. © Copyright 2023, Portfolio Media, Inc., publisher of Law360. Reprinted here with permission.

Much attention has recently been placed on hemp-derived products marketed in packaging that mimics popular snack foods.[1]

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and various state regulators, this type of packaging has contributed to an increase in accidental consumption of intoxicating hemp products by minors.…

Continue Reading Cannabis Plain Packaging Rules: Examples and Opportunities

California Attorney General (AG) Rob Bonta is asking the Los Angeles County Superior Court to enter a civil forfeiture order allowing the state to collect unpaid taxes and fees from an unlicensed marijuana business by seizing its assets.…

Continue Reading California AG Petitions State Court for Order to Seize Assets From an Unlicensed Cannabis Dispensary

Florida-based cannabis inventory tracking vendor Metrc LLC is asking a Colorado state court to toss a dispensary’s lawsuit challenging its process for charging so-called “support fees” as violative of state anti-trust and consumer protection laws.…

Continue Reading Cannabis Inventory Tracking Vendor Urges State Court to Dismiss Licensed Cultivator’s Lawsuit

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission’s first and only executive director is supposedly planning to leave the agency, which is in the midst of implementing the state’s new cannabis equity law, enacted in August 2022. This law includes new regulations concerning licensed “marijuana social consumption establishments,” which are more commonly known as cannabis cafés.…

Continue Reading Director of the Massachusetts Cannabis Regulator Is Departing Amid Agency’s Promulgation of New Cannabis Café Rules

Published in Law360 on July 19, 2023. © Copyright 2023, Portfolio Media, Inc., publisher of Law360. Reprinted here with permission.

While many individuals are excited about the proliferation of state laws providing for medical and recreational use of marijuana across the country, inconsistencies in these state laws have made it difficult for employers to put in place consistent policies and practices on testing for marijuana as a condition of employment, upon reasonable suspicion, and post-accident. Employers are being forced to revisit their drug-testing policies not just because of changes to their state’s laws regarding medical and recreational use of marijuana, but also because it is becoming increasingly difficult to find employees who have not used, or do not use, marijuana. If employers want to continue testing for marijuana in states where use is legal, policies must be drafted carefully to account for the continued evolution of the law in this area.…

Continue Reading Employer Drug-Testing Policies Must Evolve With State Law

Jean Gonnell, a regulatory attorney with a significant focus cannabis and tobacco law, has joined Troutman Pepper’s Regulatory Investigations, Strategy +  Enforcement (RISE) practice group. Resident in the firm’s Charlotte office, Gonnell joins from her private practice, Gonnell Law. …

Continue Reading Troutman Pepper Bolsters Regulatory Investigations, Strategy + Enforcement Practice Group with Accomplished Partner Focusing on Cannabis Law