Cannabis

  • August 18, 2026

    LA Pot Partnership Deal Void, Calif. Appeals Court Says

    A California state appeals court has affirmed a lower court's determination that a partnership agreement tied to a group of medical marijuana dispensaries could not be enforced because it called for operations that violated a Los Angeles city ordinance.

  • August 18, 2026

    Marriott Gets Trim Of Worker's Tobacco Health Fee Suit

    A Maryland federal judge on Tuesday refused to completely toss a Marriott worker's proposed class action alleging the hotel giant's $15 weekly health fee on employees who use tobacco violated federal benefits law, but trimmed the dispute of some claims as insufficiently backed up. 

  • August 17, 2026

    Altria Tells 4th Circ. ITC Patent Cases Are Unconstitutional

    The U.S. International Trade Commission cannot constitutionally resolve a private patent dispute or bar the importation and domestic sales of an infringing party, Altria told the Fourth Circuit on Monday, asking the appellate court to block the vaping patent case Juul has brought before the ITC.

  • August 17, 2026

    Chicago Pot Co. Recast $2M Investment As Gift, Suit Claims

    Two Ohio investors claimed they were duped into sinking nearly $2 million on a Chicago dispensary under the promise that they would be partial owners, only to learn that their Illinois-based business partners would later recast the investments as gifts, according to a lawsuit filed in Ohio federal court.

  • August 17, 2026

    Virginia Hemp Cos. Lose Bid To Halt THC Cap

    A Virginia federal judge has refused to block a state law placing new potency caps on THC products, ruling that the hemp businesses opposing the law are unlikely to succeed with claims that the law constitutes an unconstitutional taking.

  • August 17, 2026

    NC Court Won't Revisit Pot-Smell Basis For Car Search

    The North Carolina Supreme Court has again affirmed that the smell of cannabis can serve as the basis of a police search, noting that the court had already weighed in on the issue in a similar case earlier this year.

  • August 14, 2026

    In First, 2nd Circ. Allows DNA Warrant Without Match Sample

    The Second Circuit has ruled that a man cannot suppress a court-ordered DNA sample in his murder case even though police had not identified a viable comparison sample from the crime scene, becoming the first federal circuit court to address the question.

  • August 14, 2026

    Hemp Cos. Ask 6th Circ. To Keep Ohio Law On Pause

    Hemp manufacturers and sellers have asked the Sixth Circuit to uphold a lower court's ruling that paused the enforcement of an Ohio law that reclassified their products as marijuana.

  • August 14, 2026

    Lender Looks To Dodge Counterclaims In Cannabis Loan Row

    A married couple who operate a New Jersey cannabis dispensary and are accused of misusing roughly half of a $1.6 million business loan are "retaliating" against their lender, the financing company told a California federal court, asking that the entrepreneurs' countersuit be permanently tossed.

  • August 14, 2026

    ITC Revives Juul Case Against Altria, Scrubs Invalidity Ruling

    The U.S. International Trade Commission vacated an administrative law judge's determination that a Juul vape patent was invalid, reviving the company's case against Altria's NJOY business because of a claim construction issue.

  • August 14, 2026

    Court Clears RI Pot Licensing After Law Drops Residency Rule

    A Rhode Island federal judge on Friday dissolved a court order blocking the state's social equity and adult-use cannabis licensing program, saying recent changes to state law mooted the reasons for enjoining the program in the first place.

  • August 14, 2026

    6th Circ. Says Cops Forcing Man To Pee In His Yard Unlawful

    A Michigan man who was forced to urinate on his front lawn because police, who were conducting a search of his home, would not allow him to use his own bathroom had his Fourth Amendment rights violated, a Sixth Circuit panel determined on Thursday.

  • August 14, 2026

    DC Circ. Says Felon Likely Knew Status In Firearm Case

    The D.C. Circuit won't allow a convicted felon to have a guilty plea for possessing a firearm vacated, saying that his claim that he didn't know he was a felon is undermined by his having spent more than two years in prison.

  • August 13, 2026

    Kratom Cos. Can't Escape Conn. Court's Reach, Father Says

    Several companies tied to Whole Herbs-branded kratom products must face a state lawsuit claiming they caused the overdose death of a 33-year-old man, the man's father said, arguing that Connecticut courts have jurisdiction over the companies because they ultimately knew their products would be sold there.

