Cannabis

  • March 08, 2024

    Md. Pot Regulators Eye Win In Challenge To Social Equity Plan

    Maryland cannabis regulators on Friday asked a federal judge to toss a lawsuit alleging the state's social equity scheme unconstitutionally discriminates against out-of-state players, asserting that there is no such thing as a federally legal marijuana market.

  • March 08, 2024

    Colo. Judge Sends Pot Co. Receivership Dispute To Arbitration

    A member of a struggling cannabis cultivation and dispensary business alleging mismanagement by other owners must take its receivership battle to arbitration, after a Colorado state judge found that the company's operating agreement requires it.

  • March 08, 2024

    Hiller PC Says Ex-Atty Stole From Firm, Not The Reverse

    Boutique firm Hiller PC told a New York state judge that a suit by a former attorney alleging she was underpaid should be trimmed, arguing that unjust enrichment claims fail because she was actually stealing money from the firm, not the other way around.

  • March 08, 2024

    Longtime Cannabis Atty From Bressler Joins Fox Rothschild

    Fox Rothschild LLP announced that an experienced cannabis and financial services attorney who spent nearly two decades with Bressler Amery & Ross PC has moved to the firm's litigation practice as a partner in Morristown, New Jersey.

  • March 07, 2024

    Biden Blasts 'Hidden Fees' During State Of The Union

    During what could be his last State of the Union, President Joe Biden touted on Thursday night his administration's efforts to protect consumers by combating such issues as "junk fees" and price gouging.

  • March 07, 2024

    NY Cannabis License Scheme Not Discriminatory, State Says

    New York cannabis regulators have urged a federal judge to reject a bid seeking to temporarily halt the issuance of marijuana retail licenses by a company that claims the social equity program is biased against white male entrepreneurs, arguing that the company "fundamentally misunderstands" how the program works.

  • March 07, 2024

    Marijuana Store Retaliated After Complaint, Ex-Worker Says

    An Atlantic City, New Jersey, marijuana dispensary fired one of its employees after she requested that "loud music" being played in the shop be turned down because it triggered her post-traumatic stress, paranoia and anxiety, the ex-worker says in a discrimination lawsuit filed in New Jersey state court. 

  • March 07, 2024

    Hawaii Senate OKs Cannabis Legalization Bill

    The Hawaii Senate has approved a bill to legalize marijuana for adult nonmedical use and tax and regulate its sale, sending the proposal to the state House of Representatives for review.

  • March 07, 2024

    Sens. Tell Stores To Get Illegal E-Cigs Off Their Shelves

    Five U.S. senators on Thursday told the heads of major convenience store and gas station chains to stop sales of unauthorized flavored e-cigarette products, saying that their illegal sales pose a major threat to public health, especially children's.

  • March 07, 2024

    Pot Co. Worker Claims Retaliation For Spotting Bad Policies

    A Hollywood Boulevard-located cannabis dispensary, Pineapple Express, terminated one of its top-selling employees after he complained about the ways it was failing to follow California marijuana laws, according to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Court.

  • March 06, 2024

    Vape Co. Is Denied Atty Fees After Subsidiary Loses Case

    A vape and lifestyle brand headed by Instagram celebrity Dan Bilzerian that was hit with a $1.6 million judgment in a contract dispute can't get back its attorney fees, a Nevada federal judge has ruled, saying a party actually has to win money to recover expenses.

  • March 06, 2024

    Juul MDL Judge Asks Feds To Probe AI Fraud In $45.5M Deal

    A California federal judge Wednesday approved e-cigarette Juul investor Altria's $45.5 million settlement and counsel's $13.65 million fee request to resolve consumer claims in Altria's broader $235 million multidistrict settlement agreement, but said fraudulent claims submitted by AI and "click farms" are a "real problem" prosecutors should investigate.

  • March 06, 2024

    3rd Circ. Questions Who Can Sue Under NJ Cannabis Law

    The Third Circuit on Wednesday struggled to pinpoint whether workers can sue employers under a New Jersey law that protects them from punishment for cannabis use, while also expressing unease about accepting Walmart's assertion that state regulators possess broad enforcement authority.

  • March 06, 2024

    Senators Question Cherokee Tribe's Cannabis Co. Launch

    Both of North Carolina's U.S. senators are asking for an inquiry into the upcoming launch of a Cherokee tribe's cannabis dispensary, saying the matter raises important questions on how to keep the state's residents safe.

