News & Analysis as of September 24, 2024

Controlled Substances

+ Follow

Medical Marijuana refers to the use of marijuana to treat or alleviate symptoms of certain illnesses. A growing number of states permit individuals to use marijuana on the recommendation of a physician. Despite state laws to the contrary, Federal law still prohibits the use or possession of marijuana. The conflict between state and federal law on this issue has created interesting enforcement issues and significant legal hurdles for medical marijuana providers. less -

Advising a Cannabis-Related Business: The Importance of Attorneys in Navigating the Marijuana Regulatory Framework and Licensing...

Troutman Pepper on 5/30/2024

Introduction - The medicinal and recreational use and popularity of marijuana has continuously grown throughout the U.S. since Oregon became the first state to decriminalize marijuana in 1973. To date, thirty-eight states...more

Federal Update on Cannabis Scheduling: Are State Legalized Cannabis Dispensaries to Become Pharmacies?

Epstein Becker & Green on 5/6/2024

A major update in cannabis law was announced by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Attorney General (AG) this past Tuesday, April 30, 2024 regarding their intent to ease restrictions on cannabis. The DEA plans to...more

DEA Breaks Silence on Reclassification of Marijuana, Proposing Move to Schedule III

Akerman LLP on 5/6/2024

After months of anticipation following the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' recommendation to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance, we finally have insight into the...more

The Continuing Negative Impact of Federal and State Taxation on the Cannabis Industry; Where Do We Go from Here?

Troutman Pepper on 1/10/2024

The cannabis industry has experienced significant growth over the past decade, with increasing numbers of states legalizing both medical and recreational use. Currently, cannabis is legal for adults in 24 states and the...more

Current Trends in Banking for Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs)

J.S. Held on 3/3/2022

Weed, pot, reefer, Mary Jane, ganja – cannabis has as many slang names as it does methods of ingestion. No matter which name is used, cannabis is federally illegal and is included on Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances...more

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Says Current Federal Cannabis Prohibition is "Contradictory and Unstable"

Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP on 7/30/2021

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court denied review of a case out of Colorado dealing with a medical marijuana dispensary’s challenge to a tax code provision. After denying review, Justice Thomas—one of the Court’s most...more

Supreme Court Declines To Hear Challenge To IRS Enforcement Of Cannabis Tax Rules

Husch Blackwell LLP on 6/24/2021

On June 21, 2021, the U. S. Supreme Court declined to hear Eric D. Speidell, et al., Petitioners v. United States, which sought to overturn the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals’ 2020 opinion on Speidell v. United States. In...more

Eaze Case Puts Financial Institutions on Notice

Burns & Levinson LLP on 3/25/2021

On March 24, 2021, Defendants Hamid (Ray) Akhavan and Ruben Weigand were found guilty of defrauding banks as part of a scheme they had set up to help cannabis company Eaze accept credit card payments for marijuana purchases....more

The Biden Presidency: How Will Cannabis Business Be Taxed?

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on 2/22/2021

Wither the Weed? It has been one month since Mr. Biden’s inauguration as President of the United States. Among the many questions being asked of President Biden is whether he will seek the decriminalization of cannabis....more

The Week in Weed: January 2020 #4

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 1/24/2020

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. The big news in cannabis this week comes from New Mexico. Legislation introduced last Thursday would legalize...more

Missouri Financial Institutions Must Prepare for Impending Marijuana Banking Challenges

Stinson LLP on 1/15/2020

In November 2018, Missouri voters passed Amendment 2, setting in motion state regulated medical marijuana. Over the last month, the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services (DHSS) began approving license applications...more

Growing Pains with Medical Marijuana Taxation - Cannabis Industry News Alert

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 1/9/2020

More and more states across the South are adopting medical marijuana regimes. With this growth comes growing pains. One such pain for marijuana businesses is the tension between following state laws on a product that is still...more

Asset Forfeiture; a Commentary on the Legal Marijuana Industry’s Achilles Heel

Burns & Levinson LLP on 3/6/2019

Given the United States’ current political climate, bi-partisan unity has become a seemingly rare occurrence, especially in the country’s highest court. That’s what makes the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Timbs v....more

The Medical Marijuana Industry and AML: Opportunities and Risks

Ballard Spahr LLP on 8/16/2018

New York State Encourages Banking for State-Licensed Medical Marijuana Businesses – Whereas a Maine Company Runs Into Trouble, Despite State Law Legalizing Medical Marijuana....more

Buds and Booze: Lessons from Prohibition Could Inform Marijuana Industry

K2 Integrity on 6/8/2018

Reading the leaves regarding the potential decriminalization of marijuana is confusing and contradictory; however, one certainty is that the intoxicating combination of a cash-rich industry and a multitude of sometimes...more

Ethical Considerations For Attorneys in Light of the Rescission of the Cole Memorandum

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on 2/2/2018

As discussed in our January 5th blog post, the Cole Memorandum was rescinded by Attorney General Jeff Sessions on January 4th of this year. The Cole Memorandum had served to formally announce the DOJ’s policy that it would...more

New Fed Cannabis Policy Hits California Local Government - Potential Fiscal Impacts and Confusion

Best Best & Krieger LLP on 1/15/2018

Just days after the sale of recreational cannabis became legal in California, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a new policy regarding cannabis-related activities that is causing confusion for local governments — and...more

Rescission of Medical Marijuana Memoranda

Dickinson Wright on 1/12/2018

Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a one-page memorandum on January 4, 2018 (the “Sessions Memo”) rescinding both the Cole and Ogden Memoranda which essentially established a Department of Justice (“DOJ”) prosecutorial...more

Attorney General Sessions' Rescission of DOJ Marijuana Guidance Signals Uncertainty for the Marijuana Industry

Stinson LLP on 1/8/2018

On January 4, 2018, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions officially rescinded all of the prior Obama-era Department of Justice (DOJ) marijuana-related guidance, including the so-called “Cole Memo.” That guidance had provided...more

Trump Administration Rescinds Obama Era Marijuana Policy: What Does It Actually Mean?

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP on 1/8/2018

On January 4th, United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memo reversing federal marijuana enforcement policy, effective immediately. The decision moves the federal government away from its all but directed...more

Massachusetts DPH Clears the Air for For-Profit Conversion of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

Mintz - Health Care Viewpoints on 10/16/2017

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) has provided a much anticipated pathway to enable for-profit entities to operate Registered Marijuana Dispensaries (RMDs). DPH’s Medical Use of Marijuana Program (the “RMD...more

A Brick Wall for the Marijuana Industry…Or the Key to The Secret Garden?

Foster Garvey PC on 8/17/2015

In the July 9, 2015 Olive¹ decision, the Federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Tax Court decision that a medical marijuana dispensary was precluded from deducting any amount of ordinary and necessary business expenses...more

Navigating the Maze of Medical Cannabis - Uncertainty and the Challenge of Obtaining Banking and Insurance Services for...

Locke Lord LLP on 1/13/2015

The current and two immediate past presidents have smoked it. As one leading expert commented during a congressional hearing, perhaps “marijuana is a gateway drug to the White House?” Medical marijuana is now legal in...more

23 Results

View per page

Page: of 1

Medical Marijuana › Dispensaries › Controlled Substances

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"