Legal

Federal Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have in recent weeks seized more than $300,000 worth of cannabis products from state-licensed cannabis operators in New Mexico, KRQE reports. The seizures have been carried out during routine CBP checkpoints located in the state’s southern region near the U.S.-Mexico border. “Normally they don’t have dogs,” said Top Crop Cannabis Co.’s Operations Manager Nick Spoor in the report. “Usually it’s just a, ‘Are you a U.S. citizen, yes’ and then they wave you through.” But… Read more.

A Democratic congressman says recent reports of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents seizing marijuana from state-licensed businesses in New Mexico underscores how the Biden administration is “not doing enough to protect states who are not waiting for the federal government to catch up.” Over the past two months, CBP has seized hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cannabis products from state-legal operators—a recent trend that seemingly conflicts with the administration’s non-intervention position for state marijuana laws. “The Biden-Harris Administration… Read more.

A California man on Friday pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud in a hemp business fraud case that cost investors more than $18 million, the Los Angeles Times reports. Mark Roy Anderson, 69, was indicted last year in the scheme by a federal grand jury.  In the federal complaint, prosecutors said Anderson used the money collected from investors for Harvest Farm Group to buy a $1.3 million property in Ojai and another $2.3 million on personal expenses, including more than $650,000 for… Read more.

Federal officials have been seizing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of marijuana from state-licensed cannabis businesses in New Mexico in recent weeks—detaining industry workers in what appears to be a localized escalation of national prohibition enforcement even as the federal government has largely refrained from interfering with the implementation of state legalization laws in recent years. New Mexico marijuana businesses report that the more than dozen U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seizures, particularly at interior checkpoints around the… Read more.

Last week, an illegal cannabis operation in East Oakland was dismantled by authorities, resulting in the seizure of plants with an estimated retail value exceeding $10 million. CBS News reported that the operation took place on the 700 block of Kevin Court, where the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and other agencies conducted a joint operation. This intervention followed an investigation into suspected illegal cultivation activities at the site. During the operation, over 12,000 cannabis plants were eradicated. A spokesperson for… Read more.

Florida’s Supreme Court is fast approaching a deadline—midnight on Monday—to render an opinion in a case that will decide whether a marijuana legalization initiative will appear on the state ballot this November. But while expectations were that it would issue its decision on Thursday, as it traditionally posts opinions on that day of the week, the court declined to do so—raising procedural questions about what to expect next with time running thin, and what might happen if justices miss the… Read more.

Connecticut lawmakers have approved a bill to decriminalize psilocybin in a bicameral committee. About two weeks after the legislature’s Joint Judiciary Committee first discussed the psychedelics proposal, members approved it on Tuesday. The legislation would make possession of up to one-half an ounce of psilocybin punishable by a $150 fine, without the threat of jail time. A second or subsequent violation would carry a fine of at least $200 but not more than $500. A person who pleads guilty or no… Read more.

Hawaii’s House on Tuesday passed a bill to create a free, state-initiated, process for expunging certain criminal records, including arrests and convictions for promoting a detrimental drug in the third degree, Honolulu Civil Beat reports. The measure could expunge charges for more than 36,000 people arrested in the state for possessing less than 3 grams of cannabis, an offense decriminalized in 2019.  There are more than 53,000 arrest records under the promoting a detrimental drug statute in the state’s criminal database but only about 10,000… Read more.

Despite Canada's legalization of marijuana for adult use more than five years ago, according to a recent analysis from Deloitte Canada, sales of cannabis remain mostly concentrated in the illegal market, accounting for anything between 25% and 50% of the entire market. The paper explores the distinctions between the legal and illegal cannabis marketplaces and poses relevant issues about product offers, pricing, and operational tactics. 624 legitimate adult-use marijuana outlets and 57 illegal ones were the subject of an analysis by Deloitte… Read more.

After a couple of years, the Securities and Exchange Commission has wrapped up its case against the SHE Beverage company. In 2021, they slapped charges on the bigwigs Sonja F. Shelby, Lupe L. Rose, and Katherine E. Dirden, accusing them of duping investors during the 2017-2019 period. Now, the final judgments are in. SHE Beverages As ace cannabis reporter, Deb Borchardt of Green Market Report first posted, SHE Beverages was a scam from the very beginning of their public fund raising efforts.… Read more.

Researchers funded by the federal government have unveiled novel techniques for distinguishing between marijuana and hemp by precisely measuring the THC levels in both flowers and edibles. The National Institute of Justice (NIJ), a branch of the Justice Department, is championing the findings from two research endeavors it sponsored, focusing on refining cannabis lab testing. These findings are being disseminated to specific law enforcement agencies. The primary goal of these projects was to streamline testing procedures to address the increasing backlog in… Read more.

President Joe Biden is again inflating the impact of his pardons for marijuana offenses, falsely suggesting that his act of clemency “expunged” records and that people were released from prison. “A promise made and a promise kept,” he said during a campaign speech in South Carolina on Saturday. “I keep my promises when I said no one—no one—should be in prison for merely possessing marijuana or using it, and their records should be expunged,” Biden said. The president has routinely framed… Read more.

Oregon Republican lawmakers in the House last week unveiled a proposal that would re-criminalize drug possession in the state by reassigning misdemeanor penalties for drug possession and mandating addiction treatment to avoid jail, the Oregon Capital Chronicle reports. The bill seeks to override the state’s 2020 voter-approved drug decriminalization initiative, Measure 110, by making persona possession of fentanyl, heroin, and meth a class A misdemeanor with jail time penalties of up to one year, a fine of up to $6,250, or both,… Read more.

Oregon House Republican lawmakers on Thursday released details of a proposal that would end Measure 110 by mandating misdemeanor penalties for drug possession and treatment to avoid jail. House Republicans want to make possession of small amounts of fentanyl, heroin and meth a Class A misdemeanor, which carries up to a year in jail, a fine of up to $6,250, or both. Under the bill, users could avoid jail time with mandatory addiction treatment. The bill also would impose a… Read more.

Tragedy struck the Oakland Police Department early Friday morning as Officer Tuan Le, 36, lost his life in the line of duty while responding to reports of a burglary at a cannabis business, as reported by CBS. This marked the second burglary incident at the same location within just four hours. Officer Le, originally from Vietnam, moved to Oakland and became a naturalized citizen on September 11, 2001. He graduated from the 183rd police academy in 2020 and had been serving… Read more.

