Oregon is not the only jurisdiction with psilocybin (and other controlled psychedelic plant substances) on the ballot this fall. For our coverage of Oregon’s Measure 109, see: Oregon 2020 Election: Vote Yes! on Measure 109 Oregon and Psilocybin: Does the Approved Ballot Measure Language Stand a Chance? Oregon Psychedelics: Petition to Legalize Psilocybin for Therapy
I recently wrote a post outlining the long history of religious exemptions to the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA). In this post, I’ll 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 to
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 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
The U.S. cannabis industry attracts all kinds of entrepreneurs and investors. That has been true since Colorado and Washington legalized cannabis for adults 21 and up back in 2012, and since other states began creating comprehensive licensing regimes. The ever-emerging nature of the industry and its state-by-state quilt of regulations creates all kinds of business
A few weeks back, the Cannabis Law Institute invited me to discuss contract drafting for cannabis deals. A focal point for the panel was whether courts are willing to enforce cannabis contracts. The last time I had really looked at that issue was early 2019, when I wrote: Cannabis Dispute? Courts are Open. As the
For some reason, many cannabis businesses believe that because they’re already violating the federal Controlled Substances Act, they’re free to violate other existing federal laws. This of course is not the case, and never has been. Even though cannabis businesses can’t get legitimate recognition or fair treatment from the Department of Justice or the Drug
Last week, Oregon Representative Kurt Schrader (D) and Virginia Representative Morgan Griffith (R) introduced The Hemp and Hemp-Derived CBD Consumer Protection and Market Stabilization Act of 2020 (“H.R. 8179”). If enacted in its current form, H.R. 8179 would legalize the manufacture, sale and marketing of hemp, hemp-derived cannabidiol and other hemp extracts (collectively referred to
Recently the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted final amendments to expand the definition of an accredited investor, something that has not happened in nearly 40 years. This is a big deal for cannabis companies (and all other companies) that are in fundraising mode because many of these companies rely on Rules 506(b) and 506(c)
Until a few weeks ago, everyone in the hemp world thought the next big development would come from the federal Food and Drug Administration (after all, the FDA recently submitted proposed guidance to the White House, which has yet to be released). Unfortunately, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) dropped a surprise interim hemp rule a
