Cannabis

  • February 21, 2024

    Kratom Buyers Say Sellers Hid Opioid-Like Addiction Risks

    A pair of kratom users are suing Ashlynn Marketing Group Inc., alleging the company hid the fact that its kratom-based products are addictive in a similar way to opioids while marketing them as safe and natural supplements.

  • February 20, 2024

    Calif. Tribe Looks To Undo Tobacco Noncompliance Listing

    The Twenty-Nine Palms of Mission Indians is suing the U.S. government in California federal court over its decision to place the tribe on a "non-compliant list" under a law that targets illegal tobacco trafficking, arguing that its operations comply with all applicable state laws.

  • February 20, 2024

    Tenn. Jury Sides With Cops Over Raids On Legal CBD Shops

    A Tennessee federal jury rejected claims that a county and local law enforcement engaged in a conspiracy to violate a CBD shop owner's civil rights by raiding and shuttering his and others' stores, despite allegedly knowing that the products he sold were legal under both state and federal law.

  • February 20, 2024

    Skipped Hearing Sinks Conn. Pot Store Fight, Court Told  

    A lawsuit seeking to revoke the approval of a cannabis retail permit in Stamford, Connecticut, cannot proceed because a coalition of anti-pot taxpayers followed the wrong process by skipping a public hearing and suing instead, the city's counsel told a state judge during an oral argument on Tuesday.

  • February 20, 2024

    Pot Cos. Say They'll Be Ruined Unless Detroit Facility Opens

    Four cannabis companies have urged a Michigan federal court to prohibit the city of Detroit from taking any action that would impede their $15 million marijuana processing facility from opening, saying they are "in immediate danger of financial ruin" unless they operate the site as planned.

  • February 20, 2024

    Pot Shop Says Trade Group CEO Bungled License Bid

    The leader of a cannabis industry trade group is being accused in a lawsuit of convincing the owner of a dispensary to invest in what he was promised would be a "guaranteed" license to operate another retail location, only to mishandle the process.

  • February 16, 2024

    Drugs, Sex, Antisemitism Top Complaint Against Calif. Judge

    A California state judge is facing an ethics complaint that accuses him of using a cannabis oil vape pen, pantomiming "something similar to a lap dance" on a woman married to a local public defender and repeatedly calling another public defender an antisemitic slur during a camping trip.

  • February 16, 2024

    ADA Does Not Protect Medical Pot Use, Vt. Court Says

    A Vermont transit worker can't pursue a civil rights lawsuit against his employer who terminated him after he tested positive for marijuana, a Vermont federal judge has ruled, saying the Americans with Disabilities Act doesn't protect people with disabilities treated with medical marijuana.

  • February 16, 2024

    The Congressman Who Reps Cannabis Reform On Capitol Hill

    Rep. Earl Blumenauer speaks to Law360 about the prospects for Congress enacting marijuana reform, why he supports moving cannabis to Schedule III and some of the drug policy triumphs and setbacks in his home state of Oregon.

  • February 15, 2024

    Colo. Cannabis Co. Says It Was Stiffed On $1.4M Seed Bill

    A Colorado-based supplier of feminized cannabis seeds is claiming that an Oregon farming company and the private investment bank that backed it have skipped out on a $1.4 million bill, according to a complaint filed in Boulder County District Court.

  • February 15, 2024

    What Rescheduling Pot Would Mean For Criminal Justice Reform

    While federal drug enforcers mull a recommendation from health regulators to loosen restrictions on marijuana, criminal justice reformers are warning that rescheduling the drug would not realize President Joe Biden's campaign promise to decriminalize marijuana.

  • February 15, 2024

    8 Men Get Jail Time In $2M Hemp Wine Pump-And-Dump Ploy

    Ohio federal prosecutors have announced the convictions of eight men charged with participating in a pump-and-dump scheme meant to boost the Global Resource Energy Inc. stock price, which purportedly planned to offer hemp-infused wine.

  • February 14, 2024

    Energy Co. Says Tribal Court Being Used To Duck $12M Award

    Merit Energy Operations is asking a federal district court to block two Wyoming tribes from using the tribal judicial system to vacate a $12.6 million arbitration award against them, saying the move is a blatant attempt to escape the ultimate result in the case.

  • February 14, 2024

    SEC Says Bankruptcy Doesn't Stop Crowdfunding Fraud Case

    Securities regulators are urging a Michigan federal judge to allow them to press on with their claims against the alleged mastermind behind a $2 million crowdfunding scheme — who has since quietly changed his name and allegedly bilked his attorney — arguing that his recent bankruptcy filing shouldn't pause proceedings.

  • February 14, 2024

    Hemp Seller's Suit Over Ga. Sheriff's Raid Sent To State Court

    A lawsuit alleging a Georgia sheriff illegally seized legal cannabis products from a hemp extract company has been sent back to state court after a district judge said a federal probe into the business did not justify keeping the case in his court.

  • February 14, 2024

    Juul Gets More Antitrust Claims To Arbitration

    A California federal judge has sent two more claims against Juul to arbitration and dismissed a request for an injunction to block Altria's already-unwound investment in the company.

  • February 14, 2024

    Atty For Ex-Trump Official Accused Of Leaking Deposition

    The plaintiff in a federal fraud suit against a former Trump administrative State Department official and a Philadelphia attorney wants the defendants' attorney sanctioned and tossed from the case after the attorney allegedly shared depositions marked confidential with a third-party witness.

  • February 14, 2024

    Ex-Atty Can't Delay Prison Amid Pot Bribe Appeal, Judge Says

    A Boston federal judge on Wednesday shot down a former Massachusetts attorney's request to put off his 24-month prison sentence while appealing his conviction for bribing a local police chief to boost his client's retail cannabis application.

  • February 13, 2024

    Md. Cannabis Regulators Urge Court Not To Halt Licensure

    Maryland's cannabis regulators urged a federal judge to reject an out-of-state entrepreneur's bid to halt the lottery for social equity cannabis licenses on claims it's unconstitutional, saying she doesn't have standing because she didn't actually apply and wouldn't have qualified anyways.

  • February 13, 2024

    Samsung Echoes LG Chem In Vape Battery Arguments

    Samsung told a Houston appellate court Tuesday that it shouldn't be held liable for injuries a man incurred after a lithium-ion battery exploded in his pocket, saying the case fell outside the scope of recent battery explosion cases state courts have been wrangling with, despite making substantially similar arguments to the panel.

  • February 13, 2024

    Cannabis Site Co. Moves To Ax 'Rambling' Securities Suit

    Decentral Life and its licensees asked a Colorado federal judge Monday to toss an investor's "rambling and incomprehensible" securities fraud suit accusing them of making false statements to trick him into investing more than $1.7 million, arguing most of his allegations fail under the federal pleading requirements.

  • February 13, 2024

    Mass. Attys Welcome New Guardrails On Trial Time Limits

    Massachusetts attorneys largely welcomed a recent decision by the state's high court blessing time limits in certain situations in civil trials, citing the ruling's helpful guidance and limitations that will likely make ticking clocks less common in state courts than their federal counterparts.

  • February 13, 2024

    Ex-Atty Appealing Pot Bribe Conviction Says Prison Can Wait

    A former Massachusetts attorney convicted over an alleged cannabis licensing quid pro quo told a Boston federal judge Tuesday that multiple close-call legal issues warrant a delay of his 24-month prison sentence until the First Circuit decides his forthcoming appeal.

  • February 13, 2024

    Officer Says He Was Denied Work Due To Race, Med. Pot Use

    A Connecticut police officer who was injured in training says he was wrongfully denied disability retirement and was unable to secure administrative work after injuring his neck, experiencing discrimination based on his race and ethnicity as well as his physical disability.

  • February 13, 2024

    Pot Distributor Accuses 'Amazon Of Hemp' Of Breaking Contract

    A cannabis distribution company and a family farm are suing online retailer Mood Product Group LLC in North Carolina state court, saying Mood violated a distribution contract and took confidential information in a bid to cut its partners out of the supply chain.

Expert Analysis

  • Mallory Ruling Leaves Personal Jurisdiction Deeply Unsettled

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    In Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway, a closely divided U.S. Supreme Court recently rolled back key aspects of its 2017 opinion in Daimler AG v. Bauman that limited personal jurisdiction, leaving as many questions for businesses as it answers, say John Cerreta and James Rotondo at Day Pitney.

  • Series

    NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Compliance Updates In Q2

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    Among the most significant developments from last quarter, New York regulators and policymakers focused on advancing changes to the supervisory framework for banks after the failure of Signature Bank and continued efforts to keep the Empire State at the forefront of digital asset industry regulation, says Will Giles at Cravath.

  • NY, NJ Regs Give Clarity To Cannabis Investors, Ancillaries

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    Proposed laws and regulations in New York and New Jersey would clarify some previously murky legal waters, thus expanding the ability of investors, lenders and ancillary service providers to work with marijuana business in these states, say David Waxman and Heidi Urness at McGlinchey Stafford.

  • 5 Ways Firms Can Rethink Office Design In A Hybrid World

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    As workplaces across the country adapt to flexible work, law firms must prioritize individuality, amenities and technology in office design, says Kristin Cerutti at Nelson Worldwide.

  • New Law Will Upend Washington's CBD Industry

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    Though many questions remain on a Washington law set to go into effect this month that will require retailers to obtain licensure to sell federally legal CBD, the statute’s economic impacts are sure to be enormous, says Jack Scrantom at Harris Bricken.

  • Opinion

    Bar Score Is Best Hiring Metric Post-Affirmative Action

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling striking down affirmative action admissions policies, law firms looking to foster diversity in hiring should view an applicant's Multistate Bar Examination score as the best metric of legal ability — over law school name or GPA, says attorney Alice Griffin.

  • FDA Trends Show Compliance Priorities For Supplement Cos.

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    Several recent developments at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration affecting dietary supplements provide practical insight into why companies should focus their compliance and risk management operations on the fundamentals, says Nicholas Diamond at Jackson Walker.

  • Ghosting In BigLaw: How To Come Back From Lack Of Feedback

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    Junior associates can feel powerless when senior colleagues cut off contact instead of providing useful feedback, but young attorneys can get back on track by focusing on practical professional development and reexamining their career priorities, says Rachel Patterson at Orrick.

  • Novel NLRB Action Highlights Aggressive Noncompete Stance

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    While a first-of-its-kind noncompete complaint filed by the National Labor Relations Board general counsel against a Michigan cannabis processor recently resulted in a private settlement, the action shows how broadly the general counsel views her authority over such covenants and how vigorously she intends to exercise it, say Erik Weibust and Erin Schaefer at Epstein Becker.

  • Steps To Success For Senior Associates

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Adriana Paris at Rissman Barrett discusses the increased responsibilities and opportunities that becoming a senior associate brings and what attorneys in this role should prioritize to flourish in this stressful but rewarding next level in their careers.

  • Cannabis Seed Importation Carries CBP Enforcement Risks

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    Though cannabis seed importation may be arguably legal, potential importers — such the recent MMJ-Global Cannabis partnership to bring cannabis THC products into the U.S. — risk action from U.S. Customs and Border Protection until the agency issues an official ruling on cannabis seed admissibility, say Adams Lee and Vince Sliwoski at Harris Bricken.

  • Legal Profession Must Do More For Lawyers With Disabilities

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    At the start of Disability Pride month, Rosalyn Richter at Arnold & Porter looks at why lawyers with disabilities are significantly underrepresented in private practice, asserting that law firms and other employers must do more to conquer the implicit bias that deters attorneys from seeking accommodations.

  • Opinion

    Appellate Funding Disclosure: No Mandate Is Right Choice

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    The Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules' recent decision, forgoing a mandatory disclosure rule for litigation funding in federal appeals, is prudent, as third-party funding is only involved in a minuscule number of federal cases, and courts have ample authority to obtain funding information if necessary, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.

  • What RJ Reynolds' Calif. Suit Means For Tobacco Regulation

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    R.J. Reynolds' recently filed lawsuit against the attorney general of California is testing the limits of the state's 2020 ban on flavored tobacco products — and whatever the outcome, it may help shape tobacco regulations at both the state and federal levels in coming years, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • NBA Players Must Avoid Legal Fouls In CBD Deals

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    The NBA’s recently ratified collective bargaining agreement allows athletes to promote CBD brands and products, but athletes and the companies they promote must be cautious of a complex patchwork of applicable state laws and federal regulators’ approach to advertising claims, says Airina Rodrigues at Brownstein Hyatt.

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