Mississippi’s medical cannabis advertising ban is preventing a small dispensary from attracting customers, Tru Source owner Clarence Cocroft is arguing in a federal lawsuit that casts the law as a violation of his free-speech rights. Though medical marijuana is now legal for Mississippians with qualifying conditions and a medical cannabis card, state law prohibits dispensary owners and cultivators from advertising cannabis products. “It’s a daunting task to stay in the industry when you can’t advertise,” Cocroft told the Mississippi Free Press on December 8.… Read more.

A recent editorial on Cannabis.net titled  "The Kids Will All Be Getting High Turns Out to Be 100% Wrong" went viral as it pointed out that the long held Reefer Madness myth of kids getting stoned all day with the legalization of cannabis across America is not accurate based on government studies and data. In a landscape marked by the dynamic evolution of cannabis policies across the United States, the 2022 Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey emerges as a critical lens through which… Read more.

Missouri’s crackdown on a cannabis company accused of illegally importing THC concentrate could lead to a showdown over the state’s authority to regulate the industry. Delta Extraction had its license to manufacture cannabis products revoked in November, months after a massive recall pulled more than 60,000 products off the shelves—which the state says were illegally made with a hemp-derived THC concentrate imported from out of state. As the legal battle continues to drag out, the company has upped the ante: If the state… Read more.

The U.S. attorney general and a coalition of marijuana businesses represented by an influential law firm have jointly agreed to request a deadline extension for the filing of initial briefs in a much-anticipated lawsuit against the federal government that seeks to block the enforcement of cannabis prohibition against state-legal activity. In the lawsuit, the businesses have claimed that perpetuating prohibition in state markets is unconstitutional, creating undue public safety risks while precluding licensed marijuana businesses from accessing critical financial services and tax… Read more.

In a letter sent to the heads of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) this week, 29 former U.S. attorneys are urging the Biden administration to leave cannabis in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), arguing that “marijuana has only become more dangerous, potent, and addictive” since the government last reviewed its scheduling in 2016. The correspondence comes as DEA continues its review of marijuana’s scheduling after the U.S. Department of Health and Human… Read more.

A Michigan resident who has won marijuana business licenses through litigation has now filed a lawsuit against Washington state regulators. Kenneth Gay, of Peridot Tree WA, is challenging the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Control Board for rejecting his application for a retail license under the state’s social equity program, according to Green Market Report. The lawsuit argues that the state’s six-month residency requirement is unconstitutional under the dormant commerce clause, which generally prohibits states from passing legislation that discriminates against or excessively… Read more.

Missouri officials have expunged more than 100,000 marijuana cases from court records during the first year of legalization, according the latest state numbers. But some courts missed Friday’s deadline for felony expungements as clerks work to review decades of old cases. “The courts are going to need more time to finish the job, and in fact, it might be years before all the cases from the past century are expunged,” lawyer Dan Viets, a Missouri NORML coordinator and co-author of… Read more.

Law enforcement officials in Tennessee have shut down a cannabis cultivation site that was operating in a converted church, seizing about 2,000 weed plants in the process. The raid on the church, which was conducted last week by the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO), was the result of a weeks-long investigation, according to law enforcement officials. Although the plant count was not especially high for commercial marijuana growing operations, Sheriff Frankie Gray noted that the bust shut down Stewart County’s… Read more.

With oral arguments set for Monday in a federal court case over a proposed Philadelphia safe drug consumption site, counsel for the would-be facility sent a letter to the judge in the case on Thursday calling out the Department of Justice (DOJ) for taking apparently contradictory legal positions. In the Philadelphia safe consumption site case itself, the letter says, DOJ has argued that the harm reduction aims of Safehouse, the nonprofit attempting to open facility where people can use illicit… Read more.

The Supreme Court on Monday heard the case of a defendant seeking to reduce his criminal penalty for firearm possession as the result of the federal government’s legalization of hemp in 2018. At issue are the boundaries of the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), a 1984 law that imposes penalties on gun possession for people with past violent felonies or serious drug offenses. Initially the law imposes a 10-year maximum penalty for having a firearm, but after three offenses, a… Read more.

The Maryland Supreme Court last week declined to review a lower court’s injunction against the enforcement of a state law to ban intoxicating hemp products, the Daily Record reports. The decision allows the injunction to remain in place and will allow the sale of the products, such as delta-8 THC and delta-10 THC, to continue.   The lawsuit against the rules was filed in July by the Maryland Hemp Coalition and several hemp farmers and businesses and in October Washington County Circuit Court Judge Brett R. Wilson… Read more.

U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. recently called out to residents with cannabis convictions to contact the government to determine if those convictions are eligible for expungement. The territory’s cannabis law, Act No. 8679, dictates that any cannabis convictions be automatically expunged if it involves an individual in possession of two ounces of cannabis or less. “This initiative reflects the Governor’s commitment to justice and fairness in applying the law, especially in light of recent changes that have made the… Read more.

A group of Democratic lawmakers has written a letter to federal financial regulators calling on them to update rules that hinder cannabis business owners with past convictions for marijuana-related crimes. In the letter to the Treasury Department, 20 Democratic Senators and members of the House of Representatives wrote that the proposed change “would be an important step to promote fairness in the provision of financial services to marijuana businesses that participate in state-sanctioned marijuana activity.” Under current guidance from the… Read more.

In a highly anticipated development, the third round of licensing for D.C.'s expanded medical cannabis program officially commenced last week, as reported by LJ Dawson for The Outlaw Report. On the initial day of the application period, the Alcohol Beverage and Cannabis Board received a total of 20 applications for retail licenses and one application for an internet retailer license. This licensing round seeks to tackle the persistent issue of unlicensed operators, including various "weed-gifting" shops that have operated throughout the city. These… Read more.

The Florida Supreme Court seems poised to allow an adult-use cannabis legalization proposal to be put to voters next year, seemingly rejecting the arguments by state Attorney General Ashley Moody that the initiative’s wording is misleading and that it violates the state’s single-subject rule on ballot questions, the Miami New Times reports.   During a hearing last week, Justice Charles T. Canady said he was “baffled” by the argument laid out by Chief Deputy Solicitor General Jeffrey Paul DeSousa of the Florida Attorney General’s Office,… Read more.

In a letter to President Joe Biden (D), the Marijuana Justice Coalition and Cannabis Freedom Alliance said that the administration’s plans to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act “would simply maintain federal criminalization” of state-approved medical and adult-use cannabis programs, calling instead for full descheduling under federal law.   The letter notes that, according to Federal Bureau of Investigation data, nearly 250,000 individuals were arrested nationwide for cannabis-related crimes in 2021 and that Black people were arrested at… Read more.

