General – Page 29 – Cannabis Industry

January 31, 2018April 6, 2020 by Duane Morris

“Cannabis 101” Webinar Replay Available

A video replay of the webinar Cannabis 101: Update on the Federal Enforcement & State Regulatory Environment is available to view.

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The webinar covers the topics:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ Memo Rescinding the Cole Memo—What Has Changed?
How Federal Enforcement Works from the Perspective of a Former Federal Prosecutor
Federal Legislative Update—Congressional Attempts to Protect the Cannabis Industry
State Regulatory Actions and How Courts Are Interpreting Cannabis Regulations

Watch above in the embedded viewer, or go to the event page to watch the replay.

January 23, 2018January 23, 2018 by Paul P. Josephson

NJ Governor Murphy Signs Executive Order Expanding New Jersey’s Medical Marijuana Program

Just a week in office, Governor Phil Murphy has taken the first step in process of bringing much needed reform to New Jersey’s medical marijuana program. He signed an Executive Order today calling for his Commissioner of Health and the Board of Medical Examiners to report back in 60 days concerning expansion of the currently limited medical marijuana program consisting of five operating centers.

New Jersey’s existing medical marijuana program is problematic and ineffective for a number of reasons. The current program allows for a very limited number of qualifying patient conditions, has an overly burdensome regulatory process and associated administrative fees that discourage both doctor and patient participation, has an arbitrary and unnecessary limit on the amount of dispensaries permitted to operate in the state. It also places illogical limits on the types of medical cannabis strains permitted to be sold in each dispensary.

Stay tuned for more developments.

January 23, 2018 by Duane Morris

The Duane Morris Cannabis Webinar Series

Duane Morris is presenting a series of monthly webinars throughout 2018 to discuss issues affecting the cannabis industry. Each session will cover a specific subject and feature a “Hot Topics” segment to cover recent developments in the industry.

Join us for the kickoff session on Monday, January 29, 2018, covering topics impacting the cannabis industry.

Cannabis 101: Update on the Federal Enforcement & State Regulatory Environment

Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ Memo Rescinding the Cole Memo—What Has Changed?
How Federal Enforcement Works from the Perspective of a Former Federal Prosecutor
Federal Legislative Update—Congressional Attempts to Protect the Cannabis Industry
State Regulatory Actions and How Courts Are Interpreting Cannabis Regulations

Presenters

Jennifer Fisher, Partner, Duane Morris LLP
George D. Niespolo, Partner and Co-Chair, White-Collar Criminal Defense, Corporate Investigations and Regulatory Compliance Division, Duane Morris LLP
Jerry Levy, Partner, Duane Morris LLP

REGISTER

For more information, as well as upcoming dates and topics, visit the webinar event page.

January 19, 2018January 19, 2018 by Duane Morris

Massachusetts US Attorney Issues Warning to Cannabis Actors

By Alexandra Slavet

On January 8, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, Andrew E. Lelling, noted in an official statement that he “cannot provide assurances that certain categories of participants in the state-level marijuana trade will be immune from federal prosecution.” This appears to be the strongest negative statement yet from a federal prosecutor following US Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ recent rescission of a series of memoranda which had suggested low prioritization of prosecution of those in the cannabis industry. Sessions is offering each local US Attorney the discretion to pursue prosecutions of state-legal actors as long as they follow long established Department of Justice guidelines for all prosecutions. Other US Attorneys have, for the most part, stayed silent on the issue, confirmed no change in approach, or said they would study the issue. Continue reading “Massachusetts US Attorney Issues Warning to Cannabis Actors”

January 10, 2018 by Duane Morris

Pennsylvania Department of Health Publishes Regulations on Special Medical Marijuana Clinical Research Licenses

The Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act uniquely provides for a special class of licenses for growers and dispensaries to partner with medical schools to undertake real clinical research on medical marijuana.

On January 3, 2018, the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) published for comment the final clinical registrant regulations. The process of issuing these licenses will be underway shortly. While other states are focused on increasing the availability of nonmedical adult-use marijuana, Pennsylvania seeks to become the leader in clinical research on the medical benefits of cannabis.

