Tobacco paraphernalia is in many cases indistinguishable from cannabis paraphernalia, especially when products are unconnected to specific consumers. If an item can be used in both lawful and unlawful ways, it seems illogical to classify it as drug paraphernalia, unless the item is connected to illegal activity. Yet the approach of the U.S. federal authorities
Exciting developments lie ahead for European Union (EU) marijuana legalization. It is inevitable that marijuana legalization sweeps the globe–if you haven’t seen it yet, please watch our webinar with Clifford Chance about the existing global economy of marijuana. The question is just one of timing. In Germany, as one prominent example, we’re looking at legalization
Yesterday, Senator Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senators Cory Booker and Ron Wyden presented the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA) in the Senate. This version of the CAOA is a big deal, as it’s been over a year since the discussion draft of the bill was shown to the public. It’s also a big
On June 14, 2022, Harris Sliwoski attorneys Fred Rocafort, Jihee Ahn, Paul Coble, and Vincent Silwoski presented a webinar entitled Protecting, Monetizing and Enforcing Cannabis Intellectual Property. Attendees submitted many great questions before and during the webinar, but our IP attorneys were not able to answer all of them. In this post, we will answer
High profile lawsuits to end cannabis prohibition are nothing new. We’ve covered efforts going back several years, though none of these has succeeded. A recently announced attempt, though, may be the best chance yet– especially given the changing environment with cannabis legalization in so many states; and especially given Constitutional jurisprudence relevant to those changes.
Just last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court’s holding that the 2018 Farm Bill legalized delta-8 THC products derived from hemp. In the Ninth Circuit’s view, “the plain and unambiguous text of the Farm [Bill] compels the conclusion that the delta-8 THC products before us are lawful.”
Last week, a coalition of major food and beverage companies (self-identified as “consumer packaged goods companies”) asked Congress to do more about the growing number of copycat THC edible products and counterfeit trademarks piggybacking off of their well-known items. The letter was signed by the Consumer Brands Association and fourteen other associations and companies, including
With so many new proposals for reconceptualized federal cannabis legislation floating around Congress, this summary should help clarify the differences to distinguish each bill from the others. This post will cover the MORE Act, the PREPARE Act, the States Reform Act, and the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act. Part two in this series will cover
Unfazed by the federal leadership vacuum on cannabis, states continue to roll out cannabis proposals and programs. A total of 34 states considered cannabis reform proposals in 2021. Another 32 proposals (some of them pre-filed in 2021) are up for discussion here in 2022. These proposals range from limited decriminalization measures to comprehensive, adult use
The days where the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) pays no mind to cannabis businesses (marijuana and hemp) are long gone. These days, the FTC is treating consumer complaints regarding hemp and marijuana businesses similar to complaints against businesses in other industries. The self-proclaimed mission of the FTC is to: “prevent anticompetitive, deceptive, and unfair business
