Blog
Attorney General Jeff Sessions Reverses Obama Era Enforcement Policies
On January 4, 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the recision of the 2013 Cole Memorandum ("Cole Memo"), issued by the Department of Justice ("DOJ") during the Obama Administration. The Cole Memo provided guidance (i.e. non-legally-binding policy) to law...
FDA Issues Warning Letters to Four CBD Manufacturers
In early October, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told members of Congress that the FDA was “weighing its responsibility” with respect to marijuana product health claims, particularly those suggesting proven “anti-tumor effects in the setting of cancer.” On November...
Utah Senator Hatch Introduces “MEDS Act of 2017”
Last month, Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, currently the most senior Republican in the Senate, introduced legislation to ease federal research restrictions on cannabis. First elected in 1977, Senator Hatch has long-voiced opposition to all forms of marijuana legalization,...
FDA Crackdown on Marijuana Health Claims
In early October, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told members of Congress that the FDA is weighing it’s “responsibility” with respect to marijuana product health claims, particularly those suggesting “marijuana has anti-tumor effects in the setting of cancer.” The...
JEFF SESSIONS CHALLENGES STATE PROGRAMS
Earlier this year, Washington Governor Jay Inslee and Attorney General Robert Ferguson, wrote to Attorney General Jeff Sessions regarding the status of state medical and recreational marijuana programs under the Trump administration. In August, the Huffington Post...
SENATOR CORY BOOKER INTRODUCES MARIJUANA JUSTICE ACT OF
On Tuesday, August 1st, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker introduced legislation that would end cannabis prohibition at the federal level and seek to eliminate existing racial and socioeconomic disparities in marijuana arrest and conviction rates. The proposed...
CARERS ACT REINTRODUCED IN SENATE
Earlier today, a bipartisan group of Senators reintroduced the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion, and Respect States Act (“CARERS Act”) into Congress. The CARERS Act as originally introduced in 2015, was aimed at providing protection against federal prosecution...
OREGON CANNABIS PROGRAM: LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Senate Bill 1057 Oregon Senate Bill 1057 provides the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (“OLCC”) with additional authority to enforce Oregon’s existing recreational and medical marijuana laws, including authority to prevent the illegal transfer and diversion of...
FEDERAL MARIJUANA BANKING LEGISLATION
Over half of U.S. states have legalized either medical, or both medical and recreational, marijuana use, but marijuana still remains illegal at the federal level (in case you haven’t heard!) As a result of this, banks refuse to serve marijuana-related businesses, as...