Part of the reason we started a Cannabis Industry team at a Southeastern-based law firm before any Southeastern state had adopted a marijuana program was because we had a hunch that the expansion of cannabis would eventually...more
12/6/2024
/ Agribusiness ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Dispensaries ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Healthcare ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Cultivation ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State and Local Government ,
THC
Even the most responsible hemp operator should understand that it operates in a world full of risk. But I doubt many of them believe they might be accused of racketeering. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments...more
10/22/2024
/ Business Litigation ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Corrupt Organizations Act (COA) ,
Dispensaries ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Labeling ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Racketeering ,
RICO
During this time of great tension and competition between the marijuana and hemp industries, it is refreshing to see efforts at compromise. The initial draft of the Cannabinoid Safety and Regulation Act, proposed last week by...more
10/7/2024
/ Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Dispensaries ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Cultivation ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
State and Local Government
It’s hard to be surprised when you’ve been writing and talking about government decisions about the cannabis industry over the past decade. But I’ll admit that my eyebrows raised when I read a recent letter from the solicitor...more
Supporters of hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) who hoped the Food and Drug Administration would adopt a more progressive view of CBD were disappointed when FDA Chief Robert Califf recently testified that FDA does not consider...more
4/23/2024
/ Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Dietary Supplements ,
Farm Bill ,
FDA Approval ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Hemp ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements
Earlier this week, the Florida legislature passed a bill (SB 1698) that will limit the amount of THC in hemp-derived products and threatens to upend the novel cannabinoid industry in the state.
For the past few years,...more
3/12/2024
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Florida ,
Governor DeSantis ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
New Legislation ,
State and Local Government
Jimmy Buffett was a spirit animal of the Budding Trends blog. We don’t quote from him as often as we do the Grateful Dead, Phish, Widespread Panic, or popular movies, but maybe because in many ways his lyrics are too good for...more
9/11/2023
/ Agribusiness ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Dispensaries ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Cultivation ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Recreational Use
Last week in a small hearing room in a House office building, the House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services held a hearing titled “Hemp in the Modern World: The Years long Wait for...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
In the pilot episode of NBC’s Parks and Recreation, Leslie Knope, deputy director of the Pawnee Parks and Recreation Department, promises her constituents she will fill in “the pit” that has become a hazard to her community...more
Given the explosive growth of cannabis products and the increasing number of states that have legalized marijuana for medicinal or adult use (nearly 40 at last count), employers across the country are asking whether they can...more
4/22/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Drug Testing ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Section 301 ,
State and Local Government ,
Termination
In our modern world of a booming CBD industry and an increasing number of states that have legalized marijuana, can you terminate an employee for a positive drug test for marijuana? What if the test shows marijuana...more
4/6/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Disability ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Drug Testing ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
State and Local Government ,
Summary Judgment ,
Termination
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
Mahatma Gandhi once said that “[i]t is health that is the real wealth, and not pieces of gold and silver.” For the six sellers of CBD-containing products targeted by the Federal Trade Commission last week, health claims will...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
The relationship between the cannabis industry and intellectual property laws in the United States is unique and complicated, in many ways mirroring the nation’s collective views on the cannabis plant. This is unfortunate, in...more
8/7/2020
/ Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Dietary Supplements ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Popular ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
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
On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent warning letters to three companies that sell cannabidiol (CBD) products regarding the health claims found in the companies’ advertisements. The FTC did not make the letters...more
9/12/2019
/ Advertising ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Dietary Supplements ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Claims ,
Hemp ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Marijuana-Infused Edibles ,
Product Labels ,
Warning Letters
Cannabidiol (CBD) – a non-psychoactive component of cannabis with numerous claimed health benefits – has steadily grown in popularity in recent years. This upward trajectory went into overdrive with the passage of the...more
7/25/2019
/ Advertising ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Dietary Supplements ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Claims ,
Hemp ,
Manufacturers ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Marketing ,
Product Labels
Centuries after American colonists were required by law to grow hemp, and decades after it was later outlawed by Congress, one of the nation’s oldest and most versatile crops appears to be having a moment.
The Jan. 1...more
7/2/2019
/ Banking Sector ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Farm Bill ,
Financial Institutions ,
Hemp ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Risk Mitigation
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has offered much-needed clarity about the manufacture, distribution and sale of hemp and hemp-derived products. The USDA’s recent pronouncement, however, may not be the news...more
6/4/2019
/ Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Controlled Substances ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Dispensaries ,
Farm Bill ,
Felonies ,
Hemp ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Schedule I Drugs ,
Shipping ,
Transportation Industry ,
USDA
Centuries after American colonists were required by law to grow hemp, and decades after it was then outlawed by Congress, one of the nation’s oldest and most versatile crops is poised for a resurgence. The 2018 Farm Bill,...more
2/25/2019
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Department of Agriculture ,
Farm Bill ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Hemp ,
Investors ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Research and Development