UPDATE: Voters in 3 of 4 States Approve Marijuana Legalization Measures

The poll results from the fall 2018 election are now in. Voters in 3 of 4 states approved marijuana legalization measures. Michigan voters approved Proposal 1 by 56% to 44%, making Michigan the 11th state (if we include D.C.) to legalize recreational marijuana. North Dakota voters rejected a recreational legalization measure (Measure 3) by 60%…

Posted by mikosra on November 7, 2018 in News, Updates, Amendment 2, ballot, cannabis, election, legalization, legalize, marihuana, marijuana, Measure 3, michigan, missouri, north dakota, proposal 1, proposition 2, utah, vote

---

Podcast on Good Law, Bad Law

Readers might be interested in a recent podcast I did with Aaron Freiwald, a Philly area attorney who runs an excellent podcast series called Good Law, Bad Law. The series is conversational in style and covers a host of legal topics — my conversation with Aaron, for example, spanned a number of subjects relating to marijuana law….

Posted by mikosra on November 2, 2018 in News, cannabis, freiwald, good law bad law, marihuana, marijuana, podcast

---

UPDATE: Plaintiff Loses Colorado RICO Lawsuit (Safe Streets)

As reported by various new outlets (see links below), the jury in the Safe Streets case (now known as Reilly v. 6480 Pickney, LLC) rejected the plaintiff-landowners’ civil RICO claims against a state-licensed marijuana supplier. I discuss the plaintiffs’ claims in an earlier post here and in the book (pages 403-406). Although the defendant (and…

Posted by mikosra on November 1, 2018 in News, Updates, cannabis, Colorado, jury, lawsuit, marihuana, marijuana, odor, Oregon, plaintiff, racketeer, racketeering, reilly, RICO, Safe Streets, skunk, smell, tenth circuit, veridict

---

Four Marijuana Measures on the Ballot in November 2018

Voters will decide the fate of marijuana legalization measures in four states next week. Michigan and North Dakota voters will decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana (both states already have medical marijuana laws), and Missouri and Utah voters will decide whether to legalize medical marijuana (both states already have CBD laws). The Washington Post has…

Posted by mikosra on October 29, 2018 in News, Updates, adult use, Amendment 2, amendment 3, ballot, cannabis, election, initiative, legalization, legalize, marihuana, marijuana, Measure 3, medical, michigan, missouri, north dakota, November, proposal 1, proposition C, recreational, referenda, utah

---

The Foreignness of Canadian Marijuana Legalization

On October 17, Canada became the second country to legalize recreational marijuana (Uruguay did so in 2014). The Canadian Government has posted the full text of the nation’s recreational marijuana laws (including The Cannabis Act) here. It also has a useful summary of the laws here. In many respects, Canada’s new law resembles the laws…

Posted by mikosra on October 19, 2018 in News, Updates, adult, age limit, canada, canadian, cannabis, foreign, government distribution, government owned, government store, legalize, marihuana, marijuana, minimum age, parliament, preempt, province, recreational

---

Observations On Utah’s Proposed State Distribution System

[Updated 10/15 to address the possibility of suits in state court.] Just as Utah residents are about to vote on a medical marijuana initiative (Proposition 2), proponents and opponents of the initiative (including Governor Herbert) have announced plans to adopt a compromise medical marijuana law in the state legislature. See the full text of the Utah…

Posted by mikosra on October 12, 2018 in News, Updates, cannabis, central fill, compromise, government distribution, herbert, local health department, marihuana, marijuana, medical cannabis, medical marijuana, pharmacy, proposition 2, state distribution, state operated, state owned, utah

---

How to Lure Consumers Away from the Marijuana Black Market

[Updated 10/8 8:44 am to add more information.] Even in states that have legalized the commercial supply of marijuana, some lawful consumers continue to purchase marijuana from the black market. Those black market sales pose several problems for state regulators; among other things, for example, they (likely) don’t generate any marijuana tax revenues for the…

Posted by mikosra on October 5, 2018 in News, Updates, black market, cannabis, delivery, Eaze, marihuana, marijuana, tax

---

Is CBD Legal Under Federal Law?

The question posed by the title of this post has been vexing commentators for the past few months, with different sources giving wildly different answers. In this post, I hope to shed some light on the legal status of cannabidiol (CBD) under federal law. It’s a complicated question, but here’s my bottom line conclusion: under…

Posted by mikosra on September 28, 2018 in News, Updates, cannabidiol, cannabis, CBD, epidiolex, epilepsy, extract, gw pharmaceuticals, hemp, hemp industries association, industrial hemp, legal, marihuana, marijuana, schedule, scheduling

---

Update: Connecticut Employment Discrimination Case (Noffsinger v. SSC Niantic)

A federal judge in Connecticut has issued another notable ruling in Noffsinger v. SSC Niantic Operating Co., LLC. In particular, the judge just granted summary judgment for the plaintiff on her claim that the defendant company violated Connecticut’s medical marijuana law (known as PUMA—the Palliative Use of Marijuana Act) when it rescinded her job offer after she…

Posted by mikosra on September 24, 2018 in News, Updates, accommodate, cannabis, connecticut, discriminate, discrimination, duty, employ, employee, employer, employment, marihuana, marijuana

---

Why I Write and Teach About Marijuana Law

The publisher of my textbook (Aspen/Wolters Kluwer) has just posted an author spotlight on me. The spotlight consists of an interview I did months ago in which I discuss how I first entered the marijuana law field, why I continue to teach and write in this area, and other related topics. I’ve blogged about many of…

Posted by mikosra on September 20, 2018 in News, cannabis, casebook, class, college, course, law school, marihuana, marijuana, Mikos, teach, textbook

---