From zealous drug warrior to out-of-touch elder statesman to the regulated marijuana industry’s savior apparent. President Joe Biden’s long arc in public life might have more twists ahead. One year after setting into motion the most significant transformation in federal marijuana policy since 1970, the same politician whose views as a U.S. senator escalated the drug war to its apex has now, as president, laid the cornerstone for a stable and lasting legal marijuana industry. “Love him or hate him,” said Andrew… Read more.

New federal guidelines from the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC) advising judges to treat prior marijuana possession offenses more leniently have officially taken effect. About seven months after members of the commission voted to promulgate a series of amendments—including a multi-part criminal history revision that adds cannabis possession as an example of an offense that generally warrants sentencing discretion—the new guidelines became effective on Wednesday. Federal judges have historically been directed to take into account prior convictions as aggravating factors when making… Read more.

A federal judge in Northern Virginia on Monday denied an attempt to block a recently enacted state law that imposed stricter limits on intoxicating hemp products, the Virgnia Mercury reports. In the opinion, U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema said the state “demonstrated that delta-8 THC is a credible threat to the Virginia population.”   The plaintiffs, which include Virginia hemp businesses, argued in the lawsuit that Virginia had overstepped its authority to regulate hemp in a way that conflicted with federal law and interfered with interstate commerce.… Read more.

A federal appeals court has ruled against the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in a lawsuit over a Washington State doctor’s petition to reschedule psilocybin. The court said DEA failed to explain its reasoning when it denied the petition, and it ordered the agency to provide a more complete justification. The court did not, however, send the petition to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for review, as lawyers for the doctor had requested. The opinion, handed down Friday by… Read more.

A coalition of marijuana businesses represented by an influential law firm has filed a much-anticipated lawsuit against the U.S. attorney general, seeking to block the federal government from enforcing cannabis prohibition against their state-legal activity. They claim perpetuating prohibition in state markets is unconstitutional, creating undue public safety risks while precluding licensed marijuana businesses from accessing critical financial services and tax deductions that are available to other industries. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts,… Read more.

It's high time for pharmaceutical companies that have been exposed for misleading the public to face the consequences. According to a recent report from ConsumerShield, the past decade has witnessed a surge in settlements and fines within the pharmaceutical sector, surpassing a staggering $80 billion. Published on October 17, ConsumerShield's report titled "Balancing Profits, Penalties, and Public Safety in the Pharmaceutical Industry" sheds light on the fact that a significant portion of these infractions is related to synthetic opioids, notorious… Read more.

A Nevada commission will hear public comment this week on a proposal that would amend hiring standards for police officers to allow job candidates who were previously disqualified for certain marijuana-related offenses to be eligible for law enforcement positions. The change being considered by the state Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) at Thursday meeting would amend regulations around hiring that currently prevent a person from becoming a peace officer if they have been convicted of an offense involving the… Read more.

Alaska Airlines is suing a mechanics union in federal court over a recent arbitration decision that reversed the 2022 firing of a technician who tested positive for THC. The company alleges the arbitration board that rendered the decision earlier this month “acted in excess of its authority by dispensing its own brand of industrial justice.” The five-page complaint, filed on Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, says the board reinstated the worker, Gregory Chappell, “based on… Read more.

The New Jersey Fraternal Order of Police is lashing out against a newly filed lawsuit by Jersey City officials that seeks to undo a state policy that generally allows police officers to use marijuana while off duty, calling the legal challenge “an unfortunate waste of taxpayer dollars.” Jersey City and its public safety director, James Shea, sued the state in federal court on Monday, arguing that the policy, released by the state attorney general’s office in February, is preempted by federal law.… Read more.

Two Michigan lobbyists on Wednesday were sentenced to federal prison terms for their role in paying bribes to Rick Johnson, the former chair of the Michigan Marijuana Licensing Board. Brian Pierce was sentenced to 24 months in prison, along with two years of supervised release and a $25,000 fine, while Vincent Brown was sentenced to 20 months in prison, with two years of supervised release and a $25,000 fine.   In a statement, U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said the duo “deliberately… Read more.

The Massachusetts cannabis industry has been grappling with considerable uncertainty regarding the legal and enforceable nature of the "Community Impact Fees" in the wake of the enactment of "An Act Relative to Equity in the Cannabis Industry" in November 2022. This uncertainty has raised significant concerns within the industry and has even prompted multiple legal disputes between operators and their host communities. One of the most recent lawsuits in this regard has been initiated by Berkshire Roots, a Pittsfield-based cannabis company. On… Read more.

A Maryland judge has temporarily suspended portions of the state’s marijuana legalization statute prohibiting the sale of hemp-derived products with intoxicating cannabinoids. The judge’s order allows hemp and CBD shops to resume selling the products while a lawsuit challenging the state’s cannabis legalization law continues. The legal action was filed in July by a group of business owners and the Maryland Hemp Coalition challenging provisions of the state’s marijuana legalization law that only allow businesses approved by state cannabis regulators to… Read more.

A Missouri cannabis company is suing the state claiming the sales tax stack on adult-use cannabis sales is unconstitutional, KSHB 41 reports. St. Louis County-based Robust Missouri Dispensary 3 argues that the 3% tax passed by voters in Jackson and Cass counties violates state law and that in February the Missouri Department of Revenue issued a statement that clarified “based on constitutional language, a city and a county cannot ‘stack’ the additional up to 3% local tax on recreational marijuana sales.” That… Read more.

A convicted fentanyl dealer and member of a New York City drug ring blamed for the overdose death of actor Michael K Williams has been sentenced to five years in federal prison.  According to an article by the Associated Press, Luis Cruz was one member of a four-man team convicted of selling fentanyl-laced heroin to Williams, who played Omar Little on HBO’s The Wire as well as other roles throughout his career. Williams overdosed in his Brooklyn apartment in September of 2021 after… Read more.

Last Prisoner Project highlighted some startling realities despite recent promises and movement at the federal level to loosen laws around the prohibition of cannabis.  One year after President Joe Biden pledged to expunge certain low-level cannabis convictions, Last Prisoner Project released its State of Cannabis Cannabis Justice Report last week. While promises have been made, has anyone actually been released from prison? On Oct. 6, 2022, Biden announced historic steps to advance the end of cannabis prohibition in the country by pardoning… Read more.

The discussion surrounding the legalization of marijuana has been prevalent in recent years, with numerous states choosing to take matters into their own hands rather than relying on federal action. Now, there is a glimmer of hope for nationwide legalization as federal health authorities have proposed reclassifying marijuana. However, this does not necessarily translate to full legalization. Currently categorized as a Schedule I controlled substance, marijuana is considered by the Drug Enforcement Administration to have "no currently accepted medical use and… Read more.

