NEW YORK HEMP INDUSTRY SCORES BIG WIN IN NEW YORK
On Thursday the New York State Supreme Court issued an injunction in favor of several hemp companies and organizations (Hemp Parties) against the New York State Cannabis Control Board (CCB) and other state agencies and officials prohibiting them from implementing...
Virginia Hemp Industry Suffers Major Loss In Court Ruling
November 1, 2023 Kight On Cannabis On October 30, 2023, Judge Leonie Brinkema in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia issued a memorandum opinion in the case Northern Virginia Hemp and Agriculture LLC, et al, (Plaintiffs) v. the...
MARYLAND HEMP INDUSTRY SCORES BIG VICTORY OVER MONOPOLISTIC CANNABIS LAW
The Maryland hemp industry obtained an injunction today prohibiting the enforcement of Maryland Code Ann. Alc. Bev. §36-1102, known as the Cannabis Reform Act (CRA), “against any person who was already lawfully in the business of selling hemp derived products prior to...
Rod Discusses THCa, Hemp Beverages, and the Future of Hemp with Gary Kaminsky on the High Spirits Podcast [PODCAST]
ROD KIGHT DISCUSSES HEMP DERIVED BEVERAGES, THCA, AND THE FUTURE OF HEMP WITH GARY KAMINSKY ON THE HIGH SPIRITS PODCAST. Earlier this month I spent an engaging hour with my friend and colleague, Gary Kaminsky, Chief Legal and Regulatory Counsel at Core Investment and...
IS CANNRA THE NEW FACE OF CANNABIS PROHIBITION?
For anyone in the cannabis industry who has not spent the last six months in a sensory deprivation chamber, the imminent expiration of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (the “2018 Farm Bill”) at the end this month likely brings feelings of anxiety, hope, and...
Yes, the Hemp Industry Wants Reasonable Regulations
Earlier this week I published an article calling out CANNRA, a marijuana association, for behavior that is anti-cannabis and prohibitionist. While my claim may seem hyperbolic, and even caused one of my friends to inquire if it was “satire”, the premise of the article...
Did a Federal Court Order Just Legalize THCa and Delta-8 THC in All 50 States?
A FEDERAL COURT IN ARKANSAS JUST ISSUED A RULING WITH SWEEPING IMPLICATIONS FOR THE HEMP INDUSTRY. (PHOTO CREDITS: RAKICEVIC NENAD) A federal court in Arkansas just issued a landmark ruling enjoining enforcement of a recently enacted hemp law. Due to its broad...
Top US Health Agency Recommends Marijuana Reclassified to Schedule III
Note from the editor: This is an article about the HHS’s recommendation to the DEA that marijuana be reclassified to Schedule III that I wrote for the American Journal of Endocannabinoid Medicine. You can read the original by clicking here. In a historic decision, the...
Cannabis and Patient Care in A Rapidly Changing Environment
Patients increasingly ask doctors for guidance in using cannabis. This article, originally published in the American Journal of Endocannabinoid Medicine (AJEM) on July 12, 2023 and reprinted here by permission, discusses the current rules, regulations, and...
What’s the Deal with H4 CBD?
While in the Netherlands this Spring I noticed cannabis products sold in smartshops (similar to smoke shops in the US) that contained the cannabinoid H4 CBD. I discussed these products with one smartshop owner, who informed me that sales of H4 CBD were increasing...
Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana: Supply, Demand and Surplus
Cannabis grower/processors face heavy competition, high start-up costs, regulatory production limits and a relatively small (but growing) customer base. Patients may experience price volatility as the legal cannabis market in Pennsylvania stumbles toward equilibrium.
Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana: Physician Well-Being
Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act (MMA) requires the active participation of the medical community. Doctors certify if patients might benefit from cannabis to relieve one or more of 17 medical conditions. Without doctors, it’s not “medical” marijuana.
Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana: Business and No Bank
Although the MMA was passed on April 17, 2016, the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities (DOBS) has not issued any guidance on the handling of marijuana proceeds.
Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana: Branding the Medicine
Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Program is on the verge of delivering product to patients. Of the 12 licensed grower/processors, 11 are cultivating cannabis now and 3 of the 54 physical dispensary locations (to be operated by 27 licensed dispensary companies) have clearance from the Department of Health (DOH) to open their doors. It is estimated that more than 14,000 patients have been certified or are in the process of obtaining certification to receive medical marijuana.
Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana: Sessions Jams
But, what about less-expensive, indirect enforcement? There are several indirect or “sideways” avenues that the DOJ might explore to undermine medical and recreational marijuana.
Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana: A Cure for the Opioid Crisis
The cover story of the January/February issue of The Pennsylvania Lawyer proposed “Medical Marijuana as One Solution to the Opioid Epidemic in Pennsylvania.” The authors posit that medical marijuana might serve as a tool in curbing the high numbers of opioid users and resultant fatalities in the Commonwealth…..
Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana: Happy New Year
On December 27, 2017, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) provided an update on the status of Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Program in advance of the Commonwealth’s ….
Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana: As Deadlines Loom
Pennsylvania Temporary Medical Marijuana Regulation § 1141.42 and § 1161.22(b)(1) require entities that received grower/processor or dispensary permits to be operational within six months. The first 12 of 25 grower/processor permits were awarded on June 20, 2017, and the first 27 of 50 dispensary permits were issued nine days later.
Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana: Physician Duties
Patients and caregivers seeking a prescription for medical marijuana in Pennsylvania must register online, obtain a certification from a physician and obtain an identification card from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana: Mandated Marijuana Research in the Commonwealth
Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program contains a unique focus on research and monitoring. Chapter 19 of the Medical Marijuana Act (MMA) requires the establishment of a research program “to study the impact of medical marijuana on the treatment and symptom management of serious medical conditions.