schedule III

Marijuana as Schedule III: Woe is Me?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that a pretty historic announcement was made last week by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS officially recommended that marijuana be rescheduled from Schedule I to Schedule III of the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The HHS news means that the country’s top

marijuana rescheduling

Three Myths and Three Facts on the HUGE Marijuana Rescheduling Recommendation

Huge news yesterday. Huge! The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has officially recommended that marijuana be rescheduled, from Schedule I to Schedule III of the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA). This means that the country’s top health agency has finally conceded that cannabis has medical value, and isn’t a drug of abuse

cannabis product

Why Cannabis Product Review is So Important

Over the last five years, I’ve done countless compliance reviews for cannabis product and CBD product labels, packaging materials, and products themselves. In all cases – not most, all – cannabis product labels needed at least one change. Product type, shape, and ingredients often needed work. And even packaging material has had plenty of issues.

cbd

Congress Wants to Hear from You on CBD by August 18th

Today’s public service announcement is that Congress wants to hear from you on a regulatory fix for cannabidiol (CBD) and other hemp-derived cannabinoid products. The request came down via the Energy and Commerce Committee on July 27, when it published a Request for Information (RFI) to “interested parties” on the topic. The deadline for RFI

kratom

Cannabinoid Folks, Pay Attention to Kratom

It seems as if there is a new cannabinoid product coming out every five minutes. Scratch that – it seems like there is a new cannabinoid coming out every five minutes. After CBD, it was CBG and CBN, then the deltas, and then, well, it’s hard to keep track. Today, every time I research these new

cannabis advertising

Be Very Skeptical of Cannabis Advertising

The level of straight-up false information in cannabis advertising online is staggering. It’s almost too hard to describe. As a cannabis attorney, I’m often stunned that companies push cannabis advertisements the way they do. Over the years, I’ve spoken to dozens (maybe hundreds) of cannabis business owners who thought X was completely legal because of

delta 8

FDA and FTC Target Delta-8 Products

On July 5, 2023, the FDA and FTC jointly announced six cease and desist letters to alleged delta-8 product makers. You can access the letters here. Unlike prior rounds of warning letters, these letters have a new focus: harm to children. For nearly five years, the FDA and FTC have taken the position that CBD

unsubstantiated claims

CBD Companies Beware: FTC Threatens Civil Penalties for Unsubstantiated Claims

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

fda cbd

Breaking: FDA Says “No” to CBD Foods and Dietary Supplements

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

cosmetics

Cosmetics and Cannabis

Cosmetics are something of a bright spot when it comes to federal cannabis regulation. Unfortunately, however, there is quite a bit of misunderstanding when it comes to the federal legal framework for cannabis cosmetics. Following up on question that was asked during a recent webinar, here are the basics of which cannabis brands should be