Government and Policy Trends

On August 12, 2016, the DEA published a policy in the federal register (81 Fed. Reg. 53846) designed to increase the number of entities registered under the CSA to grow marijuana to supply legitimate researchers in the United States.  The DEA has concluded that the best way to satisfy the current researcher demand for…

A favorable ruling from the Ninth Circuit in United States v. McIntosh is a reassuring win for the medical marijuana industry.  This federal case concluded that § 542 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act prohibits DOJ from spending money on actions that prevent medical marijuana states giving practical effect to their state laws that authorize…

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration filed documents with the Federal Register on Thursday outlining its denial of petitions to reschedule marijuana.  The DEA stated that marijuana has no known medical use and that the decision was based heavily on the evaluations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human…

On June 10, 2016, Governor Hickenlooper signed bill 16-040 which removes the Colorado two year residency requirement to obtain a marijuana business owner license, ultimately easing the burden for prospective out-of-state investors to become owners. The Colorado General Assembly’s intent in creating this bill was to provide marijuana businesses with the economic capabilities to grow…

, President Obama cited areas where Democrats and Republicans may be able to work together, including criminal justice reform and prescription drug abuse.  Prescription drug overdoses, which now kill 44 people each day, have turned into an epidemic on a national scale.

Obama’s speech to a Republican-controlled Congress to work out a bi-partisan approach…

President Obama approved the 2016 federal budget and it contained a prohibition that none of the funds made available to the Department of Justice may be used, with respect to any of the States that have state-legal medical marijuana programs, to prevent any of them from implementing their own laws that authorize the use, distribution,…

The US Government has urged SCOTUS to pass on hearing the dispute among Nebraska, Oklahoma and Colorado over Colorado’s law legalizing the recreational use of marijuana.  In a brief filed late Wednesday night, U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr., stated that Nebraska and Oklahoma have not sufficiently alleged that Colorado has inflicted direct injury…

This ruling is a definitive win for medical marijuana business that are operating consistent with state regulations.  The Rohrabacher-Farr amendment to last year’s spending bill lists the states that have medical marijuana laws, and mandates that the DOJ is barred from using federal funds to “prevent such State from implementing their own State laws…

The 10th Circuit court ruled on August 21, 2015, that neither Chapter 7 nor 13 is available to a marijuana business owner.  The court stated that because of “the federally illegal marijuana based income stream, the debtors cannot fund a plan without breaking the law, and are therefore ineligible for relief under Chapter 13.”…