As a result of the most recent Congressional Appropriations Act, hemp vaping products, including hemp extracts, CBD, and delta-8 THC, are about to be subject to a comprehensive law and set of federal and state regulations. This article discusses the new law and associated regulations. It also provide a practical overview of the things that all sellers of vape products should know. Click here to read our other article on the new vape requirements. 

On February 16, SB 21-056 (SB-56) was introduced in the Colorado General Assembly requiring that school boards create a policy for the administration and storage of medical marijuana in a non-smokable form on school grounds. This bill finally recognizes the legitimacy of cannabis therapeutics and the necessity for students to be in school, no matter what course of treatment a doctor recommends.

In 2020, bankruptcy court doors continued to be shut to cannabis companies.  Perhaps most troubling is the continued bar for companies that are only tangentially involved in the state-legalized cannabis industry.  Although outlier cases exist, and even though courts have hinted that bankruptcy may be appropriate for some cannabis-related individuals and companies in some situations, there is a consensus now that bankruptcy is generally not available to individuals and companies engaged, directly or indirectly, in the cannabis industry.  Below are some of the most important decisions from 2020.

Speculation abounds these days with regard to the impact of the political environment on cannabis in the United States. Whether the conversation centers around the potential SAFE Banking Act, or the MORE Act, or the general social media hype on cannabis legalization or decriminalization, this tidbit of unverified information appears to be influencing investors’ decisions to purchase stock in cannabis companies.

While many states have legalized medical and recreational marijuana, marijuana remains an illegal controlled substance under federal law. As we have previously discussed, this has created a conundrum of sorts for employers who want to maintain a drug free workplace. In New York State, the landscape for employers has just gotten more challenging.

Heather Burke – Presentation February 2021 of latest developments with regard to cannabis and agriculture regulation in the state of California

Legislation that would make the use of cannabis for both recreational and medicinal purposes legal has been tabled in Bermuda’s House of Assembly. If passed into law, the Cannabis Licensing Act 2020 (Act) will provide a legal and regulatory framework for a Bermuda based cannabis industry.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation on February 22 enabling the constitutional amendment to legalize adult recreational use of cannabis and a companion decriminalization bill. Each law has significant employment implications, including a requirement in the enabling legislation that employers procure a “Workplace Impairment Recognition Expert” to conduct physical evaluations to determine marijuana use and impairment in the workplace.