To read the full text of this Alert, please visit the Duane Morris website.

December 19, 2017December 19, 2017 by Joseph J. Machi

San Diego Dispensary Receives the First License to Sell Recreational Cannabis in California

On December 15, 2017, the California Bureau of Cannabis Control granted the first license for the sale of adult use marijuana in California to a San Diego dispensary. Torrey Holistics, located in Sorrento Valley, has sold medicinal marijuana since 2015. The dispensary also received a new license to continue the sale of medicinal marijuana.

The adult use retailer license received by Torrey Holistics is one of ten licenses, including one to another San Diego dispensary, Urbn Leaf in Linda Vista, for the sale of adult use marijuana granted by the California Bureau of Cannabis Control since the agency launched its online licensing system earlier in December. The licenses received by Torrey Holistics and the other medicinal and adult use retailers are temporary though. After 120 days, a permanent license must be obtained by the businesses. The licenses also do not go into effect until January 1, 2018.

For more information or questions on licensing of retailers of medicinal and adult use in California, please contact Joe Machi in our San Diego office or another member of the Duane Morris Cannabis Group.

December 14, 2017 by Joseph J. Machi

Takeaways from the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act

While most of us were hitting the beaches over the summer, California lawmakers updated California’s regulations for the cannabis industry when they passed California Senate Bill 94, or the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (“MAUCRSA” or “the Act”). MAUCRSA repeals the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act and amends the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, resulting in MAUCRSA regulating both adult use (i.e. recreational) cannabis businesses and medicinal cannabis businesses. For purposes of the Act, an adult is considered to be anyone 21 years of age or older. Bus. & Prof. Code § 26001.

While the Act provides a comprehensive regulatory framework for key segments of the cannabis industry, it also raises new questions and concerns that will require further clarification from, and coordination with, California lawmakers and agencies. The discussion below addresses some of the key provisions of the Act.

Continue reading “Takeaways from the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act”

December 14, 2017December 14, 2017 by Duane Morris

The Law and Marijuana

For his monthly column “Nev’s Health Law” in Chicago Lawyer magazine, Duane Morris partner Neville Bilimoria has written a two-part article focusing on different aspects of law related to the cannabis industry.

Part 1: Why having a cannabis practice is no joke

Part 2: A look at the law, science and politics of cannabis

December 13, 2017 by Justin A. Santarosa

California’s Online Licensing System is Now Active

California took the next big step in establishing its legal cannabis market. It officially launched its online licensing system and is now accepting applications for commercial cannabis licenses for retailers, distributors, microbusinesses, testing laboratories and cannabis events. The online system can be used by applicants to easily apply for a temporary and annual commercial cannabis license, submit payments and track the status of an existing application.

All business owners applying for a medical and/or adult use cannabis business license must be registered and have an active account on the licensing system. In addition, those individuals or companies that are considered “owners” of the applicant business will need to register as well in order to submit the necessary information that is required to be disclosed by each “owner.”

The link to the online licensing system can be accessed here: http://online.bcc.ca.gov/.

Cultivators must apply for a cultivation license with the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing program. CalCannabis expects to launch its online application process later this month. The California Department of Public Health is currently accepting paper applications by mail or email for manufacturing licenses.

December 4, 2017April 6, 2020 by Justin A. Santarosa

What Distributors Need to Know About California’s Emergency Cannabis Regulations

On November 16, 2017, the California Bureau of Cannabis Control published emergency regulations governing both the medical and the adult-use cannabis industries in California. Below are the highlights of the emergency regulations and how they may impact distributors of cannabis products.

This post is the fourth in a series of entries on the Duane Morris Cannabis Industry blog that will provide an analysis of the new California emergency regulations. If you have any questions about the regulations, please contact Justin Santarosa in our Los Angeles office. Continue reading “What Distributors Need to Know About California’s Emergency Cannabis Regulations”