  • March 06, 2024

    Wash. Business Can't Get Pot License Back After Eviction

    A Washington appeals court won't upend a decision from the state's Liquor and Cannabis Board revoking a company's cannabis license after it was evicted, finding this week that the decision was supported by the evidence in front of the board and wasn't arbitrary or capricious.

  • March 05, 2024

    Wash. Court Says Dept. Jumped Gun On Weed Co. Wage Suit

    The Washington Department of Labor and Industries prematurely commenced a wage action against a cannabis company, state appellate judges ruled, because it had not yet determined how much the company owed its workers.

  • March 05, 2024

    Wash. Appeals Judges Balk At Pot Investor's 2nd Fraud Suit

    A three-judge panel of Washington state appeals court judges appeared frustrated Tuesday with an investor who permanently dropped a fraud case against partners in a failed cannabis venture but then filed related claims in a neighboring county, questioning how he could argue he needed to wait for the second salvo to ripen when an email explicitly states otherwise.

  • March 05, 2024

    Pot Co. Partner Questioned On Why $140M Award Was Unfair

    A Colorado appeals judge seemed to doubt that a trial court correctly threw out a $140 million arbitration award in a dispute between partners in a cannabis business, pressing the target of the tossed award to prove the arbitrator was so unfair that his decision should be erased.

  • March 05, 2024

    Gibson Dunn AI Leader On Weathering The AI Policy Blizzard

    Like a mountaineer leading a team through a snowstorm, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP's artificial intelligence co-chair Cassandra L. Gaedt-Sheckter is guiding companies developing and using artificial intelligence through a blizzard of new laws and regulations coming online in Europe and the U.S., saying that assessing AI risks is the North Star to mitigating them.

  • March 05, 2024

    Ohio Pot Facility Explosion Sparks Suit Against Lighting Co.

    An Ohio cannabis grower and its insurer accused a lighting products company of failing to warn them about the dangers of its merchandise after one of its lamps allegedly exploded in a growth facility, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage.

  • March 05, 2024

    Judge Rips THC Drink Co.'s 'Repackaged' Injunction Bid

    A manufacturer of THC- and CBD-infused beverages shouldn't prevail on its second attempt to stop a rival from marketing drinks under an allegedly similar name, an Illinois federal magistrate judge found Monday, writing that the company's second injunction request "simply repackaged and reargued information."

  • March 05, 2024

    Hemp Cos. Say NY Regulations Will Sink Industry In State

    A group of hemp product makers, distributors and sellers are suing the New York State Cannabis Control Board and Office of Cannabis Management in federal court, saying newly adopted regulations will hamstring the industry and cost the businesses millions.

  • March 04, 2024

    Tobacco Cos. Urge DC Circ. To Ax Broad Health Warning Order

    Tobacco giants R.J. Reynolds and ITG Brands have backed a bid to overturn a D.C. district court order classifying Philip Morris USA's electronic tobacco devices, called HeatSticks, as "cigarettes," thereby subjecting them to the same marketing requirements that warn consumers of the negative health effects of smoking.

  • March 04, 2024

    Pot User Cites Bruen In Bid To Escape Gun Charge Indictment

    A man who police say fired a shotgun at his neighbor's front door is looking to evade criminal charges related to having and transferring a gun while using marijuana, filing a dismissal bid to the same judge who declared identical charges levied on the defendant's wife unconstitutional.

  • March 04, 2024

    9th Circ. Rejects Abstention In Calif. Pot Permit Law Challenge

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Monday reversed and remanded a district court's decision to abstain from a challenge to Sacramento's social equity cannabis licensure program, saying even if a state court clarified the program's unambiguous residency requirements, it wouldn't change the outcome of the plaintiff's federal commerce clause claim.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Bar Score Is Best Hiring Metric Post-Affirmative Action

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling striking down affirmative action admissions policies, law firms looking to foster diversity in hiring should view an applicant's Multistate Bar Examination score as the best metric of legal ability — over law school name or GPA, says attorney Alice Griffin.

  • FDA Trends Show Compliance Priorities For Supplement Cos.

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    Several recent developments at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration affecting dietary supplements provide practical insight into why companies should focus their compliance and risk management operations on the fundamentals, says Nicholas Diamond at Jackson Walker.

