Author
New Article Proposes Expanded State Protections for Marijuana Trademarks
Sep. 22, 2017—As discussed in my book (pages 406-412), marijuana suppliers currently cannot obtain federal protection for their trademarks (or other intellectual property). Some states do provide protection for marijuana trademarks, but that protection is often limited (n. 4, page 411). But Russ Jacobs, who is corporate counsel at Starbucks, has proposed a novel way to expand...
Are Physicians Being Adequately Trained to Recommend Marijuana to Their Patients?
Sep. 15, 2017—Just because a state legalizes medical marijuana doesn’t mean that physicians will necessarily recommend the drug to their patients. Indeed, surveys have shown that only a small percentage of physicians in medical marijuana states have recommended the drug to their patients or plan to in the future (page 616 of my book). As I discuss...
Iowa Officials Urged Not to Permit Importation of CBD from Minnesota
Sep. 12, 2017—The Iowa Attorney General’s office just advised the state health department not to authorize two Minnesota medical marijuana dispensaries to supply medical marijuana to Iowa residents. If heeded, the advice would nullify a novel provision of Iowa’s nascent medical marijuana program. The provision, adopted as part of a package of reforms in May 2017, calls...
Interesting Opportunity to Try to Shape the WHO’s Scheduling of CBD (and Possibly Domestic Law Too)
Aug. 23, 2017—The World Health Organization (WHO) is apparently reviewing the scheduling of Cannabidiol (CBD) and 16 other drugs under the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances. Prior to a meeting of the relevant WHO committee in early November, the WHO has asked member states (including the U.S.) for input. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible...
Useful Marijuana Law Links Posted
Aug. 18, 2017—I have just posted an assortment of links to external websites that provide more news and additional perspectives on marijuana law and policy. The links can be found on the right hand column under Resources: External Links page. They are organized (loosely) into five categories: Advocacy Organizations Blogs and News Government Agencies Industry Sites Research Sites...
Coverage of DOJ’s Response to Legalization
Aug. 17, 2017—The Cannabist has compiled a wonderful collection of primary documents detailing the back-and-forth between the governors of the first four recreational legalization states (Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington) and the U.S. Attorney General, Jeff Sessions. The documents include: April 2017 letters from state leaders imploring Sessions to adhere to the Obama Administration’s non-enforcement policy. That...
Federal District Court Finds Connecticut Law Barring Employment Discrimination Against Medical Marijuana Users is NOT preempted
Aug. 15, 2017—The decision in Noffsinger v. SSC Niantic Operating Co., LLC (Dist. Conn. 2017), is significant because it departs from a handful of earlier decisions that have found or at least assumed state employment protections were preempted. Those decisions are discussed on pages 672-81 of the book. Even though I largely agree with the result in...
Could the States Do Anything to Blunt the Impact of a Federal Crackdown?
Aug. 9, 2017—I just returned from the NCSL annual meeting in Boston, where I participated on a Marijuana Federalism panel with Representative Roger Goodman (WA state house) and John Hudak (Brookings). A short recap of the panel can be found here . Consistent with recent reports, all the panelists agreed the Trump Administration is unlikely to crack...
My Reactions to Cory Booker’s Marijuana Justice Act
Aug. 4, 2017—Senator Cory Booker (D NJ) has introduced a proposal to repeal the federal marijuana ban. In a nutshell, Booker’s Marijuana Justice Act would exempt marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act. I believe Booker’s proposal to is incomplete (and therefore, both unwise and politically unpalatable) because it fails to offer any replacement for prohibition. I develop...
Federal appeals court allows private civil RICO to proceed against state-licensed marijuana grower (Safe Streets)
Jul. 25, 2017—In Safe Streets Alliance v. Hickenlooper (June 2017), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit reversed the dismissal of a civil RICO lawsuit brought by a private plaintiff against a Colorado licensed marijuana cultivator. The original RICO suit – and the district court’s decision dismissing it – is discussed in the book at...