On November 7, 2023, voters in Ohio approved Ohio Issue 2, the Marijuana Legalization Initiative (the Initiative), which legalizes marijuana for recreational use in Ohio. Among its key provisions, the Ohio Initiative creates a new Division of Cannabis Control (DCC) within the Ohio Department of Commerce (DOC) to regulate marijuana
Continue Reading Ohio Legalizes Adult-Use MarijuanaIn late August, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that it would recommend moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. In this episode, corporate cannabis attorney Daniel Shortt moderates a discussion with tax attorney Douglas Charnas and financial services regulatory attorney
Continue Reading Podcast: Tax and Banking Implications of Rescheduling Marijuana
According to a report from the Congressional Research Service (the Report), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is likely to follow the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recommendation to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act
Continue Reading DEA Likely to Reschedule Marijuana Based on Congressional Report
Major news broke on August 30, 2023, as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it would recommend moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, as first reported by Riley Griffin for Bloomberg. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said earlier this year that the recommendation
Continue Reading From Schedule I to Schedule III: Potential Shift in Marijuana’s Legal Status
Marijuana is currently listed as a Schedule I substance in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA); this scheduling means the federal government concluded marijuana has no currently accepted medical use in any setting. This could change as the Biden Administration evaluates marijuana’s current legal status, potentially opening the door to rescheduling
Continue Reading Rescheduling Marijuana: Understanding the Legal Impacts
According to reporting from Kyle Jaegar of Marijuana Moment, the federal government aims to finish its review of marijuana’s current legal status by the end of 2023, based on remarks from the head of the U.S. Department of Health of Human Services (HHS), Secretary Xavier Becerra. Becerra told Marijuana
Continue Reading Federal Legalization of Marijuana May Be Closer Than You Think
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington (the Court) has upheld the residency requirement set by the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) in the case of Brinkmeyer v. LCB. The residency requirement, which requires individuals owning or controlling a licensed business must establish residency 6
Continue Reading Washington’s Residency Requirement Upheld in Court. . . Again
The residency requirement for buying a cannabis business in Washington may change this year. The Washington state legislature is considering a pair of identical bills, House Bill 1341 and Senate Bill 5377 (collectively, the Bill), which would authorize out-of-state ownership of licensed cannabis businesses. While it’s too early to tell
Continue Reading Washington's Cannabis Residency Requirement: Proposed Law Could Change Landscape
The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) has announced that it will open the social equity retail license application window on March 1, 2023. The application window will remain open for 30 days, and 44 total retail licenses will be distributed. The WSLCB has provided a checklist to assist
Continue Reading Washington Cannabis: Social Equity Licensing Application Window Opening Soon
As we approach the end of 2022, we are looking at the top ten national cannabis stories of the year. Here is what we view as the most important cannabis stories of 2022:
On October 6, 2022, President Biden announced that he would pardon