Category: February 2020

Switzerland also participates in European market surveillance and the European single market for medical devices through the EU-Switzerland Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA, Chapter 4). Once the MDR enters into force, negotiations will be needed to update the MRA. Whether this process can be completed before MDR is effective remains to be seen. Failing a timely update of the MRA, Swiss manufacturers will have to comply with third country requirements as of May 2020 and take corresponding measures. For Swiss manufacturers of currently approved medical devices with a European conformity marking (CE), however, access to the EU market will remain guaranteed for the time being.

A new class-action lawsuit claims budtenders and other people who have worked in dispensaries may be overworked, underpaid, forced to work through lunch, paid in cannabis, not paid at all, or paid under the table. All of these practices are now huge risks that companies need to avoid. Entrepreneurs must be 100 percent compliant to move into the licensed marketplace.

In 1716, English playwright Christopher Bullock first inked the sentiment; Ben Franklin later paraphrased it; and to this day, over 300 years later, it still rings true: “Tis impossible to be sure of anything but Death and Taxes.”  But what happens when death is intertwined and arguably begot by taxes?

On January 21, 2020, as part of his 2021 Executive Budget, New York State Governor Cuomo released his proposed Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act (CRTA)—his vision of a regulated cannabis market in New York State and second bite at the apple. In the 2019 New York State legislative session, which runs from January through June of each year, comprehensive cannabis legislation failed to garner enough support to pass as part of the budget or as standalone legislation. The current version of the bill includes more detail than the prior year’s, no doubt benefiting from a year’s worth of additional consideration and discussion among the Governor’s office and legislature. This year’s proposed legislation also reflects that New York’s time remaining on the sidelines of adult-use cannabis was well-used to learn from the challenges and shortcomings of other adult-use programs in the country.

The hemp industry has been abuzz about the introduction of a new bill regarding cannabidiol (CBD). I do not generally comment on pending federal cannabis-related legislation since it rarely gets passed and the end product is often much different from the original bill. However, given the interest and confusion generated by this bill I think it is important to summarize its salient points.

A new class-action lawsuit claims budtenders and other people who have worked in dispensaries may be overworked, underpaid, forced to work through lunch, paid in weed, not paid at all, or paid under the table. All of these practices are now huge risks that companies need to avoid. Entrepreneurs must be 100 percent compliant to move into the licensed marketplace.

It truly staggers the imagination.  If cannabis companies in the U.S  do not readily have access to banks, nor 280E deductions, then continuing to increase state and local taxes on cannabis and CBD products will only cripple the legal market and further embolden the black market.

On January 1st, two new marijuana laws went into effect in Colorado. The first was House Bill 1234, which allows for the commercial delivery of medical marijuana. 

My previous series The Medics discussed how our current U.S. cannabis climate requires brave, willing participants to maneuver carefully in accordance with the medical marijuana rules of engagement for each respective state.    

The prohibition on immoral trademarks has been steadily eroding as a result of First Amendment litigation at the United States Supreme Court. In light of recent Supreme Court decisions on trademark registrations and free speech, the question then becomes: Is the Lanham Act’s ban on cannabis trademark registrations justifiable in light of the First Amendment in view of these recent cases?