Cannabis Business Legal News

On Monday October 18, 2021, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a notice through the Federal Register that proposed a large increase in production quotas for a number of controlled substances including cannabis and psilocybin (the active compound in so called “magic mushrooms”). Cannabis and psilocybin are currently categorized as Schedule I drugs in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), meaning that pursuant to the CSA, these are drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. The notice issue by the DEA, however, signals a potential ...

The emerging cannabis industry in Illinois has plenty of regulatory issues to contend with including labeling, packaging, destruction and disposal of cannabis, security, inventory, and recordkeeping just to name a few. Dispensaries and other cannabis related businesses should take care not to overlook another highly-regulated area—text message and telephone marketing.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) regulates how companies can utilize telephone calls and text messages as part of their marketing strategies. All companies should take note, as the penalties ...

Cannabis, or “marihuana” as it is referred to in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), has been federally illegal in the United States since 1937. Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced that he will make legislation ending the federal prohibition of cannabis a top priority. In the recent press conference, Senator Schumer introduced a draft of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (the “CAOA”), which would lift the federal prohibition on cannabis and, critically, allow state-compliant cannabis businesses to have access to ...

After months and months of controversy around how Illinois managed the scoring and award of the first round of adult-use recreational cannabis retail licenses, Governor J.B. Pritzker has signed a new bill that not only expands the number of licenses to be awarded, but shakes up and expedites how the licenses will be issued. The new legislation expands the number of adult use cannabis retail licenses in Illinois from the originally allotted seventy-five, to one hundred and seventy-five. This bill (HB1443) is a critical step forward in what has been a tumultuous roll out of the state’s ...

Today, two Republican Congressmen introduced the “Common Sense Cannabis Reform for Veterans, Small Businesses, and Medical Professionals Act.” Representatives David Joyce (R-OH) Ohio and Don Young (R-AK) are the sponsors of the Act.  Joyce and Young are also the current co-chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Cannabis Caucus. This Caucus was launched in 2017 by well-known cannabis advocates, former Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, (R-CA) Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), former Colorado Rep. and current Colorado Governor, Jared Polis, and the aforementioned Rep. Young. The Act would ...