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UPDATE: Maine Supreme Court Holds State Worker Compensation Law Preempted
Jun. 28, 2018—Last week the Maine Supreme Court issued its decision in Bourgoin v. Twin Rivers. For the full opinion, see here. I blogged about the case back in October: see Cases to Watch: Bourgoin v. Twin Rivers and Workers’ Compensation. In this post, I’ll briefly describe the court’s recent holding and then provide a few thoughts...
Two New Articles on the International Law Ramifications of State Marijuana Reforms
Jun. 9, 2018—State marijuana reforms raise a host of nettlesome–and seldom discussed–questions about United States compliance with and the ultimate fate of international drug control treaties. Fortunately, two new articles focus on those questions and begin to fill the gap in the literature. The first is by Brian Blumenfed, an attorney and researcher: Pacta Sunt Servanda: State Legalization of Marijuana...
Analysis of the Warren-Gardner STATES Act
Jun. 7, 2018—[Update 6/8: I redrafted some of the language below for clarity and conciseness.] On June 7, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D MA) and Cory Gardner (R CO) formally introduced legislation to eliminate much of the conflict between state and federal marijuana laws. A full copy of the proposed legislation, called the “Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through...
Should the Patent & Trademark Office Register Trademarks for Marijuana Products?
Jun. 6, 2018—Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to debate the question posed by the title of this post with Shabnam Malek, a pioneering trademark attorney with Brand & Branch, LLP. The debate was organized by the International Trademarks Association (INTA) for its annual meeting in Seattle, and it was expertly moderated by Dean Megan Carpenter...
Arizona Supreme Court says State May not Criminalize Possession of Medical Marijuana on College Campuses
May. 25, 2018—On Wednesday, in Arizona v. Maestas, the Arizona Supreme Court invalidated a 2012 state statute that had criminalized the simple possession of medical marijuana on college campuses. The Court found that the statutory prohibition conflicted with a voter approved initiative—the 2010 Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA). The AMMA lists a handful of places where the legislature...
The Implications of Murphy v. NCAA for State Marijuana Reforms
May. 17, 2018—[Updated for clarity] On Monday, the Supreme Court decided a case that should help insulate state marijuana legalization from preemption challenge. The decision in Murphy v. NCAA invalidated a federal law–the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA)—that had prohibited the states from (inter alia) “authoriz[ing] by law” sports gambling. 28 U.S.C. § 3702(1). I’ll summarize the...
The Looping Problem in Marijuana Sales
May. 9, 2018—States commonly limit the quantity of marijuana that a licensed supplier may sell to a consumer (see book pages 462-463). For example, Colorado’s Retail Marijuana Code Rule 402 provides that “A Retail Marijuana Store and its employees are prohibited from Transferring more than one ounce of [marijuana] . . . in a single transaction to...
Two Interesting Developments in Maryland’s Medical Marijuana Law
Apr. 12, 2018—The Maryland legislature just passed a bill amending the state’s medical marijuana law. The Governor is expected to sign the legislation, which can be viewed here. Two particular changes struck me as noteworthy: 1. First, the bill adopts new—and carefully designed—measures to address racial disparities in the state-licensed commercial marijuana industry. As I discuss in...
Marijuana, Opioids, and Some Thoughts on Empirical Research on Marijuana Policy
Apr. 9, 2018—Back in February, I discussed research suggesting that legalizing marijuana could help combat the nation’s opioid epidemic. See Marijuana and the Opioid Crisis. The theory is that once marijuana is legalized some people will use marijuana in lieu of opioids to treat chronic pain. It is the reverse of the gateway hypothesis that was once...
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...