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March, 2018

Congress Renews DOJ Spending Rider

Mar. 28, 2018—The $1.3 trillion budget Congress passed on March 23, 2018 included a rider that continues to bar the DOJ from enforcing the federal marijuana ban in some circumstances. It is identical in substance to the Rohrabacher-Farr (or Rohrabacher-Blumenauer) amendments Congress has passed each budget cycle since 2014 (see book pages 353-358). The latest rider will...

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PharmaCann v. BV Development: Another Land Use Issue Confronts Marijuana Suppliers

Mar. 21, 2018—As discussed in the book, marijuana suppliers have a relatively difficult time leasing real property for their operations (see pages 655-662). The problem stems from a provision of the federal Controlled Substances Act CSA) that makes it a crime for a landlord to lease any real property “for the purpose of unlawfully manufacturing . ....

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California Takes on Weedmaps Over Unlicensed Marijuana Shops

Mar. 15, 2018—In February 2018, California regulators demanded that Weedmaps stop advertising marijuana shops that aren’t licensed by the state. The confrontation has raised some interesting legal issues concerning the liability of third parties (the subject of Chapters 11-14 of my book) which I discuss below. But first, let me provide some necessary background on Weedmaps and...

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DOJ Suit Challenging California Sanctuary Laws Could Have Ramifications for State Marijuana Reforms as Well

Mar. 8, 2018—On March 6 the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit challenging California’s sanctuary state policies as preempted. Those sanctuary policies are designed to mitigate state concerns over the enforcement of federal immigration laws. The DOJ’s Brief in Support of its Motion for a Preliminary Injunction provides a useful summary of the challenged state laws...

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