Last month, Washington governor Jay Inslee signed SB 5367, a largely unpublicized bill “concerning the regulation of products containing THC”. Among other things, the bill amends the definition of "cannabis product" in the state’s Controlled Substances Act to include products with any detectable amount of THC concentration. Selling such CBD products will require licensure by
Ever since Congress passed the Agricultural Improvements Act of 2018 (or 2018 Farm Bill), people have tried to find creative ways to sell intoxicating hemp-derived products. One example of this is THCA products, such as THCA flower, which contain very high levels of THCA. But is THCA legal? Today, I want to examine legality of
I wanted to drop a line today on an interesting piece of cannabis legislation moving through the Oregon session. The draft bill at issue is omnibus SB 353 (most recent mark-up here). This is a very different SB 353 than its placeholder from back in January when I published our annual Legislative Forecast and Report.
FTC Warning letters Marketing CBD products is a challenge. For years we've written about risks associated with making health-related claims in marketing. But there's another avenue that the federal government doesn't like: unsubstantiated claims. Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) decided to ratchet up enforcement and sent out warning letters to nearly 700 companies
I’ve spoken with a handful of clients recently who are anxious about Oregon’s new cannabis testing requirements. These requirements cover heavy metals and microbiological contaminants, and they take effect on March 1, 2023. The scuttlebutt is that many failed tests are inevitable if the labs do their jobs. And the labs are under scrutiny at
Not much thought is given to ancillary CBD liability. Why is that? Probably because the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") hasn't taken any serious enforcement action against any company or individual that aids and abets violations of the Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act (the "Act") when it comes to CBD. Still, secondary CBD liability under
Hong Kong and the negative developments taking place there have been the subject of many posts in our sister China Law Blog. But now it is our turn to report on the Fragrant Harbor. Unfortunately, the news is also bad on the cannabis front, just like on the political and economic ones. From February 1
Since the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, the hemp CBD industry has been eagerly awaiting FDA CBD regulations. In that time, FDA convened a working group to study how the agency would regulate CBD foods and dietary supplements. As of January 26, 2023, the FDA concluded that it will NOT regulate CBD foods or
The 2023 Oregon legislative session kicked off yesterday. It’s a regular session this year, meaning we’re in for a longer stretch-- a 160 day calendar, versus the 35 day affair we see in even-numbered years. Following November’s elections, the state government also looks quite different than the last few years, from the Governor’s office on
Cannabis advertising has always been a precarious art. From first amendment commercial speech issues to zealous state marketing and promotion regulations to false claim lawsuits, cannabis advertising can go down some dark rabbit holes. Notoriously, tech giants like Instagram and Facebook would take down cannabis-related ad content for violating site terms and conditions around the
