On April 21, Indiana Attorney General (AG) Todd Rokita issued a letter to state legislators addressing the pressing issue of legal loopholes surrounding intoxicating hemp-derived products containing delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC,...more
4/25/2025
/ Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
State Attorneys General ,
State Legislatures ,
THC
Our colleagues recently wrote about 14 memoranda from the new U.S. Attorney General (AG) Pam Bondi to Department of Justice (DOJ) employees framing the DOJ’s current policies and enforcement priorities. In a memorandum...more
2/27/2025
/ ATF ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Executive Orders ,
PACT Act ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco Regulations
Last year, we wrote about the former Missouri governor’s efforts to curb the availability of intoxicating hemp products to Missouri consumers by executive order. There are now several proposed bills in the Missouri...more
2/13/2025
/ Advertising ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Licensing Rules ,
Marijuana ,
Plant Based Products ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State Legislatures
Yet again, the premium cigar industry has prevailed in federal court against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FDA appealed a federal district court decision vacating its rule (the Deeming Rule) subjecting premium...more
1/30/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Final Rules ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco Litigation ,
Tobacco Regulations
Hearings on the merits of the Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) proposed cannabis rescheduling, initially set to begin this month, have been cancelled. The preliminary hearing period has been littered with accusations that the...more
1/16/2025
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Appeals ,
DEA ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Deregulation ,
Government Agencies ,
Legalization ,
Marijuana ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Schedule I Drugs
On December 17, 2024, Iowans for Alternatives to Smoking & Tobacco, Inc., Global Source Distribution, LLC, and others filed a complaint and motion for a preliminary injunction in federal district court against the Iowa...more
1/7/2025
/ E-Cigarettes ,
Equal Protection ,
Food & Drug Regulations ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Public Health ,
Public Safety ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retail Sales ,
Supremacy Clause ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Vaping
In the fifth episode of our 12 Days of Regulatory Insights podcast series, Nick Ramos is joined by Jean Smith-Gonnell, the leader of the firm's Cannabis Industry practice, to discuss significant regulatory updates in the...more
The Colorado Attorney General’s (AG) Office recently entered into a settlement agreement with Bee’s Knees Enterprises, LLC, dba Bee’s Knees CBDs, addressing allegations of violations of the Colorado Consumer Protection Act...more
12/2/2024
/ Agribusiness ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Advertising ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Misrepresentation ,
Plant Based Products ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Statutory Violations ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
Last month, California Attorney General (AG) Rob Bonta announced the awardees for the 2024-2025 Tobacco Grant Program, a program spearheaded by the California Department of Justice (DOJ) that aims to support local law...more
A consumer class action lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against EVO Brands, LLC and PVG2, LLC, both doing business as Puff Bar. The lawsuit alleges that Puff Bar...more
10/18/2024
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Class Action ,
E-Cigarettes ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Minor Children ,
New York ,
Product Labels ,
Public Health ,
Retail Market ,
Statutory Violations ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
In recent years, federal and state governments have taken action to make marijuana research easier. These actions are a step in the right direction, and researchers operating in the marijuana space must be aware of the...more
10/4/2024
/ Agribusiness ,
Controlled Substances ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
DEA ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Final Rules ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Plant Based Products ,
Recreational Use ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Research and Development ,
Scientific Research ,
State and Local Government ,
THC
On September 14, Virginia’s Attorney General (AG) Jason Miyares issued a letter to the registered agent of the Good Vibes Shop, a Radford, VA store, for selling tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) products without proper labeling and...more
10/4/2024
/ Cannabis Products ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Distributors ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Hemp ,
Legalization ,
Licenses ,
Manufacturers ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Product Labels ,
Recreational Use ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retailers ,
THC ,
Virginia
Earlier this month, 20 Democratic state attorneys general (AG) filed an amicus brief supporting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) marketing denial orders (MDOs) of premarket tobacco applications (PMTAs) for...more
On August 1, Missouri Governor Michael Parson issued Executive Order 24-10 (the EO), a bold move aimed at addressing consumer safety concerns surrounding unregulated psychoactive cannabis products. The EO sparked a legal...more
We recently had the opportunity to attend, and present at, the industry portion of the 2024 Federation of Tax Administrators Tobacco Tax Annual Conference in Mobile, Alabama....more
On August 2, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit decided a case addressing Nebraska’s authority to require tribal cigarette manufacturers that are not parties to the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) to comply...more
In this post, we take a closer look at state tobacco and nicotine product licensing considerations. When approaching state licensing issues, it may be helpful to establish a checklist to help manufacturers, importers,...more
We have previously reported on the proliferation of tobacco product flavor bans imposed by localities and subsequent legal challenges throughout the U.S. See Oregon Court Upholds Local Tobacco Product Flavor Ban; Troutman...more
The landscape of tobacco product and cannabis flavor bans or restrictions varies significantly across the country. In both industries, some states restrict all or some flavors in all types of products, while other states...more
FDA recently announced the launch of a new searchable database containing almost 17,000 tobacco products that may be legally marketed in the U.S. The database provides information on each tobacco product including product...more
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) recently upheld, in a unanimous decision, the town of Brookline’s ordinance banning the sale of tobacco and e-cigarette products to anyone born after Jan. 1, 2000 (the Tobacco...more
3/26/2024
/ E-Cigarettes ,
Local Ordinance ,
MA Supreme Judicial Court ,
Preemption ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retail Market ,
Retail Sales ,
Smoking Bans ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco Litigation ,
Tobacco Regulations
In a recent ruling, the California Court of Appeal largely affirmed a lower court’s decision from March 2022, finding that Ashford University (now known as University of Arizona Global Campus), an online, for-profit college,...more
A couple of years ago we posted an overview of state licensing and excise tax considerations for tobacco companies. In this post, we take a closer look at state excise tax considerations. When approaching state excise tax...more
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) most recent regulatory agenda, it plans to finalize a proposed rule that would make significant changes to requirements applicable to educational institutions that enroll...more
As we previously reported, the Treasury Department released a 2022 report on Competition in the Markets for Beer, Wine, and Spirits (the Competition Report) recommending, in part, that the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade...more
2/8/2024
/ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Labeling ,
Manufacturers ,
Nutrition Facts Labels ,
Product Labels ,
Public Comment ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retail Market ,
TTB ,
Virtual Meetings ,
Wine & Alcohol