News & Analysis as of September 20, 2024

Medical Marijuana › Cole Memorandum

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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 -

The Week in Weed: April 2024

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 4/5/2024

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, Virginia Governor Youngkin took action on the retail market bill. The Florida Supreme Court handed down...more

Cannabis Industry Quarterly Update: Q2 2023

Benesch on 7/27/2023

There Has Been Little Movement in Federal Legalization. This has led to cannabis investors and companies to downgrade expectations for federal legalization and focus their strategies on state reform. Federal lawmakers...more

Attorney General Garland Reconfirms the DOJ’s Hands-Off Approach Toward Federal Marijuana Prosecution

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 5/3/2022

Attorney General Merrick Garland has reiterated that the Department of Justice will not prioritize prosecuting marijuana use, a position that Garland expressed during his confirmation hearings. In remarks in front of a Senate...more

Several States May Join the Cannabis Legalization Bandwagon this November

ArentFox Schiff on 10/15/2020

Election Day 2020 is around the corner. Today, cannabis use is legal either for medicinal or adult recreational use (or both) in 35 states. Of those, adult recreational use is legal in 11 states and Washington, D.C....more

States’ Efforts to Blunt Federal Criminalization of Marijuana

Butler Snow LLP on 9/16/2020

Medical marijuana will be on the ballot this November in Mississippi. Initiative 65 proposes to amend the Mississippi Constitution to allow citizens, certified by physicians, to use medical marijuana. For the most part,...more

The House Passes Cannabis Banking Legislation: Implications for the Financial Services Industry

White & Case LLP on 10/9/2019

On September 25, 2019, the US House of Representatives ("House") passed, by a vote of 321 to 103, the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act ("SAFE Banking Act"), bipartisan legislation designed to secure and regulate...more

Still Smoking: Medical Marijuana in Maryland and What You Need to Know

Baker Donelson on 3/22/2019

Maryland first joined the "legal marijuana" party back in 2014, and in June 2017, the Maryland Medical Marijuana Commission licensed the first dispensary. Originally published in Maryland State Bar Association Section of...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

Financial Services and the Marijuana Industry: the U.S. House Mulls Regulatory Reform for Financial Institutions and...

Ballard Spahr LLP on 2/19/2019

Federal legislators continue to struggle over the growing disconnect between increasing State legalization of the cannabis industry, and the continued illegality of cannabis under federal law....more

Cannabis Advertising

Womble Bond Dickinson on 10/4/2018

On January 4th, Attorney General Jeff Sessions took a big step backward. He announced that the Department of Justice rescinded the " Cole Memo " and other internal enforcement guidelines, issued under the Obama Administration...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

Cannabis, Cash, and Crime

Buchalter on 7/17/2018

ON OCTOBER 2, 2012, kidnappers robbed and abducted a marijuana dispensary owner from his Newport Beach home. They then drove him to the Mojave Desert where they tortured him and demanded that he reveal where he had buried his...more

Providing Banking Services to the Legal Marijuana Industry: Mitigating Risks to Maximize Potential Rewards

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 5/29/2018

Since 1996, when California became the first state to legalize marijuana (at the time, for medicinal purposes only), 28 additional states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana to some extent. Public support...more

Cannabis Industry Update – April 2018

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on 4/25/2018

With so much happening in the cannabis industry we thought we’d take this time to highlight some of the industry’s most recent happenings. ...more

Bank On It: States Taking a Proactive Approach to Cannabis Banking

Burns & Levinson LLP on 3/7/2018

When it comes to the cannabis industry, banks and other financial institutions can find themselves in a particularly murky legal waters (see Banking & Cannabis: Where Do Things Stand?). Federal rules dictate that banks and...more

Web Exclusive: January 2018: The Top 18 Labor And Employment Law Stories

Fisher Phillips on 2/8/2018

It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there were an unprecedented number of changes each month in 2017—and if January is any...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

Navigating the Shifting Winds of Marijuana Enforcement: A Hazy Issue for Employers

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP on 1/30/2018

The legal state of marijuana continues to be in flux, potentially creating thorny issues for employers related to drug testing and policy drafting and execution. Though marijuana is illegal under federal law, as of January...more

DOJ Marijuana Memo Goes Up in Smoke – Should Companies Inhale or Exhale?

Baker Donelson on 1/22/2018

On January 4, Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded Obama-era guidance outlining the federal policy of non-interference with state-run marijuana programs. The Attorney General's actions have rocked the cannabis industry....more

Sessions Isn’t Blowing Smoke—Marijuana Enforcement Is Back on the Books

Blank Rome LLP on 1/17/2018

At the beginning of January, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a one-page memorandum rescinding the Obama-era approach to marijuana enforcement, which had largely been “hands-off” on prosecuting marijuana users and...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

Effect Of The Sessions Memorandum On State Medical Marijuana Programs

Fox Rothschild LLP on 1/15/2018

Earlier this month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a Memorandum rescinding the Obama Administration’s “hands off” policy with respect to the prosecution of licensed cannabis distribution in states where medical or...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

DOJ Memo Clouds Marijuana Industry's Future

Holland & Knight LLP on 1/10/2018

• The marijuana industry that was expected to generate roughly $40 billion in economic impact nationwide by 2021 is at a crossroads given a recent move by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to eliminate certain protections...more

Assessing the Sessions Memo’s Impact on Legalized Marijuana

Burns & Levinson LLP on 1/10/2018

As most are by now likely aware, last Thursday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memorandum to all U.S. Attorneys entitled “Marijuana Enforcement,” which noted that decisions to prosecute even legal marijuana have...more

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Medical Marijuana › Cole Memorandum

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