  • August 13, 2026

    NJ Takes Labor Peace Pact Fight In Pot Case To 3rd Circ.

    New Jersey cannabis regulators filed a notice Thursday that they would appeal a federal court's recent ruling that a state rule requiring marijuana businesses enter into labor peace agreements with unions in order to secure a license is preempted by federal law.

  • August 13, 2026

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Hemp Co.'s $2.75M Destruction Suit

    The Ninth Circuit won't reinstate a suit against the city of Tacoma, Washington, by the owner of a hemp company who alleges the city's police department illegally destroyed $2.75 million worth of industrial hemp as illegal cannabis, saying he failed to establish municipal liability.

  • August 12, 2026

    Wis. Hits Vape Co. With $630K Fine For Banned Products

    The Minnesota-based company behind the Loon vape brand is challenging in federal court a $630,000 fine that Wisconsin imposed after state regulators discovered banned e-cigarettes at two smoke shops, with the company arguing the penalty is unfair because it did not distribute the vapes to these retailers.

  • August 12, 2026

    Texas Judge Keeps Hemp THC Curbs In Place During Suit

    A Texas federal judge has declined to halt new state-led restrictions redesignating intoxicating hemp products as Schedule I substances while a lawsuit challenging them plays out.

  • August 12, 2026

    DEA Tells 4th Circ. Hemp Co. Can't Seek Review Of HHC Rule

    The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is urging the Fourth Circuit to throw out a hemp company's challenge to a recent rule allegedly designating a psychoactive hemp-derived compound as a Schedule I substance, saying the rule is a minor administrative change that cannot be challenged through a petition for review.

  • August 11, 2026

    US Fights Ayahuasca Church's $240K Fee Bid As Excessive

    The U.S. government is slamming as "exorbitant" a Phoenix church's request for $240,000 in fees — a sum racked up while the church was arguing for a $2 million attorney payout — arguing that the litigation was unnecessary because the church could have secured the right to use the psychoactive beverage ayahuasca in religious ceremonies via an administrative process.

  • August 11, 2026

    Pot Law Labor Deal Requirement Is Preempted, NJ Judge Says

    A New Jersey law requiring cannabis operators in the state to enter into labor peace agreements with labor unions in order to secure a license is preempted by federal labor law, a federal judge has ruled, providing the state with a quicker path to appeal in the Third Circuit.

  • August 11, 2026

    Virginia Says Hemp Cos. Can't Block New THC Limits

    The day before a court hearing on a motion for a temporary restraining order, Virginia officials are urging a federal judge not to halt enforcement of the state's new THC potency caps, saying the hemp businesses' request to do so "rests on a distorted premise."

  • August 11, 2026

    Hemp Co. Vireo Aims To Toss Ownership Contract Claims

    Hemp and THC beverage maker Vireo Growth Inc. and its affiliates are asking a Minnesota federal court to toss the bulk of a suit alleging that Vireo failed to deliver on a partnership and interest contract, saying the plaintiffs' claims are largely based on a contract that was never signed or executed.

  • August 10, 2026

    Cannabis Clients Sue Atty Over Missed Deadline In $5.7M Suit

    Los Angeles cannabis entrepreneurs are suing their former attorney for legal malpractice in California state court, claiming that she caused the permanent end of their $5.7 million fire damage lawsuit against a landlord who they say allowed a "local transient" to start a fire on a neighboring property.

  • August 10, 2026

    9th Circ. Backs FDA's Denial Of Fruit-, Candy-Flavored Vapes

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday affirmed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's denial of Drip More LLC's applications to sell candy- and fruit-flavored vapes, saying the company didn't show those flavors provide an additional benefit to adult smokers that justifies the added risks that young people will use the products.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lesson: Diagnose Before Arguing

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    Law school often skips over explicitly teaching students how to determine what kind of problem a case presents before they commit to a particular doctrinal path, which risks building arguments that are internally coherent but externally misaligned, says Melanie Oxhorn at Kobre & Kim.

  • Trump's Psychedelics EO Creates A Regulatory Collision

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    Sponsors pursuing U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for psychedelic drug access must tackle how to generate regulatory-grade safety and efficacy data in controlled trials when President Donald Trump's recent executive order on psychedelics mandates uncontrolled access through Right to Try, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and Odette Hauke at Odette Alina.

  • Becoming The Biz-Savvy GC That Portfolio Companies Need

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    Candidates for general counsel roles at private equity-backed portfolio companies should prioritize proving their sector-specific experience, commercial judgment and ease with uncertainty — and attorneys hoping to be candidates in five to 10 years should start working on those skills now, says Dimitri Mastrocola at Major Lindsey.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Courts Can Survive The Tech Revolution

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    Colorado Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter and Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Lino Lipinsky de Orlov discuss how artificial intelligence has already fundamentally altered the legal system and offer tips for courts navigating deepfakes, hallucinations and a gap in access to AI tools.

  • 3 AI Adoption Mistakes GCs Should Avoid

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    The pressure in-house legal teams face to quickly adopt artificial intelligence tools, combined with budget constraints and the need to evaluate a crowded market of options, sets the stage for implementation mistakes that are often difficult to undo, says former 23andMe general counsel Guy Chayoun.

  • Series

    Playing Basketball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My grandfather used to say "I wear your jersey" as shorthand for wholly committing to support someone with loyalty and integrity — ideals that have shaped my life on the basketball court and in legal practice, says Tracy Schimelfenig at Schimelfenig Legal.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Georgia Court Has Business On Its Mind

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    Thanks to recent legislation, the Georgia State-wide Business Court will soon offer business litigants greater access to the court than ever before, further enhancing the court's emphasis on efficiency, predictability and accessibility for sophisticated commercial disputes, says former GSBC judge Walt Davis at Jones Day.

  • 4 Emerging Approaches To AI Protective Order Language

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    Over the last year, at least five federal district courts have issued or analyzed specific protective order provisions restricting the use of generative artificial intelligence platforms with protected materials, establishing that proactive AI-specific provisions are now standard practice and demonstrating that no single model works for every case, says Joel Bush at Kilpatrick.

  • Accelerated Psychedelic Therapy Pathways Require Caution

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    President Donald Trump's new executive order aiming to accelerate the approval of psychedelic drugs for the treatment of mental health disorders will likely bolster investigational psychedelic therapies, but parties within the psychedelic product supply chain will still need to prepare for potentially burdensome compliance requirements, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Heppner Ruling Left AI Privilege Risk For Lawyers Unresolved

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    While a New York federal judge’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Heppner resolved a privilege question surrounding client-side artificial intelligence use, it did not address how to mitigate the risks that can arise when confidential information enters the operative context of an AI system used by an attorney, says Jianfei Chen at Quarles & Brady​​​​​​​.

  • The Ethics And Practicalities Of Representing AI Agents

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    With autonomous artificial intelligence agents now able to take action without explicit instructions from — or the awareness of — their human owners, the bar must confront whether existing frameworks like informed consent and client privilege will be sufficient on the day an AI agent calls seeking counsel, say attorneys at Morrison Cohen.

  • Series

    Speed Jigsaw Puzzling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My passion for speed puzzling — I can complete a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle in under 50 minutes — has sharpened my legal skills in more ways than one, with both disciplines requiring patience, precision and the ability to keep the bigger picture in mind while working through the details, says Tazia Statucki at Proskauer.

  • 2 AI Snafus Show Why Attys Can't Outsource Judgment

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    The recent incident involving Sullivan & Cromwell where citations in a filed motion were fabricated by artificial intelligence, as well as a punitive ruling from the Sixth Circuit in U.S. v. Farris, demonstrate that the obligation to supervise AI has belonged and always will belong to lawyers, says John Powell at the Kentucky School Boards Association.

  • Previewing FDA Preapproval Access In Psychedelics EO

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    The second of two pathways for psychedelic drug access outlined in President Donald Trump's recent executive order constitutes an unprecedented expansion of the Right to Try Act, which could fundamentally alter the psychedelic access landscape while presenting significant regulatory, operational and legal challenges, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • Previewing FDA National Priority Vouchers In Psychedelics EO

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    President Donald Trump's recent executive order on psychedelic drug access represents a watershed moment in federal drug policy, but its significance lies in two distinct regulatory pathways, the first being the Commissioner's National Priority Vouchers, which offer a significant opportunity to compress U.S. Food and Drug Administration review, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and Odette Hauke at Odette Alina.

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