The past several weeks (May 11-27, 2025) saw a surge of activity targeting intoxicating consumable hemp products, as states move to enact new regulations. These are the latest developments in the field of consumable hemp...more
5/29/2025
/ Cannabis Products ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Government Agencies ,
Hemp ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Attorneys General ,
State Legislatures ,
THC
As discussed in multiple Cannabis Control Commission (“Commission”) meetings over the past several months, the Commission has finally moved to intervene in a pending Superior Court case – Theory Wellness, Inc. et al. v. Town...more
With DEA’s marijuana rescheduling hearing now delayed indefinitely, the most promising prospect for meaningful cannabis reform may lie in the hands of Congress. Seemingly undeterred by the strong headwinds that have scuttled...more
5/22/2025
/ Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
DEA ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Government Agencies ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform
Although the prospect of an expanded recreational market has been on the horizon since 2022 when Rhode Island legalized recreational cannabis, Ocean State residents continue to endure limited access to such products, which...more
5/6/2025
/ Cannabis Products ,
Dispensaries ,
Fees ,
Filing Requirements ,
Licensing Rules ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government
Given that Hawaii is often considered synonymous with “hang loose” counterculture, perhaps it is unsuprising that the state’s consumable hemp product market has crested in recent years as legislators continue to balk at...more
The radiant Arizona sun may soon be setting for unlicensed consumable hemp product retailers who have benefitted from sporadic and inconsistent enforcement. Indeed, a recent letter from Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes...more
The US Virgin Islands (“USVI”) is finally inching closer to launching a dual medical and adult-use cannabis program. Earlier this week the USVI Office of Cannabis Regulation (“OCR”) announced that applications for cultivation...more
3/31/2025
/ Business Licenses ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Filing Requirements ,
License Applications ,
Licensing Rules ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Recreational Use ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
Virgin Islands
Perhaps recognizing an enforcement gap in the evolving struggle to protect consumers from what Governor Newsom has characterized as a grave threat to public health and safety, the California legislature is taking steps to...more
3/19/2025
/ California ,
Cannabis Products ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Enforcement ,
Farm Bill ,
Hemp ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Online Marketplace ,
Online Platforms ,
Senate Judiciary Committee ,
Social Media ,
State and Local Government ,
THC
Is this the year that Pennsylvania finally legalizes adult-use cannabis? While some battle-scarred skeptics remain, there is fresh optimism in the Commonwealth with both the Governor and several key legislators pushing for...more
2/18/2025
/ Business Licenses ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Public Health ,
Recreational Use ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Social Equity Programs ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets
We are now less than one week away from the long-awaited commencement of Minnesota’s adult-use cannabis business licensing round and prospective applicants are earnestly preparing to file business license applications as...more
2/13/2025
/ Agribusiness ,
Business Licenses ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Filing Requirements ,
License Applications ,
Licensing Rules ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Recreational Use ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Social Equity Programs
At the end of last year, it seemed like Tennessee’s final hemp-derived cannabinoid (“HDC”) rules would (finally) take effect as scheduled on December 26, 2024. As we discussed in an earlier blog post, since 2023 when the...more
1/28/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Cannabis Products ,
Final Rules ,
Hemp ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
Tennessee ,
THC
As expected, before the end of session, Congress authorized another 1-year extension of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (the “2018 Farm Bill”), which had already been extended for one year beyond its initial...more
1/6/2025
/ Agribusiness ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Congressional Committees ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Farm Bill ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Cultivation ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Regulatory Agenda
In the wake of a prior statement disavowing a schedule that had been widely circulated and purported to outline the Office of Cannabis Regulation’s (“OCR”) timeline for opening cannabis license applications, on December 16,...more
12/20/2024
/ Agribusiness ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Dispensaries ,
Doing Business ,
License Applications ,
Licensing Rules ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Recreational Use ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retail Market ,
State and Local Government
After months of uncertainty and what Administrative Law Judge John J. Mulrooney called “spirited motion practice by the Designated Participants,” we finally have some clarity on the path forward toward the potential...more
After an objectively troubled launch that spurred litigation, Tennessee’s permanent hemp-derived cannabinoid licensing regulations are finally set to take effect at the end of this month. This would mark the culmination of a...more
12/5/2024
/ Agribusiness ,
Business Licenses ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Dispensaries ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
State and Local Government
The long-awaited Senate version of the Farm Bill was finally released earlier this week as the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry and Committee Chair Senator Debbie Stabenow introduced the Rural...more
In perhaps his most controversial cabinet appointment yet, earlier today, President-elect Trump said he would nominate Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz as U.S. Attorney General. Although Gaetz’s nomination was met with skepticism by...more
11/14/2024
/ Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
DEA ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Donald Trump ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Florida ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Presidential Elections ,
Recreation ,
SAFE ,
U.S. House
On April 17, 2024, the Virgin Islands Cannabis Advisory Board (“VICAB”) approved regulations outlining the requirements for its new adult-use cannabis program, including details regarding the competitive merit-based...more
11/13/2024
/ Business Licenses ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Deadlines ,
Dispensaries ,
License Applications ,
Manufacturers ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Research and Development ,
Virgin Islands
With election day less than 24 hours away, we wanted to provide a primer on Massachusetts Ballot Question 4, which, if you believe recent voter polls, may soon make the Commonwealth just the second state in the nation to...more
In a decision that reads as one of the strongest endorsements of state-based intoxicating hemp regulatory controls in recent memory, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey (“Court”) recently upheld, in part,...more
With certain hemp operators and trade groups enjoying varying degrees of success challenging new state laws and regulations governing intoxicating hemp products, copycat lawsuits are being filed around the country, including,...more
10/24/2024
/ Agribusiness ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Dispensaries ,
Farm Bill ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Cultivation ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Louisiana ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
State and Local Government
As an update to our previous blog post on the legal challenge filed by the U.S. Hemp Roundtable and other hemp operators to California’s new emergency hemp regulations, on October 11, 2024, the Superior Court of California...more
As we discussed during a recent webinar, the new emergency regulations would disrupt the existing hemp market in California and effectively ban the production and sale of all intoxicating hemp products in the state. ...more
10/11/2024
/ Agribusiness ,
California ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Dispensaries ,
Due Process ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
New Regulations ,
Plant Based Products ,
Public Health ,
Recreational Use ,
State and Local Government ,
State Bans
With the persisting uncertainty surrounding the next iteration of the Farm Bill and its treatment of hemp-derived consumable products, perhaps it should come as no surprise that legislators on Capitol Hill have proposed...more
9/27/2024
/ Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Enforcement ,
Farm Bill ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Hemp ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
On September 17, 2024, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (“DHSS”) published a letter clarifying its enforcement policy concerning certain psychoactive hemp products that were the target of recent executive...more
9/19/2024
/ Consumer Protection Laws ,
Embargo ,
Enforcement ,
Executive Orders ,
Governor Parson ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State and Local Government