A federal appeals court heard oral arguments on Thursday in a case concerning the constitutionality of the federal ban keeping medical marijuana patients from purchasing or possessing firearms. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit listened and asked questions as attorneys for Florida medical cannabis patients and the Justice Department argued their sides of the case, which have been fleshed out in multiple briefings over the course of more than a year. Will Hall,… Read more.

Last weekend, officials descended upon a warehouse in Oakland, California, allegedly full of illegal cannabis plants, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). Not only cannabis opponents, but also law-abiding operators are not fans of illegal cannabis operations that they must compete with. The department said that it’s one of the largest cannabis busts this year in the Bay Area, where illegal operations are common. Agents raided the warehouse on Sept. 28, located on the 300 block… Read more.

The former chairwoman of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) is suing the state treasurer after she was removed from her position leading the agency, SHNS reports. In the lawsuit, Shannon O’Brien accuses Deborah Goldberg of removing her as head of the CCC “without notice, without articulated reason, and without any opportunity to be heard, all of which is required by the clear and unambiguous provisions of Massachusetts law … as well as basic norms of due process.”  Goldberg had appointed O’Brien… Read more.

The City Council in Portland, Maine, has voted to deprioritize the local enforcement of laws against psychedelic plants and fungi, adopting a resolution on Monday that emphasizes treating the use and possession of all controlled substances as a public health matter. The body voted 6–3 in favor of the resolution, which says that the arrest and prosecution of people for possession, use, cultivation for personal use or sharing without compensation should be the lowest law enforcement priority for the city.… Read more.

Florida’s Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for next month in a case that will decide whether a marijuana legalization initiative will appear on the state’s 2024 ballot. Over the past several months, the court has been receiving briefs from both the state attorney general, who filed a legal challenge against the cannabis measure and is asking for it to be invalidated, and the Smart & Safe Florida campaign, which is behind the proposed reform. Attorney General Ashley Moody’s (R)… Read more.

New details have emerged about the suspension of Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission Chair Shannon O’Brien, who has filed a lawsuit alleging the punishment is unlawful. Treasurer Deb Goldberg, who appointed O’Brien last year, said in a statement that the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) hired a law firm to investigate “several serious allegations” made by a commissioner and other agency staffers, according to the Boston Herald. “The law firm undertook an investigation and has returned with a report,” the statement noted, without elaborating on the… Read more.

President Joe Biden is again touting his mass marijuana pardon from last year, referencing the act of clemency at a Congressional Black Caucus Foundation awards ceremony. “I’m keeping my promise that no one—no one—should be in jail merely for the use or possession of marijuana. God Almighty,” the president exclaimed. “And those who are in jail, they’re going to be released and the records are going to be expunged.” The speech at the event with Black lawmakers is just the… Read more.

A group in Oregon wants to make drug possession a crime again, having unveiled two versions of a would-be ballot initiative that would undo key provisions of Measure 110, the 2020 voter-approved measure that decriminalized simple possession of all drugs. The proposal—which backers say they’ll pursue both through the state legislature and at the ballot box, if necessary—would make it a misdemeanor crime to possess certain “hard” drugs, including fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine and others. It would also create a… Read more.

The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled that the odor of marijuana, on its own, does not establish probable cause for police officers to search a car. The ruling came in the case of a 2021 traffic stop in Meeker County where Adam Torgerson was pulled over by Litchfield police for having too many auxiliary lights on his vehicle’s grill. The officer claimed he smelled marijuana coming out of the open vehicle window. Torgerson, who was driving with his wife and… Read more.

A recent ruling by a federal judge has raised questions within the industry: Has this judge effectively legalized hemp-derived cannabinoids such as HHC, Delta-8 THC, THCa, and THCP flower? In summary, the judge in Arkansas determined that the 2018 Farm Bill holds greater legal authority than a state ban on hemp-derived cannabinoids, potentially setting a precedent for future legal actions in other states. The U.S. District Judge Billy Roy Wilson, on Thursday, issued a ruling to halt the enforcement of Act 629 of 2023, a law enacted during… Read more.

The Justice Department is defending the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) decision to fire an “outstanding” special agent after 16 years of service because he tested positive for THC after taking a CBD product for pain that he said he believed to be legal hemp. That agent, Anthony Armour, filed a lawsuit against DEA in May, seeking a reversal of the termination on several grounds, including a lack of “substantial evidence” that he used an illegal drug, as well as mitigating factors such… Read more.

California is suing several hemp brands throughout the U.S. claiming violations of the state’s Proposition 65 rules, which require products “known to the State to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity” to carry a “clear and reasonable” warning label. Although the 2018 Farm Bill effectively legalized hemp containing 0.3% THC or less at the federal level, in California’s legal system, delta-9 THC is considered a chemical “known to cause harm to the developing fetus” and having any amount present makes a product… Read more.

The Missouri medical cannabis company that had nearly 63,000 products recalled last month lost its bid to stop the recall after a Cole County Circuit judge on Thursday dismissed the case, KMIZ reports. The judge ruled that Delta Extraction, LLC did not exhaust administrative remedies and that the court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the complaint.    The Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation (DCR) had issued the recall because the products were not tracked by the state’s seed-to-sale-tracking system, METRC, and that the agency could… Read more.

Over the last two years, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN) has shut down more than 800 unlawful cannabis farms operating under the guise of the state’s medical cannabis law, KFOR reports. The crackdowns have led to more than 200 arrests and the seizure of nearly 7,000 pounds of cannabis.  Mark Woodward, spokesman for OBN, told KFOR that the agency’s enforcement actions are focused on “out-of-state” illegal operations that allegedly have ties to international crime networks, including groups from Russia, Bulgaria, Armenia, and Serbia.… Read more.

When Arizona set out to legalize marijuana, backers emphasized their intent to make the program equitable and ensure that those who had been most hurt by cannabis criminalization were given priority in the new marketplace. Now, a new lawsuit is raising questions about whether the state is adequately meeting those equity goals. Of 26 business licenses that the Arizona Department of Health Services (AZDHS) awarded last year to social equity applicants, nearly all are now owned by other companies or… Read more.

As Ohio voters prepare to decide on a marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot, only about one in 10 Ohio prosecutors say they’re likely to take advantage of a separate recently enacted law that allows them to independently seal the records of people with low-level drug convictions—and most of those say they’d focus on cannabis-related offenses—according to a new study. Researchers at Ohio State University surveyed 86 municipal prosecutors this year to better understand the practical impact of the reform, which… Read more.

