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Cannabis
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April 25, 2024
Mich. Pot Group Says Suit Against Town Was Properly Pled
A group of residents of Lima Township, Michigan, have asked a federal court not to throw out their suit claiming that the township's trustees abused their power by blocking any progress on opening a cannabis dispensary, saying the complaint clearly pleads that their 14th Amendment rights were violated.
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April 25, 2024
3 Things Attys Should Know About Pa.'s $48B Spending Plan
Several areas of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's proposed $48 billion budget for 2024-2025 could result in more work for the legal industry, including more opportunities for crafting economic development deals, getting a recreational cannabis industry off the ground, and speeding up environmental permit applications, experts tell Law360.
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April 24, 2024
DEA's Upcoming Decision On Cannabis Likely To Be Litigated
The potential loosening of federal restrictions on marijuana is likely to be litigated for years, and the pro-legalization camp would do well to pool resources to build the most persuasive evidentiary record it can, a leading cannabis advocate said Wednesday.
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April 24, 2024
FDA Can Keep Most Docs Hidden From Juul's FOIA Request
A District of Columbia federal judge has largely sided with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in a suit by Juul Labs Inc. seeking documents related to the FDA's decision to ban its products, saying the bulk of the files fall under a privilege that protects predecision deliberations.
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April 24, 2024
FDA Seeks Max Fines Against Shops Selling Elf Bar Vapes
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued another round of complaints and civil penalties to 22 brick-and-mortar and online sellers of illicit e-cigarettes, including the highly popular Elf Bar brand, according to an agency announcement that noted more than 100 retailers have been hit since September.
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April 23, 2024
Residents Say NJ Township, Grower Rushed Land Use Permits
Residents of a New Jersey neighborhood are hopping mad about plans to put a cannabis growing facility a stone's throw from their residential street, telling a state court that the local township didn't properly assess the site plan for the project before approving it.
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April 23, 2024
Do Not Remand FDA Cigar Rule Without Vacatur, DC Circ. Told
The New Civil Liberties Alliance is urging the D.C. Circuit not to remand a U.S. Food and Drug Administration rule regulating premium cigars without first vacating the regulation, saying federal agencies cannot enforce rules that have been declared unlawful.
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April 23, 2024
9th Circ. Won't Reinstate Pilot After High-Flying Pot Deliveries
The Ninth Circuit won't undo the Federal Aviation Administration's decision to revoke the pilot certificate of a pilot who transported cannabis within the state of Alaska, saying the state's legalization of cannabis doesn't block the FAA's rules and regulations.
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April 22, 2024
Ayahuasca Church Settles Religious Freedom Suit With Feds
A Phoenix-based church that uses the psychedelic ayahuasca as a sacrament announced Monday that it had reached a legal settlement in Arizona federal court with a slew of federal agencies to ensure its religious right to access the federally controlled substance.
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April 22, 2024
DEA Tells 9th Circ. 'Right To Try' Doesn't Rewrite CSA
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is urging the Ninth Circuit to reject an appeal by a doctor who seeks to administer psilocybin to terminal cancer patients to treat depression, saying the Right to Try Act doesn't waive the Controlled Substances Act's prohibitions or authorize the DEA to do so.
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April 22, 2024
Trulieve Strikes Deal To End Ex-Worker's Whistleblower Suit
Cannabis company Trulieve has reached a deal with a Black former manager to end his suit alleging he was fired after reporting a supervisor's sexual misconduct and several safety violations, according to a filing in Florida federal court.
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April 19, 2024
A Cannabis Constitutional Fight, And The Calif. Atty Behind It
Federal appellate courts are mulling multiple challenges to state and local cannabis licensure programs, all brought by one California-based attorney and each alleging that the dormant commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution must apply to federally illegal marijuana.
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April 19, 2024
NY Lawmakers Approve Overhauling Cannabis Tax System
New York is slated to scrap its potency-based tax system for adult-use cannabis and replace it with a more streamlined wholesale tax structure in June under a budget-related bill approved by state lawmakers.
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April 19, 2024
Blumenauer: This 4/20 Will Be The Last For Schedule I Pot
U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., one of the most ardent champions of marijuana policy reform on Capitol Hill, said Friday that he was optimistic 2024 would be final year that cannabis would remain a Schedule I substance under federal law.
