Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Cannabis
-
July 30, 2024
Psychedelics And The Law: A Midyear Review
A groundbreaking effort to secure federal approval for a psychedelic medication hit an unexpected snag. Religious groups asserting the right to access controlled substances had mixed success in federal court. Physicians seeking to administer psilocybin to terminally ill patients will finally have their day in court. Here are the major developments in psychedelics law from the first half of 2024.
-
July 30, 2024
Pot Cos. Can't Push RICO Claims Against Calif. City
A California federal judge has thrown out racketeering claims by six cannabis companies that accuse the city of Cudahy of illegally assessing fees, saying that because Congress listed cultivation and sale of cannabis under the definition of racketeering, they can't recover damages.
-
July 30, 2024
Atty Smuggled Marijuana-Soaked Papers To Inmate, Feds Say
A Massachusetts solo practitioner has been charged with using her status as an attorney to try to smuggle papers soaked in synthetic cannabis to an inmate at a Rhode Island detention center, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.
-
July 29, 2024
'Simpsons' Creator Owes Pay, Ignored Harassment, Suit Says
"The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening and his wife, Agustina Picasso, didn't do anything to stop the sexual harassment their former house manager told them she faced, while also cheating her out of wages, the worker said.
-
July 29, 2024
SEC Says Penny Stock CEO Lied About COVID-19 Deal
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday sued former penny stock company CEO Juan Campo for securities fraud, alleging he lied to investors about acquiring a Colombian cannabis company and about the company's development of a temperature screening device during the COVID-19 pandemic, among other things.
-
July 29, 2024
10th Circ. Won't Undo $6.4M Award In Cannabis Biz Fight
A Tenth Circuit panel has rejected a cannabis entrepreneur's attempt to undo a $6.4 million judgment in a dispute with an ex-business partner, but it ordered a district court to revisit an enforcement order that could require the entrepreneur to violate federal drug law to pay the damages.
-
July 29, 2024
Legalization Org Taps Cannabis Atty As New Treasurer
The pro-legalization advocacy organization Marijuana Policy Project announced Monday that a preeminent member of the cannabis bar had been tapped as the group's newest treasurer.
-
July 29, 2024
Mich. Man Fights LA Bid To Toss Pot License Lottery Suit
A Michigan man who owns several cannabis retailers is pushing back on a bid by Los Angeles to throw out his suit challenging its social equity license lottery.
-
July 26, 2024
Alaska Passengers' Safety Reg Stance Baffles Wash. Judge
A Washington state judge on Friday called out Alaska Airlines passengers' "absurd" suggestion that there was a hole in federal aviation standards that could allow states to set their own rules for when pilots can allow people into the cockpit.
-
July 26, 2024
Erroneous Background Check Cost Man HSN Job, Suit Says
A company that sells background checks to employers was hit with a federal lawsuit accusing it of incorrectly telling the Home Shopping Network that an applicant had a felony charge for distributing narcotics equivalent to cocaine, methamphetamine or fentanyl, when he was actually charged with selling marijuana.
-
July 26, 2024
Broncos Throw Flag On Ex-Player's THC Discrimination Bid
The NFL and the Denver Broncos are looking to sidestep a former team member's disability discrimination lawsuit claiming the league and team unfairly fined him $532,500 for using THC to treat an injury, arguing that the collective bargaining agreement they signed preempts state law.
-
July 26, 2024
Hemp Exporter's Lost-Product Claims Fail At 4th Circ.
A hemp exporter lost a bid for payment for lost products at the Fourth Circuit on Friday when the court ruled that the Montreal Convention precludes claims that a transportation company was liable for the destruction of more than a ton of product by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
-
July 26, 2024
Cannabis Litigation To Watch: Delta-8 And Residency Rules
In the first half of 2024, a series of lawsuits taking aim at state hemp restrictions and another set of suits challenging purported residency criteria in state cannabis licensure programs were briefed in multiple appellate courts across the country.
-
July 25, 2024
Edible Cannabis Co. Can't Revive RFID Tag Case
A Colorado state judge has said he won't let a company that makes edible cannabis continue to challenge the state's mandated use of radio frequency identification tracking tags, concluding that a senior enforcement official's statement at a rulemaking hearing was not a final action the company could appeal.
-
July 25, 2024
Iowa Hemp THC Law Remains In Force As Injunction Bids Fail
Iowa's hemp law that imposed new restrictions on hemp-derived THC consumables can continue uninterrupted, after a federal judge on Thursday rejected two bids by the hemp industry seeking to block the statute on claims that it was unconstitutionally vague.
-
July 25, 2024
Pot Rescheduling Could 'Compromise' Transit Drug Testing
Federal traffic investigators are urging the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to tread carefully should it move forward with rescheduling marijuana, saying any policy change must allow for drug testing of airline pilots, truck drivers and other "safety-sensitive" transportation jobs.
