‘marijuana’
Are State Bans on the Importation of Marijuana Next to Fall Under the DCC?
Aug. 22, 2022—In the last two years, plaintiffs have successfully challenged state residency requirements for marijuana licenses by invoking the Dormant Commerce Clause (DCC), an implied doctrine of federal constitutional law that bars states from discriminating against or imposing undue burdens on interstate commerce. See this post for recent developments in those cases. I provide an in-depth...
Federal Appeals Court Agrees: Using residency to award commercial marijuana licenses violates the Dormant Commerce Clause
Aug. 19, 2022—On August 17, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued a decision in NPG v. Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services. The decision stems from Maine’s appeal of an earlier District Court judgment finding that a provision of the state’s Medical Marijuana Act violated the Dormant Commerce Clause (DCC) because...
CRS Wrongly Suggests POTUS Could Legalize Marijuana on His Own
Nov. 4, 2021—The title of this post is inspired by a new “report” issued by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). I think calling it a “report” is giving it too much credit — it’s five thinly researched pages of text that simply repeats the old but unfounded idea that the President could unilaterally legalize marijuana federally, without...
Science and Law Experts Discuss Marijuana, CBD, and Delta 8
Sep. 28, 2021—Last week I had the pleasure to speak on a panel on the legal and scientific issues surrounding Delta 8 THC, CBD, and marijuana. The panel was organized by Larry Marnett, the Dean of Basic Sciences at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and also included Sachin Patel, Professor of Psychiatry at Vanderbilt who researches the...
Comments on the Proposed Cannabis Administration & Opportunity Act (“CAOA”)
Aug. 27, 2021—This summer, a working group of prominent United States Senators proposed a new bill to legalize marijuana at the federal level. Building on earlier iterations of the MORE Act, the draft Cannabis Administration & Opportunity Act (“CAOA”) constitutes the most comprehensive federal reform proposal to date. A detailed summary of the measure can be found...
New Article on the Hidden Problems Posed by Federal Legalization, and a New Way to Address Them
Aug. 23, 2021—Scott Bloomberg (Maine Law Professor) and I have just written a new article that comprehensively catalogues the problems that might arise if Congress were to suddenly legalize marijuana and thereby unleash the Dormant Commerce Clause (DCC) on the states. (As I’ve explained elsewhere, see here, I think the DCC may already be on the loose...
Maine District Court Issues (Another) Decision Invalidating State Residency Requirement on DCC Grounds
Aug. 20, 2021—The federal district court in Maine just issued another decision in the NPG (aka Wellness Connection) v. Maine litigation challenging the state’s residency requirement for medical marijuana licenses. Last August, the same court issued a preliminary injunction barring the state from enforcing the requirement. My analysis of that decision can be found in UPDATE: Federal Judge...
The PTO has Overstepped its Statutory Authority in Refusing to Register Trademarks for Marijuana
Jun. 23, 2021—The title of this post is the key takeaway of a new article I have recently posted on SSRN: Robert A. Mikos, Unauthorized and Unwise: The Lawful Use Requirement in Trademark Law, 75 Vand. L. Rev. __ (forthcoming January 2022). Here is the abstract: For decades, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has...
Three Federal Courts (So Far) Have Held That State Residency Requirements for Cannabis Licenses (Probably) Violate the Dormant Commerce Clause
Jun. 22, 2021—Federal courts in Michigan and Missouri have just issued rulings in lawsuits challenging those states’ residency requirements for cannabis licenses. Both courts found that the plaintiffs were likely to prevail on the merits of their challenges. In particular, both courts held that using residency to award cannabis licenses probably violated the Dormant Commerce Clause (DCC). The...
New Article on How Biden Administration Should Respond to State Psilocybin Legalization
Jun. 16, 2021—On April 30, 2021, the Illinois Law Review posted a wonderful collection of essays commenting on President Biden’s First 100 Days. Contributors covered a variety of topics. The full collection of essays is available here. Jason Mazzone graciously asked me to lend my voice to the volume, and I decided to advise the Biden Administration...