As we’ve noted before, Tennessee is likely to be the last Deep South state to legalize medical cannabis. But given the pace at which states have legalized (38 states plus the District of Columbia), last doesn’t necessarily...more
11/9/2023
/ Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Licensing Rules ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures ,
Tennessee
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
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
FDA warning letters are nothing new in the cannabis industry. In fact, we here at Budding Trends have covered this topic a number of times (here, here, and here). Not resigned to playing the hits, however, the FDA issued a...more
12/13/2022
/ Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Enforcement ,
Farm Bill ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Marketing ,
State and Local Government ,
Warning Letters
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
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
One of the largest headwinds facing the cannabis industry is the lack of access to banking services. Many financial institutions refuse to serve the multibillion-dollar cannabis industry given the regulatory uncertainty...more
6/22/2022
/ Banking Regulators ,
BSA/AML ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Popular ,
SAFE Act ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
When Neil Young wrote that “Southern change gonna come at last,” he wasn’t talking about cannabis— but he might as well have been in light of the recent and extraordinary developments in the cannabis industry in the southern...more
5/16/2022
/ Agribusiness ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Dispensaries ,
Healthcare ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
In 1996, California became the first state to legalize medical cannabis. Since then, 36 states (and four U.S. territories) have followed suit, keeping pace with rapidly evolving policies and attitudes toward cannabis. In...more
While we enter a new season this week, the same cannot be said for the FDA which, on November 16, reiterated that its approach to regulating the cannabidiol (CBD) industry will be “the same as it ever was”—a regulatory...more
12/1/2021
/ Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Dietary Supplements ,
False Advertising ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Labeling ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medical Foods ,
Regulatory Oversight
Texas’s cannabis industry can breathe a momentary sigh of relief. Delta-8 THC, the increasingly popular hemp-derived cannabinoid that produces effects similar to Delta-9 THC, has been removed from Texas’s list of Schedule I...more
11/12/2021
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Controlled Substances ,
Farm Bill ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Hemp ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
State and Local Government ,
Texas ,
THC
The SAFE Banking Act passed in the U.S. House of Representatives for the fifth time on September 23, 2021. This landmark legislation would pave the way for more financial institutions to serve the state-legal cannabis...more
Despite the cannabis industry’s explosive growth, many financial institutions have been hesitant to transact with cannabis-related businesses given the ambiguity created by divergent state and federal cannabis laws. The SAFE...more
There is a scene in The Hunt for Red October when Captain Marko Ramius, played wonderfully by the late, great Sean Connery, says of a pending nuclear standoff: “Once more, we play our dangerous game, a game of chess against...more
Few industries promise rapid growth equal to that of the cannabis industry, with one study projecting the industry could reach $30 billion in annual sales by 2025. This growth continues to accelerate as more states legalize...more
3/10/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Breach of Contract ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Commercial Contracts ,
Commercial Insurance Policies ,
Commercial Leases ,
Contract Formation ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Illegality Defense ,
Loan Agreements ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms ,
Unjust Enrichment
We recently wrote that Alabama is on the cusp of enacting a medical cannabis program. Today we turn our focus to a key aspect of the current proposal – the requirement that applicants for limited cultivator and integrated...more
On Friday, the USDA published a long, long awaited Final Rule regulating the production of hemp in the United States. The Final Rule, which arrives more than two years after Congress first allowed for the widespread...more
This is the second article in a three-part series focused on the intersection of the 2020 United States presidential election and marijuana policy. Each article will focus on the specific presidential candidates of the two...more
Tennessee’s hemp industry is growing fast, and you want in on the action. You have your big idea and a business plan ready. But at some point, you begin to wonder whether you should be thinking about any legal issues as you...more
9/9/2020
/ Banking Sector ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Corporate Entities ,
Employment Policies ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Funding ,
Hemp ,
Insurance Industry ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Licenses ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Supply Contracts ,
Tax Planning
So, you want to start a hemp company. You have your big idea and a business plan ready. At some point, though, you begin to wonder whether you should be thinking about any legal issues as you get your company off the...more
7/22/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Commercial Contracts ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Employment Practices Liability Coverage ,
Funding ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Cultivation ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Licenses ,
Manufacturers ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retail Market ,
Suppliers
The cannabis industry is in flux. Part of that is healthy maturation and part is a result of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) global pandemic that has impacted everyone.
Over the last year, falling valuations and volatile prices...more
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent a shot across the bow of the cannabidiol (CBD) industry on November 25. The FDA disclosed that it issued warning letters to 15 companies “for illegally selling products...more
11/27/2019
/ Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Dietary Supplements ,
FDA Warning Letters ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Labeling ,
Manufacturers ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Marketing ,
Product Labels
After 10 months of anticipation from the American hemp industry, on October 31, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) published its interim final rule (Rule) establishing the regulatory framework for hemp...more
11/5/2019
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
DEA ,
Farm Bill ,
Hemp ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Tribal Governments ,
USDA