January, 2018
Panel Discussion of The Promise and Pitfalls of the Marijuana Justice Act
Jan. 31, 2018—On January 3, 2018, I had the pleasure of moderating a vibrant panel discussion on race and marijuana law at the American Association of Law Schools (AALS) annual conference in San Diego. I thoroughly enjoyed the panel, which discussed a broad range of topics, including the Marijuana Justice Act proposed by Senator Cory Booker (discussed...
Some Observations About How Vermont Just Legalized Recreational Marijuana
Jan. 24, 2018—On January 22, 2018, Vermont became the ninth state (and the tenth comparable jurisdiction, if we include D.C.) to legalize recreational marijuana. Vermont’s new law can be found here. Vermont’s law is similar in many respects to other recreational marijuana measures. Most importantly, it declares that: [A] person 21 years of age or older who...
New Study Defends Constitutionality of Racial / Gender Preferences in the Award of State Marijuana Licenses
Jan. 18, 2018—At least two states (Maryland and Ohio) have attempted to use racial preferences in the award of their commercial marijuana licenses. However, as discussed in the book, Maryland’s licensing board abandoned that state’s preferences in 2015 after a Deputy State Attorney General wrote a brief letter suggesting the preferences would likely violate the Equal Protection...
How U.S. Attorneys Have Responded to the Rescission of Marijuana Enforcement Guidance
Jan. 13, 2018—[Revised 1/14 for clarity and updates.] Now that the Attorney General has rescinded Obama-era marijuana enforcement guidance, local federal prosecutors (U.S. Attorneys) arguably have more leeway to pursue legal action against the state-licensed recreational marijuana industry. (The state-licensed medical marijuana industry is still protected by spending restrictions Congress has imposed on the DOJ, at least under the current federal budget .)...
Why Teach and Write About Marijuana Law?
Jan. 11, 2018—On the thought it might be of some interest to readers, I’ve posted below an interview I recently did with my publisher on why I teach and write about marijuana law (and related questions). I’ve discussed these issues before in the media, in blog posts, and in lectures, but this is probably the most complete account...
Jeff Sessions Rescinds Obama-Era Enforcement Guidance: Five Observations
Jan. 5, 2018—[Post has been updated and revised again to add new links: Jan. 12, 2018] On January 4, 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions formally rescinded enforcement guidance that had been issued by the Obama Administration DOJ as far back as 2009. To simplify somewhat, that guidance had urged United States Attorneys not to enforce the federal...