Legal

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.