A legal case has been initiated against the Stamford Zoning Board, aiming to exert control over Connecticut's emerging cannabis sector. In addition to addressing city-specific regulations, the lawsuit, which portrays the state's Social Equity Council as a questionable initiative, holds the potential for far-reaching implications across the state. By contesting the law that legalizes the possession and commercial trade of cannabis in Connecticut, the lawsuit argues that this law runs afoul of the federal Controlled Substances Act.  Legal Challenge Against Stamford Zoning… Read more.

A Philadelphia nonprofit is urging a federal court to deny the Justice Department’s recent motion to dismiss a lawsuit over the establishment of a safe drug consumption site. DOJ first blocked Safehouse from opening the overdose prevention center under the Trump administration. Supporters hoped the department would cede the issue under President Joe Biden, who has promoted harm reduction policies as an alternative to criminalization, but so far they’ve been disappointed. The Justice Department made its position clear last month,… Read more.

If there were any lingering questions about the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) position on the scheduling status of delta-8 THC, an attorney recently dug up an email from a top official that makes it perfectly clear: when synthesized from legal CBD, the agency considers delta-8 THC to be a prohibited controlled substance. The market for delta-8 products has expanded rapidly in recent years following the federal legalization of hemp and its naturally extracted derivatives like CBD. The intoxicating cannabinoid is… Read more.

After testing positive for THC in a drug test, a police officer in Jersey City, New Jersey, faced dismissal. However, in a recent development, the officer, Norhan Mansour, has been reinstated to his position, complete with retroactive pay. Notably, this incident occurred well after Gov. Phil Murphy had signed a bill legalizing adult-use cannabis in New Jersey back in 2021, paving the way for sales to commence in April 2022. Following the bill's enactment, the Jersey City Police Department made it clear that… Read more.

A Florida beach became the location of an enigmatic discovery – a lost treasure. Neptune Beach, situated in the northeastern part of the state near Jacksonville, witnessed an intriguing incident. The local police reported that on Saturday morning, they responded to the presence of a considerable quantity of marijuana that had washed ashore. According to the Neptune Beach Police Department's Facebook post, a significant stash of marijuana likely ruptured at sea and scattered before reaching the beach. In response to this… Read more.

Dr. Steven Stokes, the chair of the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC), resigned from the commission Thursday morning. Stokes, an oncologist who had served as chair since 2021, said in an interview Thursday afternoon that he resigned to prevent the commission and the medical cannabis approval process from being tied up in a lawsuit alleging that his appointment to the commission violated state law. “If I did not step aside, then that process would probably be stopped until my issue was… Read more.

The New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department on Tuesday filed a petition seeking a preliminary injunction against Sawmill Sweet Leaf, LLC, alleging the company has been diverting cannabis out of state and manufacturing cannabis concentrate without a permit.   In a statement, Linda Trujillo, superintendent of the Regulation and Licensing Department, said “A key component of compliance actions is the ability to suspend licenses immediately if they pose an instant threat to the health, safety and lives of consumers.”  Regulators are accusing Sawmill Sweet… Read more.

MMJ International Holdings Corp is preparing a lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) claiming the agency is violating the law by not responding to its application to grow pharmaceutical cannabis to support its research. MMJ, which has two Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigational drug applications to research its developed soft gelatin capsule in clinical trials for multiple sclerosis and Huntington’s disease, filed its application nearly five years ago.  MMJ alleges that the DEA’s inaction on its application is in violation of the Controlled… Read more.

The state cannabis control division announced on Thursday that a marijuana retailer in Albuquerque, New Mexico, had its license revoked. The reason behind this action was the retailer's violation of state law by selling out-of-state cannabis. According to regulators, the Paradise Exotics Distro cannabis store, located on a central shopping thoroughfare, was allegedly selling cannabis products that were imported from California and labelled with a California stamp of origin. At the time of the announcement, business representatives were unavailable for… Read more.

According to a report from Rock Island, Illinois police, Julie Devinney, an employee in the cannabis industry, tragically passed away on Friday morning at a Green Thumb Industries' (OTCQX: GTBIF) facility. The police report, authored by Officer Austin Frankenreider and obtained by WeedWeek, provided additional insights into the incident.  First reported by Weedweek, the death left many stunned. Devinney's supervisor, Amy Hermiston, informed the police that Julie had been experiencing breathing difficulties for some time. She had to leave work early… Read more.

The number of people in federal prison over marijuana dropped 61 percent from 2013 to 2018—a greater reduction than any other drug type—as the first states enacted legalization, according to a new report from the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Overall, the federal prison system saw the number of people incarcerated over drugs decrease by 24 percent during that time period. However, as BJS Director Alexis Piquero pointed out in a press release on Thursday that prisoners of… Read more.

Maryland is making significant progress in cannabis reform and preparation for implementing adult-use marijuana legalisation. As the state gears up for the forthcoming changes, a bill preventing police from using the odour or possession of cannabis alone as the basis for a search has been allowed to become law by the governor. This move marks a crucial step in protecting individuals' rights and addressing concerns regarding unwarranted searches solely based on the presence of cannabis. Along with this development, Maryland has… Read more.

A lawsuit has been filed in Oklahoma challenging the new law that increases fees for medical cannabis businesses in the state, KFOR reports. The law, intended to crack down on illegal medical cannabis operators in the state, took effect last month and created a tired fee schedule for industry operators from $2,500 to $50,000.  Jed Green, a cannabis advocate and plaintiff on the lawsuit, told KFOR the law “is hitting the good guys and it’s only helping the bad guys.”  A lawsuit… Read more.

California courts have sealed, resentenced or dismissed about 90 percent of eligible marijuana convictions for activity that was legalized under a 2016 voter-approved initiative, a new report from the state attorney general’s office shows. As of April 6, the state’s judicial system has processed relief for 206,052 of out an estimated 227,650 cannabis cases that were identified as eligible following the passage of records reform legislation that the governor signed in 2018. The new report, released last month by Attorney… Read more.

California industrial agriculture firm and investor Roots Properties has filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court against a pair of cannabis companies that it said undermined a six-figure loan agreement through “intentional sabotage” of their own grow operation, from which 90% of the profits were supposed to go to Roots. According to the lawsuit, Island View Ranch LLC and Island Breeze Farms LLC struck an investment deal with Roots Properties for $400,000 in loans and another $350,000 line of credit, from… Read more.

Minnesota’s Supreme Court is looking for a designee to sit on a marijuana expungements board that is being created under the state’s new legalization law. In a public notice that was posted on Wednesday, the court described the composition and responsibilities of the Cannabis Expungement Board, which will facilitate record sealing for people with eligible marijuana convictions on their records. After the cases are identified by the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), the board will need to review them to… Read more.