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April 18, 2024
NY Tribe Says Smoke Shop Group Can't Be Trusted With Data
The Cayuga Nation is urging a New York federal judge to keep one of the entrepreneurs it's accused of opening up an unlicensed smoke shop on tribal land from viewing spreadsheets purportedly detailing lost revenues the tribe suffered due to the store's operation, claiming he'll use the information to hurt the tribe's business.
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April 18, 2024
$100M Arbitration Award Restored In Colo. Dispensary Fight
A Colorado appellate panel on Thursday largely reinstated a roughly $100 million arbitration award in a dispute between former business partners in the cannabis dispensary chain Native Roots, finding no basis to conclude the arbitrator was biased.
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April 18, 2024
Pharma Ex-Exec Can't Revive $12M Underpayment Suit in US
A Manhattan federal judge has refused to rethink her decision tossing a $12 million suit accusing Altum Pharmaceuticals Inc. and its cannabis-focused parent company, BetterLife Pharma Inc., of stock dilution and underpaying a former executive chairman of the board of directors, saying the claims are better suited for Canadian courts.
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April 18, 2024
6th Circ. Axes Ex-Perrigo Worker's Drug Test Firing Suit
The Sixth Circuit refused to reinstate a bias suit from a worker who said drugmaker L. Perrigo Co. unlawfully fired him after lip balm caused him to test positive for marijuana, saying he didn't show that age or disability discrimination motivated the decision to let him go.
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April 18, 2024
Missouri AG Launches Probe Into Delta-8 Products
Missouri's Republican attorney general has launched an investigation into four companies purportedly manufacturing or selling vapes and other products containing hemp and marijuana derivatives such as CBD, delta-8 THC and delta-9 THC.
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April 18, 2024
FDA Head Gets GOP Rep.'s Rebuke Over Pot Rescheduling
The Republican chair of a U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations subcommittee on Thursday chided the commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the agency's recommendation last year to loosen restrictions on marijuana.
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April 17, 2024
Discovery Sanction Too Severe In $1M Vape Case, Panel Says
An Illinois appeals court has found that a default judgment granted against a vape shop accused of causing a customer's burn injuries, which led to a $1 million bench verdict, was too severe of a sanction for defense counsel's failure to timely comply with certain discovery requests.
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April 17, 2024
FDA's Foot-Dragging On Menthol Ban Sparks Frustration
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's yearslong delay to ban menthol has left public health groups frustrated over why the agency has failed to act on what the groups see as an obvious way to improve public health and prevent needless deaths, prompting a second lawsuit over taking menthol off store shelves.
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April 17, 2024
FDA Denies Marketing For 65 MNGO Disposable E-Cigarettes
The latest action by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on e-cigarettes was to tell a Chinese company to take its range of 65 e-cigarette products in a variety of flavors from menthol to pink lemonade and watermelon off the market.
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April 17, 2024
FDA Tells Justices It Has A Better Vape Case In Mind
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has told the U.S. Supreme Court that if it wants to address the agency's decision not to approve applications for flavored e-cigarettes, there is a better case in the pipeline than the appeal lodged by Lotus Vaping Technologies that the justices should choose instead.
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April 17, 2024
Alien Influencer, Ex-Partners Walk Away From IP Row
A Colorado federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by a motivational speaker and self-described influencer who claims to have met with extraterrestrial beings known as the "Blue Avians," after the influencer and two former business partners agreed to drop dueling claims over movie projects and business ventures gone awry.
Expert Analysis
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Potential Marijuana Status Change Would Shift Industry Risks
Cannabis companies and their insurers should pay close attention to how the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' move toward marijuana reclassification plays out, and the potential for a shakeup in the landscape for cannabis regulation at the state and federal levels, says Ian Stewart at Wilson Elser.
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The Basics Of Being A Knowledge Management Attorney
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Michael Lehet at Ogletree Deakins discusses the role of knowledge management attorneys at law firms, the common tasks they perform and practical tips for lawyers who may be considering becoming one.
