SESSIONS
Title: Conservative (Canadian) senators travel to Washington to talk marijuana with Jeff Sessions’Canadians have reasons to be worried!’ Tories say after meeting with U.S. officials
Author: CBC
Date: 4 April 2018
Extract:
Three Conservative senators were in Washington D.C. this week for meetings with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and other federal officials to discuss Canada’s plan to legalize recreational cannabis use — and they say officials there have unanswered questions of their own about the pot bill.
Senators Claude Carignan, Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu and Denise Batters said they went to Washington after getting what they called unsatisfactory answers from Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale last week at a Senate committee about the the impact legalization will have on the Canada-U.S. relationship.
BUSINESS
COURTS
Title: Court: Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Doesn’t Protect Grows on Federal Land
Author: Leafly
Date: 5 April 2018
Extract: A US appeals court says a law that bans the Justice Department from prosecuting some medical marijuana patients and dispensaries—known originally as the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment, and now as Rohrabacher-Blumenauer—does not apply to cannabis operations on federal land.
Today’s ruling makes it clear that Rohrabacher-Blumenauer applies only in cases where the cannabis in question is legal under state law.
The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday rejected an appeal by two men charged in federal court with growing cannabis in Northern California on property controlled by the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
The case involves two men, Russell Gilmore and Richard Hemsley, who were found to be growing 118 cannabis plants outdoors in rural El Dorado County, California, in Sept. 2012. El Dorado County sits between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe. Local hunters discovered the grow, and tipped local law enforcement officials. A parcel map confirmed that the plants were located on federal land administered by the BLM.
FLORIDA
Trulieve is Suing the Florida Department of Health Over Dispensary Limitations
NATIONAL CANNABIS BAR ASSOCIATION
NCBA Board Elections Are Taking Place in June
Would you or someone you know like to influence the reach, development, and direction of the first and only association created to serve business attorneys in the cannabis industry? Nominate Today!
By joining the Board of Directors of the National Cannabis Bar Association, you will have the opportunity to shape the policies and priorities of the association as more states enter an environment of regulated cannabis businesses. The diversity of legal expertise that is represented by our Board is key to our success, and we encourage participation by members from different jurisdictions and strive to see representation of a range of substantive concentrations and strengths. If you think you are up to the task of board membership and participation, seek a nomination today!
To submit a board nomination, visit the NCBA Website. The deadline for all nominations is May 14, 2018.
Eligibility Requirements for NCBA Board of Directors
In order to be eligible for an NCBA Board of Directors seat, nominees must:
- Have been an attorney member of NCBA for one continuous year prior to the opening of the election (June 25, 2018);
- Have attended at least one in-person NCBA CLE event in the prior 12 months (Cannabis Law Institute, NCBA at NCIA, or MJBizConNEXT – (registration currently open!); and
- Be nominated by an attorney member that is outside of the nominee’s firm.
If you meet the other requirements, but have not attended an in-person NCBA event in the last 12 months and would like to cement your board eligibility – you have one opportunity left to solidify your eligibility at The Cannabis Law Sessions in conjunction with MJBizConNEXT, May 8-9, 2018, in New Orleans, LA. Register today!
MARYLAND
Title: After a dramatic failure, effort to diversify Maryland’s medical marijuana industry moves closer to passage
Author: Washington DC
Date: 4 April 2018
Extract: A bill to diversify Maryland’s medical marijuana industry received final approval in the state Senate on Wednesday — after a similar effort to bring in more minority-owned businesses faced a bitter defeat in the final minutes of last year’s session.
About one-third of Maryland residents are African American, but none of the 14 companies that have lucrative licenses to grow medical marijuana are led by black executives. The bill would increase the number of licenses for growers and processors, and it specifies that those licenses will be awarded in a process that gives preference to minority-owned businesses.
OREGON
Josephine County, Oregon Sues State to Nullify MMJ and Rec. Cannabis Laws
Title: Josephine County Sues Oregon To Invalidate Cannabis Laws
Author: OPB
Date: 5 April 2018
URL: https://www.opb.org/news/article/cannabis-marijuana-laws-oregon-josephine-county-lawsuit/
Extract:
Josephine County is suing the state over Oregon’s laws allowing recreational and medical cannabis.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Medford, is an attempt by one of the state’s largest marijuana-producing counties to win power to regulate cannabis production as it struggles with limited public safety resources. But the case could have far wider implications.
The county is essentially asking a federal judge to delegitimize Oregon’s cannabis laws — two ballot measures approved by voters and regulatory legislation passed by state lawmakers — because they conflict with stricter federal drug laws.
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