Legal

Judge tosses Arkansas marijuana dispensary applicant’s suit over scoring

March 24, 2023 · MJ Biz Daily

A federal judge in Arkansas dismissed several claims by a medical marijuana dispensary applicant, including tortious interference and racial discrimination during the state’s license-evaluation process. According to Law360, U.S. District Judge James Moody Jr. ruled that tortious interference doesn’t apply to the claim made by Absolute Essence because it’s still an applicant and doesn’t have any property or business rights. Absolute Essence’s suit in February 2022 alleged that the company that state regulators hired to score applications, Public Consulting Group Holdings and… Read more.

Missouri Has Expunged 15,000+ Cannabis Crimes Since Adult-Use Reforms

March 22, 2023 · Ganjapreneur

Following adult-use cannabis legalization in Missouri, the state has granted more than 15,000 expungements of nonviolent misdemeanor and felony cannabis crimes, KMOV reports. Under the state’s voter-approved adult-use cannabis law, possession of up to three ounces is legal for adults and all eligible misdemeanors for individuals who completed their sentences must be expunged automatically by June 8, while low-level felonies must be expunged by December 8.   Charges that included selling cannabis to a minor, violence, or driving under the influence are not eligible… Read more.

Brazil to rule whether businesses can plant cannabis, potentially opening passage to legal cultivation

March 22, 2023 · Fox News

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.

SEC Charges Oregon Cultivator and Others with Financial Crimes

March 22, 2023 · MG Magazine

Washington, DC, USA - June 25, 2022: The logo of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seen at its headquarters in Washington, DC.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged American Patriot Brands Inc. (APB), its chief executive officer, and five other entities with siphoning off millions of dollars in a long-running scheme that defrauded more than 100 investors across the country. According to the SEC’s complaint, APB CEO Robert Y. Lee, along with current and former executives Brian L. Pallas and J. Bernard Rice, began making a series of “false and misleading statements to investors” in 2016 about the company’s financial position… Read more.

Justice Department Says Ending Gun Ban For Medical Marijuana Patients Would Have ‘Wide-Ranging Consequences’ In New Federal Court Brief

March 20, 2023 · marijuanamoment.net

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.

Court Rules Insurers May Reimburse Injured Workers for Medical Cannabis

March 20, 2023 · Ganjapreneur

A Pennsylvania appeals court last Friday ruled that the state’s medical cannabis law does not prohibit insurers from reimbursing injured workers for medical cannabis in cases where it is used to treat accepted work-related injuries, according to a Business Insurance report. The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court decision found that the state’s Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board erred when it upheld a decision by Firestone Tire & Rubber to deny reimbursement for the cost of an employee’s medical cannabis.  The claimant, Paul Sheetz, who is now deceased, used medical cannabis… Read more.

New York Sued Over Social Equity Cannabis Retail Licensing Plan

March 17, 2023 · Ganjapreneur

A group that includes some of New York’s medical cannabis companies is suing the state over its plan to issue adult-use retail cannabis licenses to social equity applicants before opening applications to all businesses, Syracuse.com reports. The complaint alleges unconstitutional overreach and policymaking, egregious abdication of duties, and actions that put citizens’ health and safety at risk.  The lawsuit was filed by the Coalition for Access to Regulated & Safe Cannabis which describes itself as “an unincorporated trade association.” The group includes Acreage… Read more.

Police in California city seize 1,500 pounds of illegal marijuana products

March 17, 2023 · MJ Biz Daily

Police in Pomona, California, are investigating a business where they found 1,500 pounds of unlicensed marijuana products as well as electronic casino gaming consoles. The business also had an area dedicated to selling cannabis, The LeafDesk reported. According to the media outlet, police estimated the value of the cannabis products, which included flower, edibles and hashish oil, at $1.3 million. However, government agencies often inflate such estimates. The investigation comes on the heels of a recent report by California regulators about the… Read more.

