‘medical marijuana’
Observations On Utah’s Proposed State Distribution System
Oct. 12, 2018—[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...
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...
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...
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...
Cases to Watch: Minnesota Prosecuting Two Employees of State-Licensed Medical Marijuana Supplier
Feb. 15, 2018—Since it legalized medical marijuana back in 2014, Minnesota has licensed two firms to supply the drug to qualifying patients: Leafline and Minnesota Medical Solutions (MMS). MMS is owned by Vireo Health, which also owns a firm licensed by the state of New York to supply medical marijuana to that state’s qualifying patients: Vireo Health...
What’s the Point of Rescheduling Marijuana in a Medical Marijuana State?
Nov. 1, 2017—A number of sites have reported on Kadonsky v. Lee, in which a New Jersey appellate court just ordered a state official to consider rescheduling marijuana under the state’s Controlled Dangerous Substances Act (CDSA). New Jersey’s CDSA is virtually identical to the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance under...
Cases to Watch: Bourgoin v. Twin Rivers and Workers’ Compensation
Oct. 6, 2017—State marijuana reforms spawn a host of interesting (by which I mean complicated) questions for employers. To date, the question that has drawn the most attention concerns whether employers are required to accommodate employees’ use of marijuana off the job. That issue is discussed in my book at pages 662-681 and on this blog here and here....
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...