A Florida appeals court on Wednesday upheld the firing of a Department of Corrections officer for using medical cannabis, WOKV reports. A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court cited federal law and a job requirement that officers are able to use firearms.  The case was brought by Samuel Velez Ortiz, a former sergeant for the Department of Corrections who was approved by a physician to use medical cannabis to treat post-traumatic stress disorder related to previous military service. Velez Ortiz had… Read more.

According to a lawsuit reported by Green Market Report, Glass House Brands Inc., operating under the name Catalyst, a California cannabis company based in Long Beach, has been accused of unlawfully transporting and shipping cannabis across state lines on airplanes. On June 6, Catalyst filed a lawsuit against Glass House in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleging that Glass House is profiting from the illegal cannabis market in California, undermining the legal market and businesses that adhere to regulations. The… Read more.

Two lawsuits in Montana are challenging Gov. Greg Gianforte’s veto of a bill that would have used cannabis taxes as a supplement to county road maintenance funding, the Great Falls Tribune reports. The lawsuits, filed by the Montana Association of Counties (MACo) and the Montana Wildlife Federation, allege the governor violated the state’s constitution by waiting until after the state Senate session ended before submitting his veto of the legislation.  The lawsuits also name Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen as a… Read more.

Online cannabis platform Leafly recently removed two in-depth articles investigating the death of cannabis worker Lorna McMurrey, 27, who passed away after collapsing during her shift at a Trulieve cannabis factory in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Mike Crawford, the host of The Young Jurks podcast in Massachusetts, which broke the news of McMurrey’s death, first posted about the articles’ removal last week on LinkedIn. Leafly, which closed down its newsroom in March after reporting financial difficulties, offered no explanation for why the stories were pulled,… Read more.

Federal criminal investigators in late May sent subpoenas to five Oregon agencies for records concerning former Secretary of State Shemia Fagan and the owners of cannabis company La Mota, Aaron Mitchell and Rosa Cazares, whom Fagan worked for as a private consultant, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports.  Fagan stepped down from her government role on May 8 after it was discovered that she had taken the consultant role and her office had prepared an audit of state cannabis regulations that was viewed as favorable to cannabis companies.  … Read more.

How effective the latest effort will be remains to be seen. “It’s about time.” That was the first reaction that Green Market Report received on Friday after news broke the prior afternoon that New York officials had begun a hotly anticipated crackdown on unlicensed marijuana sellers. The attorney who wrote the words, New York City-based cannabis lawyer Jeffrey Hoffman, said the only surprise was that it took authorities until the summer of 2023 to get started on shuttering the unlicensed smoke shops. Hoffman was… Read more.

Women Wins Lawsuit over Marijuana Odor - Judges Cites Private Nuisance Clause In a recent ruling, Judge Ebony Scott of Washington D.C. determined that Thomas Cackett must cease smoking medical marijuana in his apartment due to complaints from his neighbor, Josefa Ippolito-Shepherd. The judge concluded that while Ippolito-Shepherd couldn't establish her right to damages, she successfully argued that the odor of marijuana constituted a private nuisance. Consequently, Judge Scott ordered Cackett to discontinue his smoking activities, emphasizing that although he holds… Read more.

A Washington, D.C. judge on Monday ordered a man who smokes medical cannabis in his apartment to stop following a neighbor’s complaint that the odor caused a nuisance in her apartment, the Washington Post reports. Judge Ebony Scott ruled that Thomas Cackett has a license to purchase cannabis but “does not possess a license to disrupt the full use and enjoyment of one’s land.”  In the ruling, Scott determined, however, that the defendant, Josefa Ippolito-Sheperd, could not prove she was entitled to… Read more.

Following the legalization of cannabis in Minnesota, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) clarified that cannabis consumers are still “federally defined as an ‘unlawful user’ of a controlled substance” and therefore “prohibited from shipping, transporting, receiving, or possessing firearms or ammunition.”  In February, a federal judge in Oklahoma ruled that the federal law barring people who use cannabis from owning firearms is unconstitutional. That decision is under appeal. In April, a federal judge in Texas made a similar ruling, and referenced the blanket… Read more.

Regulators revoked the manufacturing and cultivation permits, but allowed Harmony to keep its retail license. A vertically integrated New Jersey cannabis company had several of its business licenses yanked this week by regulators, who said the revocations were due to $700,000 in unpaid permit fees. According to NJBiz.com, the state Cannabis Control Commission on Thursday voted unanimously to revoke Harmony Foundation’s recreational permits for cultivation and manufacturing that were just granted in December, saying that state fees for those permits… Read more.

The Arizona Court of Appeals on Tuesday ruled that some convictions for cannabis sales are eligible for expungement under the state’s adult-use cannabis legalization law, AZ Mirror reports. In the unanimous opinion, Judge Brian Furuya reversed a previous ruling from a Maricopa County Superior Court judge that denied expungement of a man’s 2014 cannabis sales conviction. The appellate court order forces the trial court to grant the expungement petition.   The appellate judges concluded that, because transportation of cannabis is now eligible for expungement, and because transportation of cannabis for… Read more.

A U.S. magistrate judge has thrown out the class action lawsuit filed by landowners in Humboldt County, California who claimed the county fined them hundreds of thousands of dollars – without an investigation or opportunity to defend themselves – for allegedly cultivating cannabis without a permit, Courthouse News reports. The five landowners filed the lawsuit in October 2022. U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert M. Illman dismissed the lawsuit in full and did not give the plaintiffs leave to amend. The plaintiffs claimed after California legalized… Read more.

Parties exchanged legal barbs over religious freedom and the Controlled Substances Act. A U.S. federal judge ruled that a lawsuit by an Arizona religious group seeking legal approval to use a hallucinogenic tea in its rituals can proceed. The Arizona Yage Assembly claims the federal government seized four shipments of ayahuasca tea, which contains dimethyltryptamine (DMT), from Peru. DMT is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance under U.S. law, making it generally illegal to manufacture, distribute, or possess. According… Read more.

After breaching regulations and losing some employees, the owner of an Athol dispensary threatened his former staff in a video on Instagram. In response, state officials have taken action and suspended the dispensary's license. In the video, the owner made a menacing statement, warning that he would resort to violence if anyone dared to interfere with his business. Following a threatening video posted by owner Oluwaseun Adedeji on his Instagram account, Elev8, an Athol dispensary, had its license suspended by… Read more.

Days after the Texas House of Representatives passed a marijuana decriminalization bill that is now pending in the Senate, voters in two cities in the state will head to the polls on Saturday to decide on two related local ballot measures. San Antonio voters will consider a broad justice-reform initiative that includes provisions to decriminalize cannabis, and  Harker Heights residents will have the chance to overturn their local government’s repeal of an earlier decriminalization measure they passed. The San Antonio proposal asks… Read more.

