In a February 19 complaint filed in Arizona state court, Texas-based payment processer Switch Commerce LLC argued that multistate cannabis operator Trulieve Cannabis Corp. and its affiliates should be responsible for a...more
3/17/2025
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
ATMs ,
Banks ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Fraud ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Payment Processors ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers ,
Visa Inc
In what appear to be the first restrictions of their kind, the state of California and the city and county of Denver have adopted bans on flavored tobacco products that cover not only products containing tobacco and nicotine,...more
2/13/2025
/ California ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Local Ordinance ,
New Legislation ,
Public Health ,
Regulation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Vaping
On January 21, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case addressing who may challenge Food and Drug Administration (FDA) marketing denial orders for new tobacco products....more
2/4/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Judicial Authority ,
Marketing ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retail Sales ,
RJ Reynolds ,
SCOTUS ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco Control Act (TCA) ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Vaping ,
Venue
Yet again, the premium cigar industry has prevailed in federal court against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FDA appealed a federal district court decision vacating its rule (the Deeming Rule) subjecting premium...more
1/30/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Final Rules ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco Litigation ,
Tobacco Regulations
On January 7, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit found that Virginia’s hemp product restrictions do not violate federal law. The ruling is the latest defeat for the Virginia hemp industry’s efforts to overturn...more
1/15/2025
/ Agribusiness ,
Appeals ,
Cannabis Products ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Dormant Commerce Clause ,
Farm Bill ,
Hemp ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Foods ,
Plant Based Products ,
Preemption ,
Regulatory Authority ,
State and Local Government ,
Virginia
In the ninth episode of our 12 Days of Regulatory Insights podcast series, Michael Jordan, a member of the firm's Tobacco + Nicotine practice, is joined by colleagues Bryan Haynes and Agustin Rodriguez to delve into the...more
In August, North Carolina-based cigarette importer, King Maker Marketing Inc., challenged a decision by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Customs) that rejected its claims for more than $11 million in drawback duties as...more
In September, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) told industry that it would begin enforcing the agency’s cigarette graphic warning rule in December 2025 in an enforcement policy outlined in a short guidance...more
9/30/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Failure To Warn ,
FDA Approval ,
Final Rules ,
First Amendment ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Manufacturers ,
Public Health ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Warning Labels
In June, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) argued in federal court that the federal Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act requires tribal retailers to obtain state licenses to sell cigarettes on their...more
8/6/2024
/ ATF ,
California ,
Native American Issues ,
PACT Act ,
Retail Sales ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Tax Liability ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Tribal Governments ,
Tribal Lands ,
Tribal Treaty Rights
“Hi, we’re with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and we’d like to take a look at your tobacco product sales invoices, shipping records, and PACT Act reports.”...more
In August 2023, Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia partially vacated a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rule that had “deemed” premium cigars subject to the Federal Food, Drug, and...more
The Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act, 15 U.S.C. § 375 et seq., is a federal law with two primary objectives: (1) to prevent federal and state tax evasion on tobacco products, and (2) to prevent sales of tobacco...more
4/16/2024
/ ATF ,
E-Cigarettes ,
E-Commerce ,
Internet Retailers ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Manufacturers ,
PACT Act ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Shipping Bans ,
Tax Evasion ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Vaping
On January 26, a Massachusetts Superior Court rejected an effort by the Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) to vacate an order that cast doubt on the constitutionality of a new Massachusetts liquor law....more
Over the past decade, at least five states and hundreds of localities have passed, or attempted to pass, laws banning flavored tobacco products. To date, litigants have brought many challenges to these laws, often arguing...more
In December, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued warning letters to online retailers for reportedly selling unauthorized e-cigarette products. Consistent with the Center for Tobacco Products’ (CTP) recent...more
On October 30, Virginia’s hemp industry suffered an early defeat in its effort to overturn Virginia SB 903, a law that imposed stricter limitations on hemp products than what is currently required under federal law....more
11/15/2023
/ Commerce Clause ,
Dormant Commerce Clause ,
Farm Bill ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Cultivation ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Manufacturers ,
Preemption ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
THC ,
Virginia
On October 12, hemp producers and retailers notched an early win in litigation challenging the legality of Maryland’s cannabis licensing program as it applies to hemp. By way of background, the Maryland General Assembly...more
10/25/2023
/ Agribusiness ,
Cannabis Act ,
Cannabis Products ,
Hemp ,
Licenses ,
Maryland ,
Plant Based Products ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Recreational Use ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retail Market ,
THC ,
USDA
In September, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued two new rounds of warning letters to online retailers, manufacturers, and distributors for reportedly selling or distributing unauthorized e-cigarette products....more
10/2/2023
/ Distributors ,
E-Cigarettes ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Manufacturers ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Warning Letters
The Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (“CTP”) will hold a two-day public meeting on the agency’s premarket tobacco product application (“PMTA”) process. The meeting will be held October 23-24 and can...more
On May 11, RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company, along with two convenience stores and the American Petroleum and Convenience Store Association, sued the California attorney general and district attorney for Fresno County in their...more
Over the last several months, FDA and DOJ enforcement efforts have increasingly focused on manufacturers and distributors of vapor products covered by the Food, Drug, & Cosmetic Act and the PACT Act....more
This is the second post in our multipart series evaluating the Food and Drug Administration’s response to the Regan-Udall Foundation report on the operations of the Center for Tobacco Products. If you missed our first post,...more
On January 26, the Food and Drug Administration essentially threw up its hands and announced that Congress needs to create a new regulatory pathway for cannabidiol (CBD) products because the existing pathways are inadequate...more
On November 3, Judge Gary L. Sharpe of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York issued a preliminary injunction, blocking cannabis regulators from issuing marijuana retail licenses for five geographic...more
FDA has hired Norman Birenbaum, an experienced cannabis policy expert, as a senior public health advisor at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). The move signals the agency may soon develop a regulatory...more