We recently wrote a post outlining the long history of religious exemptions to the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA). In this post, we will provide a brief overview of the hoops that religious organizations have to jump through. Religious organizations that want to use psychedelics for religious purposes and comply with U.S. law are forced
This November 2020 election, cannabis legalization initiatives will appear on the ballots of five states: Arizona, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota. Every Sunday until November 3, Canna Law Blog will publish a post centered on one of these state ballot initiatives, and the current laws surrounding cannabis in that state. Last Sunday, we
Charlie Delgado Altieri, the main opposition candidate for governor of Puerto Rico, has suggested a new tax be imposed on hemp and medical cannabis to help foot the bill for government pensions, amidst a long-running fiscal crisis in the U.S. territory. According to Delgado, such a levy would be justified, given the cannabis industry's "billions
It seems like a new trademark infringement case pops up every week in the cannabis space, and I often find myself using the supposedly infringing cannabis companies as examples of what NOT to do when choosing or managing a brand. But this time, it appears that the cannabis company in question, Green Thumb Industries Inc.,
A few days ago, I wrote a post on cannabis investing and the concept of debt v. equity. I noted that it's very common to see lenders ask for personal guarantees when providing loans to cannabis businesses. Guaranty agreements are a hugely important type of contract that deserve their own post. Below, I will get
People have been complaining about Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) marijuana licensing bottlenecks for a long time. And rightfully so. New license applications are effectively suspended (and have been for over two years), while delays in approval requests for investment intake, ownership changes and business sales make these standard business activities extremely challenging in many
This November 2020 election, cannabis legalization initiatives will appear on the ballots of five states: Arizona, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota. Every Sunday until November 3, Canna Law Blog will publish a post centered on one of these state ballot initiatives, and the current laws surrounding cannabis in that state. Today is the
When President Trump announced he was nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett to succeed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court last week, the future of many key issues was called into question. We won’t mention or write about them here because this blog is dedicated to all things cannabis, but there is one issue
On September 24, 2020, the Bureau of Cannabis Control (“BCC”) issued a press release announcing its filing of a complaint seeking civil penalties from Vertical Bliss, Inc., also known as Kushy Punch (“Vertical Bliss”), as well as other related individuals for unlicensed commercial cannabis activity. For a bit of background, in November of last year,
On August 21, the Drug Enforcement Agency (the “DEA”) released an Interim Final Rule (the “Rule”), which, in part, suggests that in-process hemp extract shall be treated as a schedule I controlled substance during any point at which its THC concentration exceeds 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. "Any point" includes even fleetingly during
