Category: April 2019

The proliferation of cannabis-related businesses in states that have legalized marijuana – medical and/or recreational – has sparked a foreboding trend in the courts. Opponents have sought to use the heavy weapon of RICO, the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, to prevent or close such facilities. Although these efforts to target cannabis-related businesses with the a statute originally designed to fight organized crime have so far failed, cannabis-related businesses are not yet in the clear and the specter of RICO liability remains.

This article provides a general introduction to the Australian medicinal cannabis product licensing and permit application regime. In particular, it considers the basic elements of an application under the NDA for a licence to produce or manufacture medicinal cannabis products. We also consider some of the issues associated with regulatory environment for medicinal cannabis in Australia.Australia’s medicinal cannabis industry continues to flourish. Between November 2016 and 15 January 2019, the Office of Drug Control (ODC) has granted a total of 26 medicinal cannabis (cultivation and production) and 20 manufacturing licences.

Minister of Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Audley Shaw, recently lauded Cannabis company, Jacana, for making a multi-million-dollar investment in the cannabis industry as the first local entity to export cannabis flowers from Jamaica.

  Welcome to Issue 12 of the quarterly online  Cannabis Law Journal where we collect the best...

Although the growth and production of industrial hemp was recently heavily regulated by the federal government, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is actively reviewing and granting patents related to industrial hemp technology. In fact, the U.S. Department of Health obtained a utility patent relating to potential use of non-psychoactive properties of the cannabis plant to protect the brain from damage or degeneration caused by certain diseases.

Even when the government has fully regulated and legitimated the cannabis industry, from administrative licenses for the  cultivation and processing of psychoactive and non-psychoactive cannabis, to sanitary matters for the commercialization of cannabis derived products, unfortunately, financial institutions, and particularly banks, are still coming up with obstacles for cannabis companies to acquire financial services.

In Massachusetts and other states, perhaps the most common basis for a product liability lawsuit is that the manufacturer or seller did not adequately warn of a reasonably foreseeable risk arising from the product.

Cannabis companies have gone global, and with that expansion comes additional legal considerations. Canadian cannabis company Aurora cannabis just announced that they will now be operating in Germany, Italy, and Australia, expanding their current international portfolio. Tilray distributes its products globally across Canada, Europe, Australia and Latin America. This post will explore some of the key legal provisions to include in an international cannabis (or hemp) contract — whether it be for supply, consulting services, or a joint venture.

Cannabis, for medicinal purposes, was legalised nearly four months ago in the UK, but how many patients are actually reaping the benefits, and how far have we really come?

In recent years, inconsistency has become a major issue in the national debate on cannabis policy, not least because of pleas by local authorities for renewal, in particular to regulate the back door and to establish a closed circuit from cannabis cultivation to selling to consumers in coffeeshops.

The context of cannabis policy and enforcement practice in Denmark has been increasingly repressive, shifting from an environment of tolerance towards a ‘zero-tolerance’ approach to the sale, use, and possession of cannabis. Political opposition to legalisation (and likewise, decriminalisation) so far outweighs support, and widespread media attention on the issue of medicinal cannabis since 2016 has not altered political positions on cannabis for recreational use.

The upshot of all this generally, and in North Carolina specifically, is that there is strong legal precedent that businesses may continue to sell products containing full-spectrum hemp extract derived from lawful hemp. Additionally, it appears that NC is primarily focused on health claims. In an “educational” letter to sellers of CBD products in NC, the DACS states…..