Cannabis Business Legal News

On December 12, 2018, with strong bipartisan support, Congress quietly passed the Agricultural Improvements Act of 2018 (H.R. 2), affectionately known as the Farm Bill. The President’s signature is expected.

Buried within the Farm Bill are explicit protections for hemp production from the Cannabis sativa L. plant, including all parts of the plant as well as any “and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a [THC] concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.”  And, this is huge ...

While the official tally is not yet in, it became clear late Tuesday night that Missouri voters have chosen to legalize medical marijuana in their state.

Missouri citizens voted to adopt Amendment 2, or the New Approach Missouri Amendment. Amendment 3 (the Bradshaw Amendment) and Proposition C (the Missouri Patient Care Act) failed to garner enough votes to pass. It would not be surprising, though, if this is not the last we hear from the backers of Amendment 3 and Proposition C. A great deal of money and effort went into promoting the three competing ballot initiatives, and the backers of ...

Last night, J.B. Pritzker, the Democratic candidate for Illinois Governor defeated incumbent Republican Bruce Rauner at the polls. Pritzker will be sworn in as governor on January 9, 2019. One of many issues on which the two candidates were divided was the legalization of recreational adult use cannabis in Illinois. Governor Rauner was a staunch opponent to the legalization of recreational cannabis. He was also seen as the driving force behind keeping Illinois’ Medical Cannabis Pilot Program, which was largely put in place by former Governor Pat Quinn’s administration, one of ...

The DEA’s recent decision to reschedule certain FDA-approved, cannabis-derived CBD drugs, which includes only the drug Epidiolex at current, has many under the false impression that CBD is now completely legal on the federal level. But this is not yet the case. And unfortunately, this false impression could lead to disastrous consequences for financial institutions’ banking businesses selling CBD products and failing to properly report those businesses and their transactions.

In June of 2018, in a landmark decision, the FDA issued its first approval of a medicine derived from cannabis, Epidiolex. Manufactured by Britain’s GW Pharmaceuticals, Epidiolex was developed to treat two rare and severe seizure disorders in young children (Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome). However, the approval faced a significant legal barrier as cannabis, and products derived from the plant, remained a Schedule I drug in the eyes of the DEA. Schedule I drugs are defined by the DEA as having no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.

That ...

The number of states legalizing medicinal and recreational marijuana use continues to rise. According to CNNMoney, legal pot is now a multi-billion dollar industry in the US. In order to weed out the competition, these businesses should seek whatever protections are available. One powerful tool to protect brands in all industries is trademark registration. However, since marijuana is still illegal under federal law, there are significant limitations on how a business engaged in growing or selling marijuana can protect its trademarks on this product.  

U.S. trademark ...

On June 25, 2018, for the first time in its history, the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of a drug derived directly from cannabis. The drug, called Epidiolex, treats two specific epileptic syndromes – Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome – both of which can affect infants and children under the age of five. This decision comes following extensive clinical studies of the cannabis based medicine. In the past, the FDA has only approved synthetic variations of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other cannabis compounds (typically for use in combatting nausea and ...

A recent decision from the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the Ninth Circuit is another in a small, but growing line of cases finding that bankruptcy cases need not be mandatorily dismissed simply because they touch upon marijuana related businesses or their assets.  In turn, that realization could, and should, lead to a much needed change in thought over the general availability of bankruptcy protection for operating marijuana related businesses themselves.

The decision, In re Olson, 2018 WL 989263 (B.A.P. 9^th Cir. 2018), involved a 92 year old, legally blind, debtor living in an ...

In the two and half years since Illinois legalized medical marijuana the banking industry remains largely hesitant to bank marijuana-related businesses. This seems true despite a memorandum from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) designed specifically to encourage the banking industry to provide, and ease the banking industry’s concerns with providing, financial services to marijuana-related businesses. The February 2014 FinCEN memo itself states that it “clarifies how financial institutions can provide services to marijuana-related businesses ...