Cannabis Law Journal

With the passage of legislation by the Illinois General Assembly, Illinois became the 11th state (along with the District of Columbia) to allow the recreational use of marijuana. In addition, 33 states and the District of Columbia currently allow cannabis to be used for medical purposes.

We’re proud to announce that our European correspondent & editor, Mark Taylor, has just announced the publication of the title “Cannabis Law and Regulation” with respected UK professional publisher Bloomsbury Professional

Rod Kight writes, “This is one of the most common questions I am asked as an attorney representing businesses in the cannabis industry. The answer is perhaps more complex than it should be and depends on a number of factors, including what is meant by “legal” and, if selling CBD to consumers, how and where it is intended to be marketed.”

The recently established lobby group is taking its first steps in the Brussels bubble, advocating for an EU-wide regulatory framework on medical marijuana.

 Due mainly to legal reforms at the state level, 2019 legal cannabis sales are expected to generate over $10 billion in revenue. Products ranging from buds, oils, and tinctures are increasingly being used medicinally to treat chronic pain, cancer, terminal illness, and some stress-related mental disorders. Recreational use is becoming legal in a growing number of states.

All the latest USA case commentaries as published by Cannabis Law Digest.

Late last month, the FDA released a consumer update on products containing cannabis or cannabis derivatives. It’s unclear to me what the FDA is saying. Do they have studies to indicate that CBD is toxic? Are they using the same argument they used back in 2014, that hemp derivatives are adulterants? Or is it simply a language issue – that because CBD is not on an approved ingredient list, it’s considered an adulterant by default. We need clarity.

On September 3, 2019 Quebec’s Superior Court ruled in Murray Hall v. Procureure générale du Québec that Quebec’s prohibition on home cultivation of cannabis is unconstitutional.

I have spent a lot of time in Latin America over the last several years. HLG has been intimately involved in shaping cannabis policy in numerous countries across the region.

Kight on Cannabis legal blog contributing author Kate Harveston with an insightful article on state-level employment laws that fail to protect medical marijuana patients in the USA.

Although cannabis remains federally illegal, as a medical or recreational user of cannabis, you still have rights when it comes to your personal healthcare, law enforcement encounters, your employment, your housing, transportation, and your individual privacy.

In Germany, the regional/district authorities are responsible for monitoring and assessing the marketability of food and issuing sales bans. Accordingly, CBD products might be restricted to varying degrees in the individual federal states. However, the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) also states that CBD is not marketable in food in Germany without an authorisation. In addition, the German Federal Government seems to support the decision of the European Commission to mark CBD as novel food in the EU Novel Food Catalogue.

It has been two years since California began licensing yet operators still struggle with compliance and are all still de facto, breaking one law or another.  To kick us off, hemp was legalized at the federal level, and we entered into unchartered territory, navigating uncertain waters of the newest arm of the cannabis industry with a lack of regulation or guidance. Meanwhile, the state was experiencing a severe bottleneck in its own licensing process. With the states, the feds, and the locals all making up their own rules for hemp and cannabis operations and prohibitions, the illicit market continued to thrive – creating financial hardships for licensed operators and a safety crisis for consumers.  Here’s a look back at 2019 and a projection of what’s to come in 2020 Cannabis Law. 

The merriment of the holiday season has not overtaken California’s cannabis industry as 2019 comes to a close. The Legislature, Governor Newsom’s office, cannabis regulatory agencies (principally BCC, CalCannabis, CDPH, and CDTFA), law enforcement agencies, and a multitude of other groups and individuals interested in this industry have been confronted with the reality of a disaster. To paraphrase my father’s recurring admonition when something I attempted went wrong, “It is your own damn fault because you did not think it through.”

Governor Newsom has signed several bills that impact the cannabis industry by providing relief from federal income tax deduction limitations, encouraging minority participation, encouraging union membership, and clarifying some other existing regulations.

Due to the changing laws as you cross borders, the legality of CBD has been a rather complex issue. That being the case, we decided to give you a complete overview of CBD’s legality in Germany and its government. This article will tell you all you need to know in order to fully understand the legal status of CBD oil in Germany. Let’s get it right.

The legalization of non-medical cannabis and the upcoming legalization of cannabis derivatives and edibles have had an invigorating effect on many investors and entrepreneurs, who see this as an exceptional business opportunity. However, before embarking on the development of a cannabis cultivation or processing project, several important elements must be taken into account.

Making predictions about the new year is always more fun than recapping the prior one. And, while making new year’s predictions is more of a parlor trick than a serious pursuit, 2020 is clearly poised to be a historic and consequential year for cannabis.

Super Lawyers interviewed Rod Kight for a May 21, 2019 story,

As our followers are aware, we have written a number of articles regarding the financial advantages of the use of a Cannabis Cooperative Association (“CCA”) for California’s cannabis industry[1].   This article describes a use of a CCA that appears to have been wholly overlooked by many of the advisors to California’s cannabis industry.