Governor Kathy Hochul signed new legislation Wednesday in an attempt to curb the unlicensed and illicit sale of cannabis across New York State. The legislation allows the Office of Cannabis Management and the Department of Taxation and Finance to assess civil penalties against unlicensed cannabis businesses with fines of up to $20,000 a day and makes it a crime to sell cannabis and cannabis products without a license. In addition, the Office of Cannabis Management's ability to conduct regulatory inspections… Read more.

The legal controversy swirling around prominent cannabis brand Cookies has taken an abrupt and unusual turn, with one of the litigants who sued the company earlier this year dropping a lawsuit and walking back sworn statements made in court. In a lawsuit and subsequent filings in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Paul Rock, CEO of a Florida-based company called Cookies Retail Products, claimed that Cookies executives tried to “sabotage” a multimillion-dollar deal in which CRP would license the Cookies brand and sell… Read more.

Michigan’s largest marijuana testing lab is continuing its legal assault on state regulators, alleging in a new motion in court that regulators are withholding evidence stemming from a 2021 recall. Bay City-based Viridis North LLC and the Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency have been wrapped up in litigation for two years over the recall of products tested by the lab. The state agency alleged Viridis’ testing results on 64,000 pounds of marijuana product contained “inaccurate and/or unreliable results.” The value of… Read more.

The group had already voiced concerns last year as regulators were teeing the rollout. The 125th Street Business District Management Association, a prominent Harlem business coalition, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against New York’s cannabis regulators, contesting the state’s plan to establish a recreational marijuana dispensary on the main artery of the neighborhood. The legal action, filed in the State Supreme Court of Manhattan, asserts that the shop would intensify existing public health issues that the block already struggles with. The proposed… Read more.

The lawsuit names several Cookies employees, including CEO Berner. The leaders of global cannabis brand Cookies have been using threats, violence and financial kickbacks to enrich themselves at the expense of company shareholders, according to a lawsuit filed by two of the company’s investors. The suit, first reported by WeedWeek, was filed by two companies, BR CO I LLC and Nedco I LLC, that together claim to own a 10% stake in California-based Cookies. It was first filed in February,… Read more.

A Michigan businessman last week pleaded guilty to paying bribes to the former head of the state’s Medical Marihuana Licensing Board, the Detroit News reports. John Dawood Dalaly admitted to a federal judge that he hired Rick Johnson’s wife, Jan Johnson, as a consultant for $4,000 a month and she helped him fill out forms that would end up in front of the board that her husband chaired. Dalaly also admitted to providing at least $68,200 in cash and other benefits to Johnson, including… Read more.

The Texas House of Representatives will vote on a bill to decriminalize marijuana possession and create a process for expunging cannabis conviction records next week. About a month and a half after the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee unanimously passed the legislation, the Calendars Committee has officially scheduled it for floor consideration on Wednesday, April 26. The measure from Rep. Joe Moody (D) would remove the risk of arrest or jail time for low-level possession of cannabis and allow people to eventually erase… Read more.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), along with the organization’s Ohio chapter, has filed a proposed amicus brief supporting Afroman in a civil lawsuit brought against him by seven police officers who are upset the hip hop artist used footage of their marijuana raid on his home in a music video. Afroman, whose real name is Joseph E. Foreman, was sued last month by members of the Adams County, Ohio Sheriff’s Office who conducted a 2022 search of his house… Read more.

Reps. Dave Joyce (R-OH) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) have reintroduced a bipartisan bill to encourage state and local governments to expunge marijuana records in their jurisdictions. The lawmakers filed the Harnessing Opportunities by Pursuing Expungement (HOPE) Act on Tuesday, describing it as a necessary and bipartisan reform that would support ongoing clemency efforts. The bill would incentivize states to provide relief to people with non-violent cannabis convictions through federal grants. The Justice Department would run the State Expungement Opportunity Grant… Read more.

A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas last week found the federal ban on cannabis consumers possessing firearms to be unconstitutional, Marijuana Moment reports. The ruling led to dropped charges against El Paso resident Paola Connelly, who had been convicted of possessing and transferring a firearm in 2021 while being an admitted cannabis consumer. The charges were ultimately dropped after the Supreme Court ruled last year that any restrictions on firearms must honor the historical context… Read more.

A medical cannabis physician in Florida is suing the state Department of Health and two investigators who posed as patients in a sting operation during which officials tried to strip him of his medical license, WUSF News reports. Dr. Joseph Dorn was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing in March 2022.  The Health Department had alleged Dorn violated state law by not performing physicals on the undercover agents who posed as patients seeking medical cannabis cards, which agency officials called employing a “trick or scheme” in the… Read more.

A state’s cannabis regulations can run hundreds of pages and contain even more rules. But the regulators who create these rules and law enforcement officials who enforce them care the most about three things: Preventing diversion to the illicit market. The physical security of cannabis operations. A potential drain on law enforcement and community resources. To stay compliant and maintain good relations with regulators and law enforcement, cannabis businesses should focus their security efforts around these three goals. “In terms of… Read more.

The former head of a Michigan medical cannabis licensing board on Thursday pleaded guilty to accepting $110,000 in bribes in exchange for industry licenses, CBS News reports. Rick Johnson served as head of the board for two years and served as state House speaker from 2001-2004 when Republicans controlled the chamber.  During a press conference on Thursday, U.S. Attorney Mark Totten announced the charges against Johnson, John Dalaly, Brian Pierce, and Vincent Brown. All four signed plea deals admitting the charges.  Dalaly,… Read more.

Devon Deyhle, the proud owner of Tall Truck, a small-scale cannabis growing operation based in the small town of Peachham, made a costly mistake when he decided to promote his business on social media. The ambitious grower, who cultivates his plants indoors in a Tier 1 facility spanning less than 1,000 square feet, posted a video on Instagram showcasing his bountiful yield of high-quality cannabis. Little did Devon know that this seemingly harmless promotional video would prove a costly mistake.… Read more.

A South Dakota medical cannabis company is suing the state Department of Health (DOH) alleging overreach, attempts to enforce unpromulgated rules, and the improper issuance of violations which has led to damages of over $1 million, KELO reports. The case by 605 Cannabis dates back to an inspection of their facility in January which the company claims was carried out improperly and conducted while the facility was partially closed due to a blizzard.  In the complaint, 605 claims that DOH inspections are… Read more.