Marijuana MSOs sue New York over adult-use retail license delay

March 16, 2023 · MJ Biz Daily

Wooden judge gavel and us money dollar bills. Bribe concept

Multistate operators with New York medical cannabis licenses sued regulators on Thursday in an attempt to gain quick entry into the state’s adult-use marijuana market. The MSOs are currently shut out from New York’s legal recreational market. In a lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court in Albany, the Coalition for Access to Regulated and Safe Cannabis (CARSC) alleges that the Office of Cannabis Management and the Cannabis Control Board violated New York’s 2021 legalization law – the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act… Read more.

UN Suggests U.S. Federal Government Must Force States To Repeal Marijuana Legalization To Comply With International Treaty

March 14, 2023 · marijuanamoment.net

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.

Seattle Pot Shop Owner Shawn Kemp Involved in Tacoma Shooting

March 11, 2023 · CelebStoner

Seattle dispensary owner and former Sonic Shawn Kemp was involved in a shooting incident at the Tacoma Mall on Mar. 8. Tacoma PD reported: "An altercation between the occupants of 2 cars led to shots being fired at a parking lot in the 4500 blk of S. Steele St. One car fled. No injuries were reported. A gun was recovered. A 53-yr-old male was booked for Drive-By Shooting. The investigation is ongoing." That male person was Kemp, the six-time NBA… Read more.

The International Weed Trade is Booming! – Italian Police Intercept over 100 Kilos of Canadian Cannabis

March 4, 2023 · Cannabis.net

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.

America’s Truck Driver Shortage is Directly Related to Marijuana Legalization – Is It Time To Change the Rules?

March 1, 2023 · Cannabis.net

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.

Former DNC Political Operative Sued for Fraud by South Dakota Cannabis Companies

February 26, 2023 · Ganjapreneur

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.

Michigan Suspends Processor’s License for Using Illicit Cannabis in Production

February 26, 2023 · Ganjapreneur

Cannabis regulators in Michigan have suspended the medical and adult-use cannabis business licenses of TAS Asset Holdings after discovering the company was adding unregulated cannabis to its products. Michigan regulators have suspended the medical and adult-use cannabis licenses of TAS Asset Holdings after it found its products were combined with unregulated cannabis product before being sold in the regulated market.  The affected products were marketed under the “Fwaygo Extracts” brand and produced between November 10, 2022, and November 17, 2022. … Read more.

Everyone is Rushing to Legalize Weed, Yet Amsterdam Can’t Get Rid of It Fast Enough?

February 20, 2023 · Cannabis.net

Amsterdam Bans Weed Smoking in the Red Light District Amsterdam's red light district has been a haven for tourists seeking liberation from the rules and regulations of their mundane lives. However, the residents of this vibrant district are keen to tone down the wild atmosphere. The city council recently announced that cannabis use would be prohibited on the streets of the red light district, citing the disruptive and dreary ambiance that often lingers in the area during the night. This new regulation… Read more.

Washington Lawmakers Approve Bill To Allow Cross-Border Marijuana Sales

February 15, 2023 · marijuanamoment.net

Legislation to eventually allow Washington State marijuana companies to engage in interstate commerce passed out of a House committee on Tuesday. A companion bill on the Senate side cleared its own committee hurdle last month. If the legislation is enacted, interstate marijuana trade would depend on a policy change at the federal level: either a law “to allow the interstate transfer of cannabis” between legal businesses or an opinion from the U.S. Department of Justice “allowing or tolerating” marijuana commerce across… Read more.

Federal Judge in Oklahoma Declares Gun Ban on Cannabis Users is Unconstitutional

February 7, 2023 · Cannabis.net

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.

Reforming Capitol Hill

February 3, 2023 · MG Magazine

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.

The Man Who Played The DEA, El Chapo’s Sinaloa Cartel & US Government On Trial In Brooklyn

January 28, 2023 · Benzinga

Former cartel bosses, drug traffickers and police officers took the stand this week in the trial of Genaro García Luna, Mexico’s former federal security minister and architect of the country’s war on drugs, which he carried out while publicly working with the DEA and secretly working with the world most powerful drug cartel capo, Joaquín “El Chapo" Guzmán.  No, this is not a script for the fourth season of Netflix’s 'El Chapo' series though it would make an intriguing Mexican telenovela as the most trusted… Read more.

