In our previous post, we touched on the fact that state-legal medical and recreational marijuana businesses (including indirect marijuana businesses) could not receive federal financial assistance due to marijuana’s continued Schedule I status under the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”). While state-legal medical and recreational marijuana businesses have been adversely affected due to government imposed
Regulatory Issues
HB Summary of Recent COVID-19 Announcements and Changes in the State of Illinois Impacting Cannabis Businesses

The below discussion is an analysis of the current legal environment in light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. This analysis highlights the ability of both medical and retail marijuana businesses to continue operating in light of several emergency orders from the State of Illinois and emergency variances from regulatory agencies. This summary is not a…
HB Analysis of Recent COVID-19 Announcements by the State of Colorado and the Marijuana Enforcement Division

The below discussion is an analysis of the current legal environment related to the recent COVID-19 pandemic. This analysis highlights the ability of both medical and retail businesses to continue operating in light of several emergency orders from the State of Colorado and emergency rule changes from the Marijuana Enforcement Division (“MED”). This summary is not a legal opinion, but rather perspective and analysis on the current status of such emergency rules and orders. The content provided herein is subject to change as the laws and interpretation of such laws change.
STATE ANALYSIS
Below is a summary of the current status of Governor Polis’ Executive Orders, Colorado Department of Public Health’s (“CDPHE”) Public Health Orders (“PHO”), Emergency Rules, and MED Guidance (the “Releases”) updated as of March 30, 2020. For ease of reference, at the end of this summary is a link to all applicable Releases. …
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Trump Budget Removes Medical Marijuana Protections

President Trump is back at it again with his most recent inconsistent stance on marijuana. “As part of his recently released fiscal year 2021 budget plan, Trump proposed ending an existing policy that protects state medical marijuana programs from Justice Department interference in addition to a provision that would continue to prohibit the District…
FDA States CBD Is Not GRAS for Use in Food, Issues More Warning Letters

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a press release on the evening of Monday, November 25 concerning its recent enforcement actions and a regulatory decision concerning products that contain cannabidiol (CBD). The Warning Letters follow FDA’s trend of focusing its CBD product enforcement on unapproved drug claims. The regulatory decision stated in the press release concerns FDA’s decision that CBD is not generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for use as a food additive.
The fifteen (15) Warning Letters, each dated November 22, 2019, were issued to companies for marketing various CBD products. The products identified in the Warning Letters spanned conventional foods, dietary supplements and animal products. FDA made specific mention in several Warning Letters about statements regarding the use of CBD products in infants and children. …
Continue Reading FDA States CBD Is Not GRAS for Use in Food, Issues More Warning Letters
Implications of USDA Hemp Rules Guidance
Marshall Custer was quoted in the November 11, 2019 edition of Law Week Colorado on the U.S. Department of Agriculture first guidance on how
hemp can be lawfully produced under the 2018 Farm Bill.
Read the article here.
Vaping Illness: CDC Identifies Vitamin E acetate as a “potential toxin of concern”

Last week, the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (the “CDC”) announced what the agency considers to be an important breakthrough in their investigation on vaping illnesses. While the CDC has not ruled out other possible factors, the investigation has revealed a correlation between those suffering from symptoms and Vitamin E acetate. The…
Illinois Legalizes Adult-Use Marijuana
Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act
In May 2019, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (the “Act”). With the Act’s passage, Illinois became the first state legislature to pass a bill that legalized both the sale and possession of recreational marijuana. The Act passed the Senate on Wednesday, May 29th…

Canna Compliance West Conference
Canna Compliance West is a unique gathering of policy-makers, attorneys, proprietors, and growers. They all come together annually to discuss the current legal regulations on cannabis and the state of the market. Husch Blackwell’s Steve Levine will be the keynote speaker for the conference on May 30, 2019. Steve will be giving a presentation called,…
TTB Prohibits use of CBD in Alcoholic Beverages

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) recently issued an industry circular which makes clear that cannabidiol (CBD), a product derived from hemp, is not permitted in alcohol beverages.
Read the full post here.