Category: Legal

Voters in Michigan have now given recreational marijuana its first toehold in the traditional Midwest as the progressive movement has expanded beyond the coasts and mountains. The possibility of additional Midwestern states, including Ohio and Illinois, voting for recreational marijuana in 2019 and 2020 further proves that a growing number…

Democrat Michael Bennet and Republican Cory Gardner — both Colorado senators — expressed great delight when the U.S. House and Senate announced they finally agreed in principle on the substance of the 2018 Farm Bill. Bennet said his goal was to get a bipartisan Farm Bill passed before 2019 —…

Last November, in a significant win for the CBD industry, on appeal, a federal court governing the U.S. Postal Service ordered the USPS to return a package of Farm Bill-compliant CBD isolate that it had unlawfully seized in transit. The package, sent from a Colorado Department of Agriculture pilot program…

Cannabis operators across the United States collectively, but cautiously, breathed a sigh of relief in early November, as in the first federal trial of its kind a jury refused to award damages to plaintiffs alleging that a neighboring cannabis facility violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Essentially,…

In recent months, the landscape for the use of CBD in the treatment of medical conditions and the value of the intellectual property rights associated with cannabis-derived pharmaceuticals has shifted dramatically. On June 25, 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made history when it approved Epidiolex for the treatment…

From fires in California to hurricanes in Florida and Puerto Rico, the cannabis industry has been hit hard in recent years by natural disasters. Cannabis companies face some unique challenges in purchasing insurance and attempting to obtain coverage for losses, but insurance coverage — contrary to certain media reports —…

As Oregon’s adult-use cannabis industry matures and licensed cannabis businesses become more established, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) has shifted to vigorous enforcement of cannabis businesses. However, in this age of enforcement, it is important for state-licensed businesses to consider the limits of the agency’s enforcement powers. Chief among…

There’s a common misconception in the cannabis industry that it is not possible to obtain federal trademark protection for brands. In fact, it is possible, and we are not referencing federal registration for hats and T-shirts which is pretty meaningless unless you are in the clothing business. So how do…

With the current push for the legalization of recreational cannabis across several states, the cannabis industry is being forced to face difficult choices with respect to banking options. Of course, marijuana remains illegal under federal law and is classified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act. This…

Not a day goes by without the news buzzing about the fortunes to be made in the newly legitimized cannabis industry. Canadian giants have been entering into multibillion-dollar mergers, with the same thing beginning to happen in California. While few would argue that more industry, more jobs and more money are bad…