In a field rife with rapid regulatory changes and legal uncertainty, Duane Morris LLP’s experience advising multimillion-dollar acquisition and tax settlement deals has placed it in the forefront of major industry developments, earning it a spot on Law360’s 2022 Cannabis Groups of the Year. To read the full text of this article, please visit the
Cannabis
FDA Punts Back to Congress On CBD Regulation
By Steve Levine
Creating further confusion and uncertainty in the hemp derived cannabidiol (CBD) markets, the FDA has determined that the existing regulatory frameworks for food and supplements are not appropriate for CBD. The FDA cited various safety concerns as the impetuous in making this determination.
“FDA has concluded that a new regulatory pathway for CBD is needed…
Cannabis Legal Report—Week of January 23, 2023
Cannabis: In Focus
- New York City Attempts to Crack Down on Illicit Cannabis Market
- Connecticut Launches Recreational Cannabis Sales, With More States Expected to Follow in 2023
- Psilocybin State Updates
- FDA Issues Three New Warning Letters to CBD Product Manufacturers Alleging COVID-19 Benefits
- Congressional Research Service: Cannabis Banking and the Federal Reserve
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New York Cannabis: State of the State 2023
A lot has happened in New York since the Canna Law Blog’s first New York State of the State. Last year was action-packed for the cannabis industry in New York. With licenses issued and sales starting in 2022, New York got the ball rolling on an actual and legal cannabis industry. We expect 2023…
Cannabis Health Claims Face Increased Scrutiny As More States Roll Out Recreational Dispensaries
By Neil Austin
As the number of adult-use states continues to grow—with New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Vermont recently joining the ranks—the scrutiny of cannabis-related advertising has grown with it. In recent years, state and federal regulators have made it clear that cannabis claims are a priority, especially claims stating or implying a health benefit. …
Poll: Majority of American Voters Support Federal Legalization of Cannabis
A December 2022 survey from Data for Progress reports that American voters, regardless of political affiliation, support federal cannabis legalization. Specifically, 75% of Democrats, 67% of independents, and 52% of Republicans agreed that cannabis should be legalized at the federal level.
Data for Progress also asked about two equity policies enacted as part of New…
2022 Cannabis Year-in-Review
2022 has been a rollercoaster of a year for the cannabis industry. On the upside, several states have passed legislation to either permit adult use or permit a medical marijuana program. Federally, simple possession cannabis offenses have been pardoned and legislation was passed to allow for research into cannabis. On the downside, the industry has…
Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of RICO Claims Relating to Cannabis
By Jihee Ahn
Well, it looks like cannabis RICO lawsuits are not going to happen any time soon. As an update to this post I wrote in 2020, the Ninth Circuit has just affirmed the dismissal of two RICO claims brought by a cannabis business owner.
Background of Shulman v. Kaplan
As a quick recap, Plaintiff Francine Shulman…
Will AI Replace Your Cannabis Lawyer? (I Asked ChatGPT)
ChatGPT is all the rage. The GPT stands for “Generative Pre-trained Transformer”. Translation: this is a next level, nearly omnipotent chatbot that’s incredibly articulate and conversant. Per Wikipedia:
“while the core function of a chatbot is to mimic a human conversationalist, ChatGPT is versatile, including the ability to write and debug computer programs; to compose…
Highlighting the hazy "who" of marijuana reform with state reforms and persistent federal prohibition
In the classroom and also in some of my scholarship, I often lean into the questions relating to “who” takes the lead with various legal doctrines and reforms. In the marijuana space, of course, these “who” questions have the added complications from conflicting federal and state (and sometimes local) laws…