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 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 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 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.
Read MoreFormer FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb recently penned an op-ed in the Washington Post titled “The CBD craze is getting out of hand. The FDA needs to act.” In the piece, Dr. Gottlieb proposed an expedited process to permit cannabidiol (CBD) to be added to foods and drinks and marketed as a supplement.
Read MoreThe Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has opened an investigation into CannTrust Holdings, Inc., deepening the problems for the large Canadian cannabis company. CannTrust also announced that it will miss the deadline to file its interim financial reports for second quarter 2019.
Read MoreEarlier this year, New York appeared poised to be the second largest state to legalize recreational marijuana. That effort fell apart despite Democratic control of both chambers of the New York Legislature and the Governorship. But recognizing that something is better than nothing, New York recently passed legislation to decriminalize marijuana.
Read MoreTexas has always prided itself on its independence. So it is only natural that while the rest of the country moves toward decriminalization and/or legalization of marijuana, Texas is pushing for increased prosecutions.
Read MoreIt’s been nearly two years since California legalized recreational marijuana, and despite promises to curtail the illegal market, California’s black market continues to thrive. In 2018, according to estimates, about 78% of all marijuana sales in California occurred on the black market. That number (and the associated lost revenue for legal marijuana-related businesses and the California treasury) is frightening.
Read MoreAs the cannabis industry continues to expand in Massachusetts following the state’s legalization of recreational marijuana, Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin warned that cannabis companies will face increased scrutiny from the state’s securities regulators.
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