  • Ghosting In BigLaw: How To Come Back From Lack Of Feedback

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    Junior associates can feel powerless when senior colleagues cut off contact instead of providing useful feedback, but young attorneys can get back on track by focusing on practical professional development and reexamining their career priorities, says Rachel Patterson at Orrick.

  • Novel NLRB Action Highlights Aggressive Noncompete Stance

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    While a first-of-its-kind noncompete complaint filed by the National Labor Relations Board general counsel against a Michigan cannabis processor recently resulted in a private settlement, the action shows how broadly the general counsel views her authority over such covenants and how vigorously she intends to exercise it, say Erik Weibust and Erin Schaefer at Epstein Becker.

  • Steps To Success For Senior Associates

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Adriana Paris at Rissman Barrett discusses the increased responsibilities and opportunities that becoming a senior associate brings and what attorneys in this role should prioritize to flourish in this stressful but rewarding next level in their careers.

  • Cannabis Seed Importation Carries CBP Enforcement Risks

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    Though cannabis seed importation may be arguably legal, potential importers — such the recent MMJ-Global Cannabis partnership to bring cannabis THC products into the U.S. — risk action from U.S. Customs and Border Protection until the agency issues an official ruling on cannabis seed admissibility, say Adams Lee and Vince Sliwoski at Harris Bricken.

  • Legal Profession Must Do More For Lawyers With Disabilities

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    At the start of Disability Pride month, Rosalyn Richter at Arnold & Porter looks at why lawyers with disabilities are significantly underrepresented in private practice, asserting that law firms and other employers must do more to conquer the implicit bias that deters attorneys from seeking accommodations.

  • Opinion

    Appellate Funding Disclosure: No Mandate Is Right Choice

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    The Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules' recent decision, forgoing a mandatory disclosure rule for litigation funding in federal appeals, is prudent, as third-party funding is only involved in a minuscule number of federal cases, and courts have ample authority to obtain funding information if necessary, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.

  • What RJ Reynolds' Calif. Suit Means For Tobacco Regulation

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    R.J. Reynolds' recently filed lawsuit against the attorney general of California is testing the limits of the state's 2020 ban on flavored tobacco products — and whatever the outcome, it may help shape tobacco regulations at both the state and federal levels in coming years, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • NBA Players Must Avoid Legal Fouls In CBD Deals

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    The NBA’s recently ratified collective bargaining agreement allows athletes to promote CBD brands and products, but athletes and the companies they promote must be cautious of a complex patchwork of applicable state laws and federal regulators’ approach to advertising claims, says Airina Rodrigues at Brownstein Hyatt.

  • How Attys Can Avoid Exposing Their Firms To Cyberattacks

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    Attorneys are the weakest link in their firms' cyberdefenses because hackers often exploit the gap between individuals’ work and personal cybersecurity habits, but there are some steps lawyers can take to reduce the risks they create for their employers, say Mark Hurley and Carmine Cicalese at Digital Privacy & Protection.

  • Virginia 'Rocket Docket' Slowdown Is Likely A Blip

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    After being the fastest or second-fastest federal civil trial court for 14 straight years, the Eastern District of Virginia has slid to 18th place, but the rocket docket’s statistical tumble doesn't mean the district no longer maintains a speedy civil docket, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

  • Preparing For Md. Adult-Use Cannabis: Operations And More

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    As a new regulatory body takes the reins before Maryland’s adult-use cannabis market launches on July 1, industry stakeholders should understand key provisions related to management agreements, secured creditors and receiverships, dispensary operations, and hemp, say Seth Gitner and Jonathan Havens at Saul Ewing.

  • Preparing For Md. Adult-Use Cannabis: Licensing Provisions

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    As the launch of Maryland’s adult-use cannabis market quickly approaches, current and prospective businesses will need to understand key provisions and limitations related to license conversion, qualifying partnerships, social equity applications and microlicenses, say Seth Gitner and Jonathan Havens at Saul Ewing.

  • 5 Management Tips To Keep Law Firm Merger Talks Moving

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    Many law firm mergers that make solid business sense still fall apart due to the costs and frustrations of inefficient negotiations, but firm managers can increase the chance of success by effectively planning and executing merger discussions, say Lisa Smith and Kristin Stark at Fairfax Associates.

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