-
July 25, 2024
Tobacco Products Co. Hits Wash. Pot Business With TM Suit
Wholesaler BBK Tobacco & Foods LLP has hit a Washington state cannabis company with a complaint in Arizona federal court that alleges it is infringing the "Juicy" trademark BBK uses for a variety of smoking and smoking-related products.
-
July 25, 2024
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Touts State's Pot Law As Equity Model
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday spoke to a conference of cannabis attorneys and touted his state's recreational marijuana market as a model for equity in business ownership and criminal justice reform that other jurisdictions could follow.
-
July 24, 2024
PE Firm Ran $37M Ponzi-Like Cannabis Scheme, SEC Says
A California private equity fund ran a Ponzi-like scheme, using much of $37 million raised from investors to pay other shareholders instead of putting the money into cannabis companies, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told a California federal court this week.
-
July 24, 2024
Conn. Cannabis Co.'s Income Loss Not Covered, Insurer Says
An insurer said it has no obligation to cover a cannabis company's business income loss stemming from a February 2020 fire, telling a Connecticut federal court that the loss was not caused by a suspension of operations but rather damage to marijuana plants that aren't covered.
-
July 24, 2024
LG Unit Seeks Exit From Georgia Exploding Battery Suit
Atlanta-based LG Chem America Inc., a subsidiary of Korean company LG Chem Ltd., is asking a Georgia state judge to end its involvement in litigation by a man who claims he was injured when a lithium-ion battery cell exploded in his pocket.
-
July 24, 2024
Ex-Marijuana Store Worker Settles Retaliation Suit
An Atlantic City, New Jersey, marijuana dispensary has settled a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by an ex-employee who claimed the business's managers wouldn't turn down the loud music that was triggering her PTSD.
-
July 24, 2024
Hemp Cos. Get Stay Of DEA Subpoenas Seeking Records
A Texas federal judge on Wednesday stayed enforcement of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration subpoenas seeking financial and other records from a group of hemp and vape sellers, who had argued earlier this week that the subpoenas were overbroad and unlinked to any federal investigation.
-
July 23, 2024
Knives Out For Another Pro-Agency Landmark After Chevron
Only weeks after U.S. Supreme Court conservatives took a hatchet to the judicial deference shown to federal agencies, right-leaning lawyers are imploring the justices to rock the administrative law realm again by gutting a New Deal-era precedent at the heart of the modern regulatory system.
-
July 23, 2024
Cooperator In Cannabis Bank Fraud Case Dodges Prison
A U.K. national who testified against two businessmen accused of fooling banks into processing federally illicit transactions worth $150 million for California cannabis delivery company Eaze Technologies Inc. on Tuesday was spared from serving any time in prison.
Expert Analysis
-
Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
-
Investors Can Aid In The Acceptance Of Psychedelic Medicine
Psychedelic medicine is ready to have its breakthrough moment, and although it still faces political, legal and communications challenges, private equity investors can play a significant role in changing the public perception on psychedelics from taboo to acceptance, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell, Charlie Panfil at the Daschle Group and Ethan Lutz at FTI Consulting.
-
Perspectives
Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys
As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.
-
Series
Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My deep and passionate involvement in playing, writing and producing music equipped me with skills — like creativity, improvisation and problem-solving — that contribute to the success of my legal career, says attorney Kenneth Greene.
-
Proposed Cannabis Reschedule Sidesteps State Law Effects
The U.S. Department of Justice's recent proposal to move cannabis to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act provides certain benefits, but its failure to address how the rescheduling would interact with existing state cannabis laws disappointed industry participants hoping for clarity on this crucial question, says Ian Stewart at Wilson Elser.
-
How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case
The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.
-
Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content
From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.
-
Series
Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer
While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.
-
Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance
A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.
-
Series
Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.
-
A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System
As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.
-
Opinion
State-Regulated Cannabis Can Thrive Without Section 280E
Marijauna's reclassification as a Schedule III-controlled substance comes at a critical juncture, as removing marijuana from being subjected to Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code is the only path forward for the state-regulated cannabis industry to survive and thrive, say Andrew Kline at Perkins Coie and Sammy Markland at FTI Consulting.
-
E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data
Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.
-
Series
Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Years of participation in swimming events, especially in the open water, have proven to be ideal preparation for appellate arguments in court — just as you must put your trust in the ocean when competing in a swim event, you must do the same with the judicial process, says John Kulewicz at Vorys.
-
What 100 Federal Cases Suggest About Changes To Chevron
With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to overturn or narrow its 40-year-old doctrine of Chevron deference, a review of 100 recent federal district court decisions confirm that changes to the Chevron framework will have broad ramifications — but the magnitude of the impact will depend on the details of the high court's ruling, say Kali Schellenberg and Jon Cochran at LeVan Stapleton.