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What Big Tobacco's Cannabis Investments Mean For Market
The tobacco industry appears to be shoring up investments in the cannabis market, most recently with Philip Morris’ purchase of an Israeli cannabis tech company, pointing to a bright future for vaped and noncombustible products, and signaling that marijuana rescheduling may be on the horizon, say Slates Veazey and Whitt Steineker at Bradley Arant.
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To Hire And Keep Top Talent, Think Beyond Compensation
Firms seeking to appeal to sophisticated clients and top-level partners should promote mentorship, ensure that attorneys from diverse backgrounds feel valued, and clarify policies about at-home work, says Patrick Moya at Quaero Group.
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Perspectives
More States Should Join Effort To Close Legal Services Gap
Colorado is the most recent state to allow other types of legal providers, not just attorneys, to offer specific services in certain circumstances — and more states should rethink the century-old assumptions that shape our current regulatory rules, say Natalie Anne Knowlton and Janet Drobinske at the University of Denver.
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Identifying Trends And Tips In Litigation Financing Disclosure
Growing interest and controversy in litigation financing raise several salient concerns, but exploring recent compelled disclosure trends from courts around the country can help practitioners further their clients' interests, say Sean Callagy and Samuel Sokolsky at Arnold & Porter.
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What's Next For Adult-Use Marijuana In Ohio
After Ohio voters defeated a proposal that would have made it harder to pass any citizen-initiated constitutional amendment, a state ballot measure to legalize adult-use marijuana has fairly good chances of passing — but advocates still face a long road ahead, say Perry Salzhauer and David Waxman at McGlinchey Stafford.
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2023 Farm Bill Could Follow Md., Minn. Or NY's Lead On Hemp
As potential changes to federal hemp policy are hammered out in the 2023 Farm Bill, lawmakers may look to recent regulations promulgated in Maryland, Minnesota and New York, which provide several possible regulatory frameworks for hemp and synthetic cannabinoids, say Seth Gitner and Jonathan Havens at Saul Ewing.
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What's Notable In Connecticut's New Cannabis Laws
The Connecticut Legislature recently passed four bills containing cannabis provisions — ranging from applicable tax credits to labor agreement requirements — that may prove to be a mixed bag for state operators, say Sarah Westby and Deanna McWeeney at Shipman & Goodwin.
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Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Elrod On 'Jury Duty'
Though the mockumentary series “Jury Duty” features purposely outrageous characters, it offers a solemn lesson about the simple but brilliant design of the right to trial by jury, with an unwitting protagonist who even John Adams may have welcomed as an impartial foreperson, says Fifth Circuit Judge Jennifer Elrod.
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4 Business-Building Strategies For Introvert Attorneys
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Introverted lawyers can build client bases to rival their extroverted peers’ by adapting time-tested strategies for business development that can work for any personality — such as claiming a niche, networking for maximum impact, drawing on existing contacts and more, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.
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What Calif. Pot Permit Ruling Means For Enviro Compliance
While a California appeals court's recent decision in Lucas v. City of Pomona affirms the city's use of a statutory exemption for its commercial cannabis overlay permit program, the ruling does not mean that all applicants seeking similar approvals are exempted from state environmental compliance obligations, say Whitney Hodges and Barbara Machado at Sheppard Mullin.
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Opinion
3 Ways Justices' Disclosure Defenses Miss The Ethical Point
The rule-bound interpretation of financial disclosures preferred by U.S. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas — demonstrated in their respective statements defending their failure to disclose gifts from billionaires — show that they do not understand the ethical aspects of the public's concern, says Jim Moliterno at the Washington and Lee University School of Law.
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Rare Reg A+ Fines Reflect New Era Of SEC Enforcement
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent announcement of civil penalties against 10 microcap companies for violations of Regulation A+ shows that as the SEC continues to expand its enforcement efforts, its focus remains on protecting investors of all sizes — including those investing in the historically less-scrutinized Reg A+ issuers, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Cannabis Plain Packaging Rules: Examples And Opportunities
States that have legalized adult-use cannabis in recent years have adopted stringent requirements for product packaging and labeling in an effort to protect minors, and these rules may provide a vehicle for compromise between proponents and opponents of legalization, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.