News Category
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 Now that the Attorney General has rescinded Obama-era marijuana enforcement guidance, local federal prosecutors (U.S. Attorneys) arguably have more leeway to pursue legal action against the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updated and revised again to add new links: Jan. 12, 2018] On January 4, 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions formally rescinded enforcement guidance that had been issued by the Obama Administration DOJ as far back as 2009.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...
Call for Papers on the Economics of Marijuana and Drug Policy
Dec. 30, 2017—Economic Inquiry, a peer-reviewed economics journal, has issued a call for papers on the economics of marijuana and drug policy. Submissions are due March 1, 2018. Interested authors can find out more about the CFP here.
Is Small Marijuana Doomed?
Dec. 29, 2017—FiveThirtyEight has just published an article detailing some interesting trends in the marijuana market in Washington state. I found two statistics particularly striking. First, the average retail price of a gram of flower has dropped 77 percent from July 2014 to December 2017. The average price is now $7.45 versus $32.48 when stores first opened...
Cases to Watch: Lawsuit Challenges Florida Restriction on Smokable Marijuana
Dec. 20, 2017—In fall 2016, Florida voters approved an initiative (Amendment 2) to legalize the “medical use” of marijuana. In June 2017, the Florida legislature passed a bill to implement Amendment 2. One provision of that bill defined permissible “medical use” to exclude the use of marijuana “in a form for smoking . . .” Fla. Stat....
Cases to Watch: Applicant Sues to Block Ohio from Using Racial Preferences in the Award of Commercial Marijuana Licenses
Dec. 15, 2017—In the book, I discuss the lack of racial diversity in the state-licensed commercial marijuana industry, as well as the measures states have adopted to boost minority participation in that industry (pages 454, 520-25). There are several steps states could take to improve diversity, but one of the most direct is to employ some form...
It’s Getting Easier for Marijuana Companies to Open Bank Accounts
Dec. 6, 2017—Stateline has a nice article today (posted here) suggesting that marijuana suppliers are increasingly able to obtain financial services from banks and credit unions. The article notes that as of June 2017, roughly 400 banks and credit unions reported providing services to marijuana-related businesses. It suggests that some states (like Washington) have facilitated access by helping these banks comply with the Treasury...
Massachusetts Medical Society Launches New Cannabis Curriculum
Dec. 4, 2017—As I discussed in this earlier post and in the book (pages 616-618), many physicians remain reluctant to recommend marijuana to their patients because they never received training concerning the drug. To remedy that lack of training, the Massachusetts Medical Society has just launched an interesting new Cannabis Curriculum for Continuing Medical Education. The Society’s website describes...
Do (Should) State Marijuana Reforms Apply Retroactively?
Dec. 2, 2017—Suppose that Danica violates her state’s marijuana prohibition. If the state later repeals that prohibition, does (and should) the repeal apply retroactively to Danica’s offense? To date, most states have failed to explicitly address this question. But California and Colorado have recently begun offering relief for some marijuana offenses that pre-date their respective reforms. California’s...