Until last week, federal law prohibited marijuana users from owning or possessing firearms, even in states where marijuana is legal. In recent years, we have covered the differing opinions by federal courts challenging this status quo. On June 18, 2026, the Supreme Court held in a 9-0 decision in U.S. v. Hemani that 18 U.S.C.
On May 22, the states of Nebraska, Indiana, and Louisiana filed a Petition for Review in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (“DC Circuit”) challenging the Acting Attorney General’s (“AG”) final agency action moving FDA-approved and state-licensed marijuana into Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”). The DC
Cannabis law continues to live in constitutional limbo. States like Washington and California have built robust, tightly regulated cannabis markets, while federal law still treats marijuana as contraband. That tension has now collided head‑on with one of the Constitution’s most powerful doctrines: the Dormant Commerce Clause. Just recently, in January 2026, the Ninth Circuit weighed
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in Canna Provisions, Inc. et al. v. Bondi, a high-profile lawsuit that challenged the constitutionality of the federal prohibition of intrastate (and not interstate) cannabis activity. The denial offered no reasoning; nor was it accompanied by dissents or concurrences from any of the justices—all of which is
In June 2023, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed SB 23-271 (codified in C.R.S. 25-5-427 and regulated by 6 CCR 1010-24), a landmark bill regulating intoxicating hemp products in the state. This legislation followed recommendations from the Intoxicating Hemp Task Force, which was established a year earlier under SB 22-205. At a time when many states
Cannabis companies are often unclear about what edible products are legal to manufacture and distribute. While some cannabis edibles may be legal on a state level, federal regulations prohibit placing some cannabinoids in food altogether. This legal landscape is often confusing for cannabis edibles manufactures, who see their products as a natural expansion of cannabis
As those in the cannabis industry are fully aware, the option of bankruptcy has not been available to cannabis or many cannabis-adjacent businesses to date. The courts have consistently indicated debtors who work in the cannabis industry or derive meaningful income from cannabis activity (directly or indirectly) cannot use bankruptcy, a federal mechanism, so long
As Minnesota approaches the legalization of marijuana, the Minnesota Supreme Court has just ruled on a case we covered in September 2021. The case involves the difference between hemp and marijuana and a state prosecutor’s burden to prove what side of the line a leafy or liquid cannabis substance falls. As we explained two years
Last November, we wrote this post about a recent case filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission naming cannabis industry players for an alleged stock promotion scheme (or, as some call them, anti-touting violations). Last month, the primary individual defendant, Jonathan Mikula, filed a Motion to Dismiss the claims against him. The other individual defendant,
For several years one of the biggest problems the cannabis industry has faced is I.R.C. Section 280E. It suffocates the regulated marijuana industry. A recent decision by the Oregon Tax Court addresses Section 280E and what may properly fall under Cost of Goods Sold (“COGS”) in the context of a marijuana grow operation. (See here, here, here, here and here
