Published in Law360 on May 23, 2025. © Copyright 2025, Portfolio Media, Inc., publisher of Law360. Reprinted here with permission.
In the rapidly evolving landscape of Colorado’s cannabis industry, maintaining compliance with state regulation is not just a legal obligation but a critical component of business strategy. As cannabis products undergo rigorous testing, the potential of product contamination looms large, posing significant challenges for licensees.
Jean Smith-Gonnell, a leader of Troutman Pepper Locke’s Cannabis Industry practice, was quoted in the May 21, 2025 MJBizDaily article, “Can Cryptocurrencies Solve Cannabis Business Banking Challenges?“
This article was originally published in Reuters and Westlaw Today on April 25, 2025.
Cannabis businesses operating in state-legal markets face a patchwork of testing requirements that vary from one jurisdiction to another. In the absence of federal oversight, each state has developed its own testing rules, including for licensing labs, required contaminants to test for, sampling procedures, and allowable remediation of contaminated products.
On April 21, Indiana Attorney General (AG) Todd Rokita issued a letter to state legislators addressing the pressing issue of legal loopholes surrounding intoxicating hemp-derived products containing delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC, or HHC. These products have garnered significant attention due to their psychoactive effects similar to Delta-9 THC, the primary compound in marijuana. In 2023, Rokita issued an official opinion concluding that these types of products are currently illegal in Indiana. Rokita’s letter discusses the proposed Senate Bill 478, which, among other things, seeks to regulate craft hemp, craft hemp flower products, and THC. Rokita concluded that the proposed bill would make these products legal, does not meaningfully regulate them, and encourages the legislature to reconsider the legislation.
METRC, Inc., the predominant provider of seed-to-sale tracking software used by state regulatory bodies overseeing legal cannabis markets across the U.S., faces serious allegations detailed in a recent lawsuit filed in Oregon. The lawsuit, brought by a former executive at METRC, accuses the company of whistleblower retaliation and wrongful termination under Oregon law. Central to the plaintiff’s complaint are allegations that METRC knowingly ignored substantial compliance violations within its tracking systems in California, potentially facilitating illegal diversion of cannabis products. The litigation raises critical concerns for cannabis regulatory compliance, not only in Oregon and California but also in the 25 other jurisdictions that rely on METRC’s systems.
We are pleased to announce that RISE Partners Ashley Taylor and Jean Gonnell have been selected to serve on Law360‘s editorial advisory boards this year. Ashley will contribute his expertise to the Consumer Protection Advisory Board, while Jean will lend her insights to the Cannabis Advisory Board. We congratulate them, along with the other
On February 3, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) issued two public health and safety advisories regarding potentially contaminated marijuana products sold by two separate licensees in Massachusetts.
In a February 19 complaint filed in Arizona state court, Texas-based payment processer Switch Commerce LLC argued that multistate cannabis operator Trulieve Cannabis Corp. and its affiliates should be responsible for a $950,000 fine from Visa for their alleged fraudulent use of “cashless ATMs” — not Switch.
The Virginia General Assembly has once again advanced legislation to establish a regulated market for recreational marijuana sales. Virginia is unique in that it allows personal possession of cannabis but bans retail sales outside of medical marijuana dispensaries. The legislation, HB 2485 sponsored by Delegate Paul Krizek, D-Fairfax County, and SB970 by Senator Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach, passed the Democratic-controlled legislature on a party-line vote (53-46 in the House and 21-19 in the Senate). The bills now move on to Virginia’s Governor Glenn Youngkin.
Last year, we wrote about the former Missouri governor’s efforts to curb the availability of intoxicating hemp products to Missouri consumers by executive order. There are now several proposed bills in the Missouri legislature that seek to regulate hemp-derived consumable products in the state, a few of which we summarize below. In general, the proposed legislation addresses issues related to youth access, licensing, taxation, advertising and marketing, testing, and labeling. This type of proposed legislation is worth monitoring in Missouri, and other states, as states take more aggressive action to prohibit or regulate the availability of such products to consumers in the absence of a coherent, federal regulatory framework.