legalize – Cannabis Industry

July 23, 2024 by Seth A. Goldberg

Overwhelming Support for Rescheduling or De-scheduling Cannabis in DEA Comments

The public comment period for the DEA’s proposed rulemaking to reschedule cannabis from a Schedule I controlled substance to a Schedule III drug has ended. Approximately 43,000 comments were submitted! As Headset reports, this is the most comments received in response to a DEA proposed rule, and the comments were overwhelmingly in favor of cannabis either being moved to Schedule III or being de-scheduled and fully legalized altogether. According to Headset, 9 out of 10 comments were in favor of removing cannabis from Schedule I, with 35% of commenters supporting rescheduling and 57% supporting de-scheduling. Of course, many of the proponents of de-scheduling would support rescheduling as opposed to leaving cannabis under Schedule I. In contrast, just 7% of commenters advocated no change.

October 6, 2022 by Seth A. Goldberg

President Biden’s Pardon for Simple Marijuana Convictions

Today, President Biden took executive action and pardoned those convicted of simple possession of marijuana under the federal Controlled Substances Act, and encouraged state governors to issue similar pardons to those convicted of simple marijuana possession under their state’s laws. In issuing the pardon, President Biden explained: “Criminal records for marijuana possession have also imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities. And while white and Black and brown people use marijuana at similar rates, Black and brown people have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionate rates.” He also asks the Secretary of Health “to initiate the administrative process to review expeditiously how marijuana is scheduled under federal law,” noting that marijuana is scheduled higher than fentanyl and methamphetamine. The executive action could mark the real beginning of the ending of the federal prohibition on marijuana. As President Biden stated, “Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. It’s time that we right these wrongs.”

November 4, 2020November 4, 2020 by Seth A. Goldberg

State-Legal Marijuana a Clear Winner in 2020 Voting

Voters in the five states where the legalization of marijuana was on the ballot voted in favor.

In the populous states of New Jersey and Arizona, voters legalized marijuana for recreational use by adults over the age of 21. Given New Jersey’s proximity to New York and Pennsylvania, where medical marijuana programs have been popular, legalization in New Jersey could have a domino effect in the northeast, especially considering the tax revenue that will be gained by New Jersey from New York and Pennsylvania residents who travel there every day for work, the Jersey shore and casinos, and other reasons.

Voters in South Dakota and Montana also voted to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes, South Dakota voters also approved medical marijuana, and voters in Mississippi voted to legalize marijuana for medical purposes to treat 22 qualifying health conditions.

Seth Goldberg is a Team Lead of the Cannabis Industry Practice at Duane Morris.

March 19, 2015June 14, 2017 by Seth A. Goldberg

Bankers, Lawyers, and the Conflict Between State and Federal Marijuana Laws

An article in The Philadelphia Inquirer reported about the reluctance of major banks to participate in the marijuana industries in those states that have legalized marijuana for recreational and/or medicinal purposes because marijuana is still a Schedule 1 controlled substance under the federal Controlled Substance Act. I have previously written that lawyers in those states share similar concerns because the rules of ethics prohibit lawyers from assisting clients in illegal activities.

The conflict between state legalization and federal criminalization of marijuana thus appears to be depriving the businesses and individuals, such as investors, growers, manufacturers, dispensaries, physicians, patients, and consumers, currently or potentially participating in the emerging marijuana industry from the two resources – lawyers and bankers – that are arguably the most important to the establishment and sustained growth of an emerging, regulated industry. This is especially concerning given the importance to all citizens of the careful implementation of marijuana legislation. Continue reading “Bankers, Lawyers, and the Conflict Between State and Federal Marijuana Laws”