In my experience, lobbying is truly an art and not a science, and a very important art at that. And there’s been no shortage of cannabis lobbying over the years on both the state and federal level. Typically, cannabis trade groups (and there seems to be one for every cannabis topic now, including a recently
On December 3, 2020, MAPS (the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) issued a press release regarding a lawsuit filed against the DEA and the Attorney General to “compel issuance of licenses to manufacture marijuana for clinical trials and potential FDA approval.” We have written about MAPS and its 35 years of advocacy and engagement with
Racism in America is not confined to the criminal justice system, it is embedded in all aspects of our society, but the continued killing of Black men and women by police and law enforcement personnel has lead to a breaking point. The video of George Floyd’s murder is particularly gruesome and has lead to nationwide
Several months I wrote an article about CBD and false advertising under the Lanham Act and noted an important case on the docket of the U.S. Supreme Court concerning damages in trademark cases, Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil, Inc. (Supreme Court Docket No. 18-1233). As you may recall, the Lanham Act, also known as the
Last month, comedian Sacha Baron Cohen delivered a now widely shared keynote speech at an Anti Defamation League event in New York, in which he spared no harsh words for social media companies who he claims provide a platform for hate speech and the proliferation of fake news. In his speech, Cohen offered sharp criticisms for
On Thursday, the United States House of Representatives voted 267-165 to prohibit the United States Department of Justice from using appropriated funds to interfere with state-legal cannabis programs. The Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment (a.k.a. the Hinchey–Rohrabacher, Rohrabacher-Blumenauer, and Joyce Amendment) has provided similar protection to state-legal cannabis programs over the past decade, but only to medical programs.
California’s illicit market for cannabis is booming—not just out in remote grows deep in the wilderness, but also in delivery and even brick-and-mortal retail stores in big cities all over the state. Our California cannabis attorneys regularly receive questions from licensed cannabis companies about what they can do to stay competitive in the face of
For the past three years, I have taught a class called “Cannabis Law & Policy” at Lewis & Clark Law School here in Portland, Oregon. It’s a seminar that meets for two hours a week for upper level students. Per the syllabus, learning objectives for that class are: 1) students should be able to understand
Happy MLK Day! For our international readers, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a federal U.S. holiday marking the birthday of its eponymous civil rights hero. Dr. King was the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. Dr. King was assassinated in
This is the second post in a series on various aspects of cannabis litigation. The title is admittedly a bit misleading, as arbitration isn’t really the same thing as litigation. That said, the two can intersect, and so understanding what arbitration is and is not, is important for cannabis businesses. After all, many contracts in
