Missouri AG Wrong on THCA
The Missouri Attorney General (AG) recently sent out a slew of letters regarding “Illegal Hemp Sales to Missouri Consumers”. Unfortunately, the AG misstates the law, at least when it comes to tetrahydrocannabinolic-acid (THCA). You can read the letter below. The AG...
Hemp Law Updates – Big Changes in Texas, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Kentucky
Editor’s note – This article was written by Kight Law attorney Amber Lengacher. Hemp Law Changes and Upcoming Deadlines If you are new to cannabis or hemp, you may be overwhelmed by the headlines recently. But rest assured, those of us who have been around for a few...
Texas is About to Massacre Its Hemp Industry
The lights are dimming for the Texas hemp industry, which looks poised to suffer a massacre. As of Wednesday evening, May 21, 2025, the state legislature passed to its third (and likely final) reading of SB3, a bill that radically overhauls the state’s existing hemp...
The National Security Implications of Protecting Legal Hemp Access in the United States (Guest Article)
Editor’s Note: I often note in my talks and writings that the US is currently experiencing a “Golden Age” of cannabis, where access to cannabinoids and a wide array of products is broader than during any other time in US history. Of course, there are some significant...
New Alabama Hemp Bill Headed to the Governor for Signature
Alabama’s new hemp bill, HB 445, has passed both the state House and Senate as of May 7, 2025. It is headed to the Governor for signature. The bill, which we anticipate will become law, places hemp product regulation under the AL Alcoholic Beverage Control Board...
The sun is setting on proposed hemp bills in the Sunshine State
Editor’s note – This article was written by Kight Law attorney and Florida native, Amber Lengacher. The morning of April 30, 2025, Florida Politics reported that the Florida “[l]egislature will not pass a regulatory framework for hemp this Legislative Session.”...
Oklahoma Governor Initiates Attack on Legal Hemp Products
Governor Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma is attempting to lasso the state’s legal hemp industry. Will he get thrown from his high horse? Oklahoma used to be a hemp-friendly state. Until recently, it was home base to several of the most well-known and respected hemp businesses...
Arizona Attorney General Cracks Down on Hemp Products
April 7, 2025 Arizona Attorney General Cracks Down on Hemp Products (AI generated image) On March 24, 2025, the Arizona Attorney General, Kris Mays, issued an open letter to the state’s County Attorneys, Sheriffs, and Chiefs of Police stating: “On April 24, 2025, the...
France and Spain to legalize medical cannabis (finally)
Editor’s note – This article is part of our continuing series on international legal developments in cannabis law. Kight Law attorney Anthony Traurig, who resides in Europe and has significant experience in the international sector via his work with CannIntelligence,...
North Carolina Hemp Bill a “Model” for Other States
North Carolina (NC) is a leader in hemp. Over the years, the state’s hemp-friendly laws and overall pro-hemp environment have resulted in NC being the home base for many of the world’s top companies. At Kight Law Office, we regularly consult with major national and...
Mid-Atlantic Cannabis: Driving Applications
Marijuana impairs a driver’s reaction time, decision-making ability, capacity to accurately track objects, balance and equilibrium. Still, it is difficult to measure when a person is impaired. The intoxicating ingredient in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is metabolized differently by individuals and remains in the body long after its psychoactive effects have ceased. Currently, there is no way to reliably measure whether a person who has ingested cannabis an hour earlier is impaired because THC concentration does not correlate well with subjective impairment.
Pennsylvania Medical Cannabis – Chasing the Green
The Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) reported that almost $100 million in medical marijuana sales occurred between February 15, 2018, and February 15, 2019, the first full year that medical cannabis was available to Pennsylvania patients. More than $40 million in sales occurred between growers and dispensaries. Pennsylvania does not tax sales to patients, but does tax transactions between growers and dispensaries at a rate of 5%. Thus, in the first year of licensed sales, the Commonwealth received approximately $2 million in tax revenue from medical cannabis.
Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana: Open Fields of Pennsylvania Hemp
The 2018 U.S. Farm Bill has opened the gates to industrial hemp farming. Hemp, a crop that has been banned in the United States since 1937, now may be legally grown. While the most popular product of hemp − oils containing cannabidiol (CBD) and other naturally occurring non-psychoactive cannabinoids − are still subject to conflicting federal and state regulations, the plant itself may be grown across the United States.
Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana: No Good Deed
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania wants medical researchers to study cannabis at Pennsylvania medical schools, eight of which have been certified as Academic Clinical Research Centers (ACRCs). ACRCs can contract with Clinical Registrants (CRs), entities that the Commonwealth will license to cultivate, package and dispense cannabis for medical research. An entire set of regulations, commonly referred to as “Chapter 20,” has been drafted, redrafted and amended to make medical research of cannabis a reality in the Commonwealth.
Pennsylvania Cannabis: Dispensary Woes
On December 18, 2018, the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) issued 23 cannabis dispensary permits (Phase II licenses). Fifty entities have been awarded dispensary licenses, which is the total number allowed under Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act. Each licensee can operate up to three dispensaries, bringing the total number of possible dispensaries in Pennsylvania to 150.
Cannabis: Social Justice in Commercial Cannabis
As the legal status of cannabis evolves, state legislatures are confronted with a difficult moral issue – how should local and state governments treat persons convicted of offenses that are no longer illegal? Below is a discussion of some of the options.
Pennsylvania and New Jersey Cannabis: Hemp Gummies
But of course, the “hemp oil” or cannabidiol (CBD) remains illegal under state law. Even if the CBD is locally sourced and sold through a licensed dispensary, edibles are not legal in Pennsylvania. Edibles are presently restricted to underage patients New Jersey. Moreover, Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act (MMA) strictly prohibits advertising or packaging that appeal to children. Candy-shaped CBD probably runs afoul of the spirit of the MMA.
Pennsylvania and New Jersey Cannabis: Recovering Capital
National legalization of cannabis is now a reality − in Canada and Uruguay. Further south, we are still waiting, our hopes stoked by committed legislators who assure us that changes are coming soon.
Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana: Transparent Cannabis
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has decided a new case that may have a huge impact on cannabis licensing in the Mid-Atlantic region. The Commonwealth Court hears cases involving state and local government entities and state agencies in Pennsylvania and has heard a number of challenges regarding the administration of the 2016 Medical Marijuana Act (MMA).
A/NJ Cannabis: Slow March Toward Progress
On September 21, 2018, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania certified eight medical schools as Academic Clinical Research Centers (ACRCs). The following schools are now certified by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to contract with Clinical Registrants (CRs) to conduct medical research: