Cannabis

  • March 18, 2024

    NY Gov. Audits Pot Regulator After Troubled Rollout

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday announced an audit of the Empire State's embattled cannabis regulator to address the rocky implementation of the adult-use marijuana market, which has been plagued by delays, litigation and an explosion of unlicensed sellers.

  • March 18, 2024

    Construction Co. Can't Dodge Fired Pa. Pot Patient's Bias Suit

    A Pennsylvania federal judge has kept alive the crux of a former painter's suit alleging an industrial construction company illegally fired her after she tested positive for pot despite holding a medical marijuana card, finding her collective bargaining agreement doesn't bounce the claim from court.

  • March 18, 2024

    NJ Panel Upholds Right Of Towns To Regulate Cannabis

    A New Jersey town has the right to withhold support for a cannabis retailer seeking a state license to sell marijuana, saying that the municipality has the authority to determine location and density requirements for retail businesses selling pot, a three-judge state appellate panel said in a published opinion Monday.

  • March 18, 2024

    Developers Say Mich. Township Thwarted Pot Dispensary

    A local cannabis advocacy group that includes real estate developers has sued a Michigan township in federal court, alleging elected officials have impeded a proposal to build a medical and adult-use dispensary despite residents' support and additional tax revenue the municipality will reap.

  • March 18, 2024

    ​​​​​​​Amyris Gets OK To Settle Pot Co.'s $15M Trade Secret Suit

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge has approved biotechnology company Amyris' $15.1 million settlement with cannabinoid manufacturer Lavvan, resolving yearslong litigation and arbitration proceedings alleging the debtor misused its then-business partner's trade secrets.

  • March 18, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Multimillion-dollar e-cigarette settlements, $4 billion in stock buybacks and a $6.1 million appraisal tweak were among the big-dollar items logged in the Delaware Court of Chancery's ledger last week. Also on the docket: a Panama port project, a news outlet's defamation case, drone disputes and a flood of mail from Tesla shareholders. In case you missed it, here's all the latest from the Chancery Court.

  • March 15, 2024

    Harris Urges DOJ To Wrap Pot Review 'As Quickly As Possible'

    Vice President Kamala Harris urged the U.S. Department of Justice on Friday to complete its review of marijuana's control status "as quickly as possible," saying it was "absurd" and "patently unfair" to keep the drug in the same highly restrictive tier as heroin.

  • March 15, 2024

    Appeals Court Rejects Medical Cannabis User's Bias Suit

    A Connecticut appeals court refused to reinstate a former teaching assistant's lawsuit accusing a nonprofit of firing her because she has epilepsy, which she treats with medicinal cannabis, saying she failed to overcome the organization's argument that she was fired for being high around children.

  • March 15, 2024

    Cannabis Sellers Want $6M Fees Refunded From Mass. Town

    A group of cannabis retailers are suing Great Barrington, Massachusetts, saying the town has illegally collected nearly $6 million in community impact fees, despite admitting in writing that the companies have caused virtually no costs to the town.

  • March 15, 2024

    Conservative Law Group Asks Justices To Hear FDA Vape Suit

    A free-market advocacy group and a vape industry association are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to upend the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's decision denying a manufacturer permission to sell flavored vapes, arguing that the FDA is "moving the goalposts" when it comes to what kind of data is needed when applying.

  • March 14, 2024

    Conservative Firm Joins Bias Suit Against NY Pot Regulators

    Conservative law group Pacific Legal Foundation has decided to represent a would-be cannabis dispensary that claimed New York state's social equity program discriminated against them because they were white men, filing an amended complaint against state regulators which dropped from the suit words "Caucasian" and "white."

  • March 14, 2024

    Cannabis Cos. Say Federal Position On Pot Is Irrational

    The federal ban on marijuana is plainly irrational and negatively affects operators in state-regulated cannabis markets, depriving them of their constitutional rights, a group of marijuana companies told a Massachusetts federal judge on Friday.

  • March 14, 2024

    NJ Law Firm Avoids Malpractice Suit Over Texas Kratom Death

    A Lone Star State appeals court let the New Jersey-based Oshman Firm LLC off the hook on jurisdictional grounds Thursday in a malpractice lawsuit filed by a Texas father who faulted the firm for not filing a wrongful death lawsuit before the statute of limitations expired.

  • March 14, 2024

    Ariz. AG Says Delta-8 THC Products Unlawful For General Sale

    Arizona's attorney general has issued a formal legal opinion finding that retailers who are not approved to sell marijuana cannot lawfully sell intoxicating products derived from hemp, such as products containing delta-8 THC and delta-10 THC.

  • March 13, 2024

    Mass. Gov. Announces Pardon Plan For Marijuana Possession

    Massachusetts Gov. Maura T. Healey on Wednesday announced plans for sweeping pardons of misdemeanor cannabis possession convictions, following the directive of President Joe Biden, who urged state executives to follow his lead in pardoning low-level marijuana offenses.

  • March 13, 2024

    Juul Investor Tells Chancery: 'We Were Trying To Help'

    A director of Juul Labs Inc. denied on Wednesday that he kept the company out of bankruptcy in 2022 to profit from his own investments, telling Delaware's Chancery Court that he helped Juul refinance and backstopped millions worth of settlements because he wanted the e-cigarette company to succeed.

  • March 13, 2024

    Ex-CFO Raided Corporate Funds, Trulieve Suit Claims

    Florida's largest medical marijuana company, Trulieve, is suing its former chief financial officer in federal court, claiming he misused his corporate credit card, charging "hundreds of thousands of dollars" for expensive clothing, vacations and attorney fees and fraudulently received reimbursement for personal expenses.

  • March 13, 2024

    Santa Barbara County Wants Pot Raid Suit Tossed Again

    The county of Santa Barbara is asking a California federal court to once again throw out a cannabis farmer's claim that his farm was illegally raided by the sheriff's office, saying the latest complaint still falls short of alleging facts to support the claims.

  • March 12, 2024

    Patent Deal Brings End To Philip Morris Import Ban

    The U.S. International Trade Commission has decided to pull its import ban on a line of Philip Morris heated tobacco products following a settlement of its patent fight with British American Tobacco, over the objections of the agency's own in-house lawyers.

  • March 12, 2024

    Reps Push Regulators For Answers On Marijuana Research

    A bipartisan pair of congress members on opposite sides of the cannabis legalization issue joined forces on Tuesday to blast federal agencies for not effectively implementing a bill whose stated purpose was to expedite research into marijuana's potential harms and benefits.

  • March 12, 2024

    Colo. Cannabis Brands Hit With $5.5M Creditor Suit

    BellRock, the cannabis company behind brands such as Mary's Medicinals and Dixie, was hit with a lawsuit seeking $5.5 million in defaulted loans, weeks after the company announced its chief executive's departure and that it is considering restructuring debt.

  • March 12, 2024

    Pot Co. Says Commerce Clause Meant To Stop 'Trade Wars'

    Cannabis company Peridot Tree WA Inc. is urging a Washington federal judge to reject a bid to dismiss its suit alleging the state's cannabis social equity licensing scheme violates the Constitution's dormant commerce clause, saying the court should find that it applies to cannabis businesses.

  • March 11, 2024

    Judge Blasts Instagrammer's Bid To Upend $1.6M Ruling

    A lifestyle brand headed by Instagram celebrity Dan Bilzerian could face sanctions should it continue to recycle arguments for why it shouldn't be forced to pay a $1.6 million judgment to a consulting firm it was accused of cheating, a Nevada federal judge warned in an order denying the brand's motion for reconsideration.

  • March 11, 2024

    DC Circ. Mulls Tax-Exempt Status For Ayahuasca Church

    A D.C. Circuit panel on Monday pushed counsel for an Iowa church that uses the psychedelic substance ayahuasca in its ceremonies to explain why the Internal Revenue Service erred in denying it tax-exempt status.

  • March 11, 2024

    CBD Co. Says Investors' Fraudulent Intent Claims Fall Short

    Canopy Growth Corp. is urging a New York federal court to throw out claims that it misled investors about the prospects of a sports nutrition subsidiary, saying the proposed class action fails to establish a motive for the alleged fraud or that the cannabis company was aware that any statements it made were false.

Expert Analysis

  • CSA Case Could Shift Intrastate Commercial Cannabis

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    In Canna Provisions v. Merrick Garland, cannabis companies argue that the Controlled Substances Act is unconstitutional as applied to intrastate commercial cannabis activity; the Massachusetts federal court's eventual decision will be important to the cannabis industry for several reasons, including that the threat of federal enforcement would disappear overnight, says Hilary Bricken at Husch Blackwell.

  • What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

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    Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.

  • Tips On Numerical Range From Fed. Circ. Philip Morris Ruling

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    The Federal Circuit's recent RAI v. Philip Morris decision that a patent provided sufficient written description to support a claimed numerical range offers several takeaways for practitioners, including the need for a cautious approach to criticism of ranges, say attorneys at BCLP.

  • What's At Play In Rising Lanham Act Cases At The ITC

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    Amid an uptick in Lanham Act claims involving false advertising related to medical devices at the U.S. International Trade Commission, Brian Busey and Maryrose McLaughlin at MoFo discuss recent ITC complaints from Eli Lilly and R.J. Reynolds, Lanham Act claim limits under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and the issues practitioners face in this realm.

  • Business Litigators Have A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment

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    As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.

  • A New Push To Clear Up Marijuana's Foggy Legal Status

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    A recently publicized U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommendation to reschedule marijuana has reignited discourse over the drug's federal legal status — and although rescheduling would mitigate the legal risks for the industry and drastically increase the resources available for industry participants, the path forward will not be clear cut, say Joseph Cioffi and Louis DiLorenzo at Davis+Gilbert.

  • Series

    Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Forget Everything You Know About IRAC

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    The mode of legal reasoning most students learn in law school, often called “Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion,” or IRAC, erroneously frames analysis as a separate, discrete step, resulting in disorganized briefs and untold obfuscation — but the fix is pretty simple, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts

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    Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.

  • 7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves

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    As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.

  • Series

    Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Balancing my time between a BigLaw career and my role as an NFL cheerleader has taught me that pursuing your passions outside of work is not a distraction, but rather an opportunity to harness important skills that can positively affect how you approach work and view success in your career, says Rachel Schuster at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: Gulf Cooperation Council

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    The Gulf Cooperation Council is in the early stages of ESG policy implementation, but recent commitments by both states and corporations — including increases in sustainable finance transactions, environmental commitments, female representation on boards and human rights enforcement — show continuing progress toward broader ESG goals, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • 6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media

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    In an era of information overload, attorneys can use social media strategically — from making infographics to leveraging targeted advertising — to cut through the noise and establish a reputation among current and potential clients, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.

  • A Post-Mortem Analysis Of Stroock's Demise

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    After the dissolution of 147-year-old firm Stroock late last year shook up the legal world, a post-mortem analysis of the data reveals a long list of warning signs preceding the firm’s collapse — and provides some insight into how other firms might avoid the same disastrous fate, says Craig Savitzky at Leopard Solutions.

  • Series

    Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.

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