FDA’s inaction on CBD regulations means more marijuana questions for Congress

January 27, 2023 · MJ Biz Daily

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s announcement Thursday that it won’t regulate products containing CBD and will instead pass that buck to Congress means the preservation of the current, uneasy status quo for now. It will also mean more work for an increasingly fractious Congress – and further uncertainty for companies deciding whether to enter the $4 billion-plus CBD business.  In addition to grappling with broader marijuana policy reform – including access to banking, tax relief and the question of federal… Read more.

Study: Cannabis Legalization Does Not Lead to Increased Use of Other Drugs

January 26, 2023 · Ganjapreneur

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.

New Cannabis Laws Take Effect in 11 US States

January 17, 2023 · Cannawayz

Changes are afoot among the rules and regulations governing cannabis in several states this year. Weed laws are evolving in 11 states thanks to voter-drive ballot initiatives, new laws introduced in state legislatures, and executive orders enacted by state governors. So, what’s happening? Cannawayz.com has a quick rundown of new laws, rules, and regulations, broken down state by state: California Taxes are going up (already one of the most heavily taxed weed markets), which is a huge bummer! But at… Read more.

5 Cannabis Laws to Watch in 2023

As we closed out 2022, we saw the federal government pass its first standalone cannabis law, the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act, with more possible federal reform on the horizon. On the state level, the industry has seen an ever-increasing push for additional medical and/or adult-use legalization as well. Against this backdrop, the following focuses on five cannabis laws to watch in 2023. 1. The SAFE Banking Act What is it? The Safe and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act would… Read more.

2023 offers business opportunities in several new state cannabis markets  

January 10, 2023 · Mj Biz Daily

Tremaine Wright, chairwoman of the New York State Cannibis Control Board, is pictured in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn on Dec. 9, 2022 (Photo by Porter BInks )

Opportunities in the U.S. cannabis industry continue to expand, despite some notable setbacks in the November 2022 elections and continuing resistance at the federal level to marijuana reform. Up to four new state markets could launch this year: Alabama, Connecticut, Mississippi and Missouri. That’s on top of the recent adult-use launches in New York and Rhode Island. When mature, the New York market will likely be the second largest in the nation. Market snapshots States coming online this year have potentially lucrative futures,… Read more.

Can You Sue Facebook If You Get Scammed Online? – Zuckerberg Sued for Aiding and Abetting Fraud in JuicyFields Case

December 11, 2022 · Cannabis.net

Swedish attorney goes after Mark Zuckerberg for marijuana investment fraud scheme Regarding the marijuana Ponzi scam Juicy Fields, Swedish attorney Lars Olofsson has filed a class action lawsuit against Facebook and Instagram's parent company Meta (META). The scam affected over 800 persons across about 80 countries,  particularly in Spain, France, Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands, and Malta, and each one of them is in support of the ongoing legal battle. The lawsuit alleges that Facebook failed to supervise who they authorized to utilize… Read more.

Is the RICO Act a Serious Problem for the Cannabis Industry or Just a Bunch of Smoke?

November 11, 2022 · Cannabis.net

The cannabis industry has always had to fight and claw for everything it has gotten from the hands of the law. From its present stance before state governments to the numerous open medical and recreational markets. It has always been a struggle and it looks to continue to be as cannabis businesses are now being targeted using the RICO statute. A tactic that was once reserved specifically for the mafia is now being employed against legitimate cannabis businesses. Read on as… Read more.

The reality of legal weed in California: Huge illegal grows, violence, worker exploitation and deaths

October 27, 2022 · Los Angeles Times

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.

Why are the feds after Dan Bilzerian’s onetime marijuana company? His father has a theory.

October 26, 2022 · L.A. Cannabis News

If Dan Bilzerian had listened to his father and not taken his marijuana company public, the brash Instagram celebrity’s Ignite International Brands might not currently be under investigation by both the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice. “There is no reason to have a public company unless you intend to raise capital” from public markets, as Dan Bilzerian’s father, Paul, told MJBizDaily in an interview last month. Paul Bilzerian, who said he is now serving as an unpaid… Read more.

No Surprise: Russian Court Rejects Brittney Griner’s Appeal, Sends Her to Penal Colony

October 26, 2022 · Celeb Stoner

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.

Black People Still More Likely to Be Arrested for Cannabis Crimes in Virginia

October 20, 2022 · Ganjapreneur

Black people are still more likely to be arrested for cannabis-related crimes in Virginia despite adult-use legalization, the Washington Post reports. The reforms took effect July 1, 2021, and while arrests for cannabis have dropped overall, Black adults accounted for nearly 60% of such cases before the state’s district and circuit courts, according to the Post analysis.   Black people account for about 20% of Virginia’s population. The bulk of the arrests is for distribution as legal sales have not yet commenced in the… Read more.

Cannabis Bill addresses all concerns raised by Democrat and Pheu Thai parties

October 20, 2022 · Thai PBS World

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.

MICHIGAN CANNABIS BUSINESS OWNER STUNNED BY STATE POLICE SWAT-STYLE RAID

October 20, 2022 · The Blacklist

TRAVERSE CITY, MI -- It was quiet morning on Thursday, Oct. 6, inside Traverse City’s Great Lakes Hemp Supplements, a cannabis business with CBD products and a decal on the window that reads, “healers not dealers.” The solace shattered. “This is raid,” shouted Michigan state troopers who rushed in the front door. “Someone’s screaming, ‘state police,’” said 26-year-old office manager Megan O’Brien, who was meeting with a customer in another room. “I come around the corner and there are like… Read more.

Ex-county official to plead guilty in cannabis bribe scheme

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — A former county official in Southern California will admit he funneled bribes through his company to a city councilman in exchange for the councilman’s votes and influence in the city’s cannabis permitting process, federal prosecutors said. Gabriel Chavez, a former San Bernardino County planning commissioner, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of bribery, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. The politician who solicited the bribes – former Baldwin Park City Councilmember Ricardo Pacheco –… Read more.

California expands largest US illegal pot eradication effort

October 13, 2022 · AP News

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.

Republicans oppose state-legal weed clampdown

October 8, 2022 · Politico

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.

HUGE FARMERS LABOR SCANDAL AT BAD LANDS LEGAL FARM

October 6, 2022 · The Blacklist

Hello, My names River Maguire. I’m From Mendocino county, I’m a 2nd generation farmer. I am writing you in regards to a huge labor scandal that occurred last year at the “Bad Lands” legal grow out in Lake County, Ca. I was one of the head managing farmers that was hired for the project, By Patrick Warner of Outcrop and Jed and Josiah of Humboldt Standard. I worked and was a manager of Outcrop for 3 seasons. Not one of… Read more.

SIBLINGS SENTENCED IN PLOT TO BRIBE CALIFORNIA SHERIFF IN MARIJUANA GROW CASE

A brother-and-sister team convicted of trying to bribe a Northern California sheriff to protect family marijuana grows were sentenced Tuesday in Sacramento, but there were stark differences in the punishment each received. Gaosheng Laitinen, 41, a small shop owner in Minnesota and the mother of a 7-year-old boy, was sentenced to time served and a $50,000 fine. “I regret everything,” said Laitinen, who has been out of custody since shortly after her August 2017 arrest and offered a tearful apology… Read more.

California’s illicit marijuana market thrives as much of the state continues to restrict sales

In 2016, Californians voted to legalize recreational adult-use marijuana. Proponents of Proposition 64, including then-Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, argued that it would generate massive revenue, while decreasing illicit cannabis and drug cartel activity in the state. Now, nearly six years later, it’s clear that promise has not been kept. While the state has collected billions in tax revenue from cannabis sales since legalization went into effect in 2018, billions more continue to pour into a thriving illicit market. A new… Read more.

Driving high? Chemists make strides toward marijuana breath analyzer

October 6, 2022 ·

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.

MedMen uses federal illegality of marijuana as defense in rent lawsuit

October 6, 2022 ·

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.