I guess if you do this job long enough, you’ll see just about everything. This time, it’s the attorney general of Mississippi wading into the legality of beverages containing hemp. And it’s a doozy....more
9/26/2024
/ Beverage Manufacturers ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Dispensaries ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
State and Local Government ,
State Attorneys General
Thoroughbreds shouldn’t be the only ones racing towards a finish line in Kentucky in the near future. Those vying for a precious medical cannabis business license in Kentucky’s new medical cannabis program will also need to...more
5/3/2024
/ Applications ,
Business Licenses ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Dispensaries ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
Earlier this week, the Florida legislature passed a bill (SB 1698) that will limit the amount of THC in hemp-derived products and threatens to upend the novel cannabinoid industry in the state.
For the past few years,...more
3/12/2024
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Florida ,
Governor DeSantis ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
New Legislation ,
State and Local Government
Now that the dust is starting to settle on the recent news that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has recommended to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) that marijuana be moved from Schedule I to...more
9/20/2023
/ Advertising ,
Banking Sector ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Dispensaries ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
State and Local Government
For years, the cannabis industry has been the purview of entrepreneurs and those willing to operate in gray areas — those willing to take some measure of risk to recover the premium on that risk. As cannabis has become legal...more
According to a report from Bloomberg News, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is officially recommending to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) that marijuana be moved from Schedule I to Schedule III...more
Word began circulating a few days ago that tobacco giant Philip Morris has agreed to purchase Israeli cannabis company Syqe Medical for a whopping $650 million if certain future events come to fruition. While the two...more
After years of uncertainty, the USPTO has finally provided insight on how it views applications for cannabis-related marks, suggesting that the use of such marks will be heavily scrutinized.
In 2016, National Concession...more
5/12/2023
/ Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Registration ,
Patents ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
If you haven’t heard, the patient numbers in Mississippi’s new medical cannabis program are not rising at the pace many hoped they would. This has caused quite a bit of concern across the industry down here. A healthy pool of...more
4/20/2023
/ Advertising ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Revenue ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Marketing ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government
Welcome to the latest installment of the Editors’ Roundtable, in which our editors – Whitt Steineker, Jay Wright, Hunter Robinson, and Slates Veazey – discuss cannabis issues in the news and take a stab at where the cannabis...more
4/4/2023
/ Amended Legislation ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
DEA ,
Farm Bill ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Cultivation ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
THC
For at least the past decade, federal bankruptcy courts have routinely prohibited cannabis businesses from seeking protection under federal bankruptcy law, regardless of whether a cannabis business is legally operating under...more
Obtaining adequate and affordable insurance coverage remains one of the many challenges in the cannabis industry. Most large insurance carriers – adverse to the risk posed by unfavorable federal law – have so far chosen to...more
Oh Daddy! It’s not “Rumours” or one of your “Dreams” – although it may be “Second Hand News” to our most knowledgeable readers: A federal court in Washington recently upheld the state’s cannabis residency requirement for...more
On January 16, 2023, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Regulatory Services Division (RSD) announced it would begin accepting new applications for medical cannabis dispensaries in Texas, under the Lone Star State’s...more
1/18/2023
/ Applications ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Dispensaries ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Physicians ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures ,
Texas
As we turn the calendar to another year, and because we run a cannabis law blog, it seems fitting to write about year one of Mississippi’s medical cannabis program and to preview what 2023 may have in store as the program...more
Welcome to the third installment of the Editors’ Roundtable, in which our editors – Whitt Steineker, Jay Wright, Hunter Robinson, and Slates Veazey – discuss cannabis issues in the news and take a stab at where the cannabis...more
Last week, Mississippi’s highest court ruled that a South Korean company, LG Chem, which manufactured the battery that powered a “vaping device,” could be sued in Mississippi, despite that company having no physical presence...more
Welcome to the second installment of the Editors’ Roundtable, in which our editors – Whitt Steineker, Jay Wright, Hunter Robinson, and Slates Veazey – discuss cannabis issues in the news and take a stab at where the cannabis...more
10/5/2022
/ Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Dispensaries ,
Hemp Cultivation ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
State and Local Government
The changes in the cannabis industry in Southeastern United States represent some of the most surprising and remarkable changes in the history of the industry...
Originally published by Bloomberg Law....more
9/15/2022
/ Alabama ,
Arkansas ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Florida ,
Georgia ,
Louisiana ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
North Carolina ,
Proposed Legislation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures ,
Tennessee
As we predicted back in April, disputes between medical cannabis businesses and counties or municipalities over local zoning ordinances and permits are starting to arise. Participants in Mississippi’s medical cannabis program...more
In late 2018, my esteemed partner, Whitt Steineker, recruited me to join the firm’s newly formed Cannabis Industry team. Around that time, groups in Mississippi were actively seeking signatures to get a ballot initiative in...more
May 4th celebrates Star Wars, and May 5th is Cinco de Mayo. While not as popular, May 3rd still likely means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. But, in Mississippi, in 2022, May 3rd was a date circled on...more
5/6/2022
/ Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Deadlines ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Licenses ,
Local Ordinance ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Municipalities ,
Opt-Outs ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State and Local Government ,
Zoning Laws
Attorney General Merrick Garland has reiterated that the Department of Justice will not prioritize prosecuting marijuana use, a position that Garland expressed during his confirmation hearings. In remarks in front of a Senate...more
5/3/2022
/ Attorney General ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Cole Memorandum ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Legalization ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
SAFE Act ,
State and Local Government
What promises to be the first of a litany of legal interpretations of the new Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act (MMCA), Attorney General Lynn Fitch released an official attorney general’s opinion on April 15, 2022, regarding...more
4/25/2022
/ Amended Regulation ,
Business Operations ,
Cannabis Act ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Dispensaries ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Mixed-Use Zoning ,
Municipalities ,
Property Owners ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
State Attorneys General
The Mississippi Department of Revenue (MDOR) released information on Friday, April 15, regarding the licensing and operations of dispensaries under the medical cannabis regime in Mississippi. We feel like a broken record, but...more
4/22/2022
/ Alcohol Beverage Control ,
Applications ,
Business Licenses ,
Business Plans ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Dispensaries ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Proposed Regulation ,
State and Local Government