Ensuring Entrepreneurs and Businesses Stay Informed of Developments in the Burgeoning Cannabis Industry
Though it still feels like summer in balmy Los Angeles, school is back in session and so is the California legislature. From banking reform to labeling, state legislators are set to mull over at least five bills directly impacting the $2.5 billion legal cannabis industry in California, now ranked the fifth largest economy in the world.
Read MoreIllinois remains the epicenter of marijuana legalization in 2019. During August alone, Illinois has passed new legislation expanding and cementing its medical marijuana program, and shown necessary flexibility as it attempts to get its recreational market off the ground by January 1, 2020.
Read MoreOn this episode of the podcast, co-hosts Doug Sargent and David Standa talk with guest Ryan Holz, a Locke Lord Cannabis Industry Group Partner, about the National Credit Union Association’s recently announced guidelines for providing financial services to hemp-related businesses (0:37), the American Bar Association’s resolution urging congress to enact legislation to exempt from the controlled substances act any marijuana business carried out in compliance with state law (4:11), Rep. Earl Blumenauer’s (D-OR) recent interview outlining a positive outlook for the marijuana industry for the fall (9:14), and the FBI’s call for tips related to possible public corruption in the cannabis industry licensing regimes (12:53).
Read MoreAlaska was in the vanguard of states legalizing marijuana for recreational use, passing a ballot initiative in 2014. Yet recent news suggests Alaska cannabis companies continue to deal with serious banking and insurance issues.
Read MoreMaine voters legalized recreational and medical marijuana nearly three years ago. Yet the roll-out process has been slow, especially on the recreational side, in part because Maine has given licensing authority to both the state and local municipalities, adding an increased burden on those seeking licensure and an extra layer of red tape.
Read MoreA judge in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania recently threw out evidence obtained from the search of a vehicle after state troopers used the smell of marijuana as the basis for their probable cause.
Read MoreSeven Oklahoma medical marijuana dispensaries are suing Facebook after the platform allegedly booked them into “Facebook jail.” “Facebook jail” is when Facebook temporarily disables a page or profile for allegedly violating community standards.
Read MoreYou don’t see many Writs of Mandamus these days. Yet on August 5th, Santa Fe District Court Judge Bryan Biedscheid signed an Alternative Writ of Mandamus officially ordering the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) to allow out-of-state residents to participate in New Mexico’s Medical Cannabis Program.
Read MoreIn the third episode of The Joint Status Report, Chicago partners Doug Sargent and David Standa discuss former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb’s recent op-ed calling on the FDA to take action on CBD (1:00), the recent legalization of hemp in Ohio, which enforcement officials believe has effectively legalized recreational marijuana (6:42), a court ruling in Pennsylvania that threw out evidence obtained via a search of a vehicle containing a medical marijuana cardholder where the search was initiated because the officers smelled marijuana (14:36), Cornell University’s announcement that it will offer courses about cannabis starting this fall semester (17:46), and a recent lawsuit initiated by Oklahoma medical marijuana companies against Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg for allegedly putting the companies’ Facebook pages in “Facebook Jail” (20:11).
Read MoreOn July 30, 2019, Governor Mike DeWine signed a bill legalizing hemp and hemp-derived CBD in Ohio. Like many other jurisdictions, the Ohio measure defines hemp to be cannabis with less than 0.3% THC, which is the key compound of the cannabis plant that can cause a psychoactive effect in certain concentrations. As a practical matter, however, it appears that the hemp law may have actually decriminalized marijuana (cannabis with 0.3% THC or more) for at least the next few months as well.
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