A Brazilian appeals court has agreed to rule on whether companies and farmers can plant cannabis in the country, which could open the door to legal cultivation for medicinal and industrial purposes after legislative efforts stalled in recent years. The decision by the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), Brazil's top appeals court for non-constitutional matters, was made public on March 14 and established its jurisdiction for a nationwide precedent regarding the import of seeds and planting of cannabis. Now, all pending cases… Read more.

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a brief in a federal appeals court as part of an ongoing lawsuit over the government’s ban preventing medical marijuana patients from possessing firearms. Many of DOJ’s arguments in the brief filed on Wednesday mirror points that the agency made in earlier filings in the case, including in a federal district court that dismissed the lawsuit that’s now being appealed by its plaintiffs. But the latest document places new emphasis on the “wide-ranging consequences” that… Read more.

The United Nations’s (UN) drug control body is suggesting that the U.S. is out of compliance with a decades-old international drug treaty because the federal government is passively allowing states within the country to legalize marijuana. While the UN’s International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) has routinely criticized countries for allowing the enactment of cannabis legalization due to their obligations under the 1961 Single Convention to maintain prohibition, a section of the new annual report report it released last week stands… Read more.

Over 100 kg of cannabis shipped from Canada intercepted by Italian police In a recent cargo from Canada to Italy, 108 kg of cannabis were concealed among the absorbent mats for animals.  Police confiscated the shipment from an organization that apparently deals with shipping and logistics in the Milan area earlier this week, according to local sources that were initially made public by StratCann. Police were contacted after workers noticed a cannabis odor coming from a pallet of packages that had… Read more.

Truck drivers testing positive for marijuana jumped 31% last year The utilization of drugs by commercial truck drivers has reached a peak not seen since 2019, and the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) is determined to uncover the reasons behind it. ATRI is embarking on a mission to gather information from carriers on safety and related concerns arising from the legalization of marijuana at the state level. ATRI aims to unravel the mystery surrounding the upsurge in drug use among commercial truck… Read more.

Two South Dakota medical cannabis firms are suing a former political operative for the Democratic National Committee (DNC), accusing the defendant of defrauding the companies and their investors of about $1.7 million. A former political operative for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is being sued in South Dakota, accused of defrauding two medical cannabis companies and their investors of about $1.7 million, the Star Tribune reports. Dakota Natural Growers, 605 Cannabis, and more than 20 of their investors filed the lawsuit last… Read more.

A federal law that bars individuals who use marijuana from owning firearms has been declared unconstitutional by a federal judge in Oklahoma. Judge Patrick Wyrick, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, ruled in favor of a man who was charged in August for violating the ban, stating that it infringed upon his Second Amendment right to bear arms. Wyrick emphasized that while the government can prevent dangerous individuals from possessing firearms, it cannot restrict someone's fundamental right based solely on… Read more.

As 2023 began, cannabis advocates on Capitol Hill and the industry at large were steeped in frustration and disappointment. In December, despite broad bipartisan support, Senate Republicans abruptly stripped the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Act from must-pass spending legislation, crushing the industry’s expectation that critical banking services at last were within reach. As lawmakers departed for the winter holiday, legal business owners—many of whom are forced to do business in cash—contemplated another year of spiraling operating costs and workplace vulnerability. Nevertheless,… Read more.

A new report found cannabis legalization does not lead to an increase in substance use disorders or the increased use of illicit drugs. Cannabis legalization had not led to an increase in substance use disorders or increased use of other illicit drugs and should not be considered a “gateway drug,” according to a study by researchers from the University of Colorado.  The study was published on January 5 in the Psychological Medicine journal.    The researchers also found no link between cannabis… Read more.

At sunset from atop Haystack Butte, the desert floor below shimmers with a thousand lights. Illegal cannabis farms. At this hour and distance, serene hues cloak the rugged enclave of Mount Shasta Vista, a tense collective of seasonal camps guarded by guns and dogs where the daily runs of water trucks are interrupted by police raids, armed robberies and, sometimes, death. So many hoop houses pack this valley near the Oregon border that last year it had the capacity to… Read more.

Brittney Griner will not be coming home for the holidays. In a disappointing decision on October 25, the WNBA star who was arrested for cannabis possession in Russia in February and convicted and sentenced to nine years in jail in August, lost her appeal and has been banished to a penal colony. The court appearance was not in person. While the Russian judge called the previous ruling "fair," Griner's attorney Alexander Boykov said, "No judge, hand on heart, will honestly say that Griner's nine-year sentence is in line… Read more.

The Cannabis Bill, which has been reviewed by the House Scrutiny Committee, addresses all the concerns raised by both the Democrat and Pheu Thai parties, said Suphachai Jaismut, head of the committee and a party-list MP for the Bhumjaithai Party. He said that the committee had thoroughly reviewed the controversial Bill and addressed concerns over the ease of access to cannabis for recreational purposes by youth. He claimed that the committee had taken some provisions from the Liquor, Cigarettes and… Read more.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — With California’s four-year-old legal marijuana market in disarray, the state’s top prosecutor said Tuesday that he will try a new broader approach to disrupting illegal pot farms that undercut the legal economy and sow widespread environmental damage. The state will expand its nearly four-decade multi-agency seasonal eradication program — the largest in the U.S. that this year scooped up nearly a million marijuana plants — into a year-round effort aimed at investigating who is behind the… Read more.

Just over three-quarters of self-identified Republicans said the government shouldn’t fight state legalization backed by voters, a poll found. Republicans don’t want the federal government to crack down on state-legal weed markets. Just over three-quarters of self-identified Republicans said the government shouldn’t fight state medical or adult-use legalization backed by voters and instead should remove any obstacles facing those markets, according to a new national poll commissioned by the industry group National Cannabis Roundtable. Just 17 percent of respondents disagreed that the… Read more.

A UCLA chemist and colleagues are now a step closer to their goal of developing a handheld tool similar to an alcohol Breathalyzer that can detect THC on a person’s breath after they’ve smoked marijuana. In a paper published in the journal Organic Letters, UCLA organic chemistry professor Neil Garg and researchers from the UCLA startup ElectraTect Inc. describe the process by which THC introduced, in a solution, into their laboratory-built device can be oxidized, creating an electric current whose strength indicates how… Read more.

Cannabis multistate operator MedMen Enterprises argues in its response to a lawsuit that it shouldn’t have to pay the almost $1 million it allegedly owes in back rent because marijuana is illegal under federal law. Real estate firm Thor Equities Group charges in a lawsuit filed in New York federal court that Los Angeles-based MedMen defaulted on rent payments agreed to in a 2019 lease, Law 360 reported. New York-headquartered Thor Equities said in the July lawsuit that MedMen failed to pay… Read more.