You might also notice that Lisa is featured as our commended cannabis lawyer of the week, this week.
Here is her newsletter and we wish her the best with it. You can find her contact details at the link above
Greetings Friends:
Welcome to my first installment industry news, “industry” meaning Cannabis, divided into marijuana and cannabinoids, and Psychedelics. I intend to make this a regular source of news and information that I provide you, and to include the latest writings I or my colleagues have published. Or other interesting things I come across.
The biggest news of the day (well, in our industry) is the Smokable Hemp ruling by the Texas Supreme Court (attached). The Court held that the hemp companies have no protected constitutional interest in manufacturing smokable products, that the manufacturing prohibition in statute is valid, and in response to hemp companies’ argument that “hemp has always been legal,” Court pointed out only the stalks etc. of hemp have been legal, but the flower, the part containing the THC, has only recently become legal, & that the expectation that the companies had to manufacture smokable products was not enough to constitute a vested interest in the manufacturing, regulations for which had not been enacted yet when companies started manufacturing, nor does this constitute a right to make a living – recent legalization was the grant of a privilege, not a right (like a drivers license is a privilege, not a right).
Importantly, the Court left the injunction in place preventing the enforcement of the smokable hemp ban on retail sales! Now that we have this decision, strategy is in order! Both for production and efforts in the next legislative session to overcome this. But, a positive outcome of the case is that the retail ban still won’t be enforced because the Court left the injunction in place on that. So this is going to be more of an issue for y’all who specialize in packaging premium bud for smoking. But retail is OK!
Smokable Hemp case Supreme Court
The news that is attached I replicate below, and I include as well a couple of newsletters from the American Bar Association Cannabis Law & Policy Committee that I Chair. I have an article in there called “Bicycle Day.” Who here can tell me what that might be about! I’m starting to get involved in this space and this article was the first step in introducing the ABA to it.
tortsource-24-3-spring22-issue (1)
INDUSTRY NEWS
JUNE 2022
CANNABIS
Cannabinoids
- TX Supreme Court upholds ban on manufacturing of Hemp for smoking. Opinion attached. Retail still OK!
- OR bans synthetic cannabinoid products: https://lnkd.in/g5JBFQVz.
- Israeli researchers use repurposed plant virus to grow “enhanced” cannabis with increased levels of THC and CBG: https://lnkd.in/eWbnVF3T.
- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued warning letters to companies for selling unapproved animal drugs containing CBD that are intended for use in food-producing animals: https://lnkd.in/gu3SG3wt.
- FDA issued its first round of Warning Letters to marketers of delta-8 THC products for making aggressive therapeutic claims. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-issues-warning-letters-companies-illegally-selling-cbd-and-delta-8-thc-products
- The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said in a letter that marijuana seed that has a delta-9-THC concentration of not more than 0.3% on a dry weight basis meets the definition of hemp and thus is not a controlled substance. tinyurl.com/2p9hjpa9
- The FDA and the FTC took joint enforcement action against seven CBD firms for making COVID-19 treatment claims. While the agencies have targeted marketers making these claims in the past, they specifically focused on brands “using research studies to claim or imply misleadingly that their CBD products will cure, mitigate, treat or prevent COVID-19.” https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-update-fda-and-ftc-warn-seven-companies-selling-fraudulent-products-claim-treat-or
- A Fulton County, GA judge granted a 30-day temporary restraining order barring the Gwinnett County DA’s office from taking enforcement action against delta-8 THC retailers. https://newschannel9.com/news/local/delta-8#:~:text=judge%20ordered%20an%20injunction%20that,county%20as%20litigation%20moves%20forward.&text=A%20Fulton%20County%20judge%20ordered,county%20as%20litigation%20moves%20forward.
- Major League Baseball approves CBD sponsorships in landmark change for sports leagues: https://lnkd.in/gHJ9P-2A.
Marijuana
- GA voters approve adult-use cannabis legalization ballot question: https://lnkd.in/e3BgkT4y.
- First month of adult-use cannabis sales in NJ brings in $24+ million, regulators approve sales at five more dispensaries: https://lnkd.in/gjfK98Fp.
- RI Gov. McKee signs adult-use cannabis measure into law, making the Ocean State the 19th to authorize “recreational” marijuana: https://lnkd.in/gGZFwn-P.
- New Mexico’s adult-use cannabis sales topped $39.5 million in the first month following launch of the program. https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/new-mexico/2022/05/03/recreational-cannabis-sales-new-mexico-near-40-million-first-month/9636607002/
- In contrast to all the signals and negative actions the Biden administration has taken on marijuana, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland told Congress that DOJ still considers enforcement of federal marijuana policy to be a low priority, and “not an efficient use of resources.” shorturl.at/fyXZ3
- FL’s lone statewide elected Democrat, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried (who is running for governor), announced plans to sue the Biden administration to try to block a federal rule that prohibits medical cannabis users from buying guns or maintaining concealed-carry permits. https://lnkd.in/gPDQ7-Q3 [note this is OK in OK, perhaps the only state to allow both]
- Louisiana’s governor signed 10 new marijuana expansion bills: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/louisiana-governor-signs-ten-cannabis-bills-including-significant-medical-marijuana-expansions/
- New York Times wrote a very negative piece about dangers of teen vaping: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/23/well/mind/teens-thc-canabis.html
- At Biden’s urging to the DOJ, SCOTUS declines to weigh in on whether medical cannabis costs can be reimbursed by employers, and whether workers’ comp programs should cover injured employees’ medical marijuana: https://lnkd.in/gvMUNQEt, https://lnkd.in/g-MN8vXE.
- Spain approves medical cannabis reform, pharmacy dispensing planned for end of 2022: https://lnkd.in/gJeF3gfp.
- SAFE Banking Act stripped from America COMPETES Act, new marijuana banking and capital markets measure, CLIMB Act, introduced: https://lnkd.in/gX3GH5B6.
- The Texas Republican Party met to vote on its party platform. Cannabis/marijuana was mentioned in the document. The party supports moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule II on the federal level. It opposes the legalization of recreational marijuana.
PSYCHEDELICS
- OR Heath Authority accepting applications from psilocybin training programs: https://lnkd.in/gs-NjNS5.
- Psilocybin effective up to 12 weeks in severe depression, largest randomized controlled study to date finds: https://lnkd.in/eR4Nucgk.
- The National Institute on Drug Abuse has awarded a $2.7 million grant to fund research into the addiction-treatment properties of psychedelics: https://lnkd.in/gEmtYctA.
- Psilocybin causes “significant reduction” in symptoms of depression, largest of its kind study shows: https://lnkd.in/gStnNMEt.
- OR adopts first set of rules for legal psilocybin: https://lnkd.in/gjkMStSc.
- Research on psychedelics, including psilocybin and ecstasy, as PTSD treatments shows positive results. tinyurl.com/yc2dh4ck
- Smithsonian Magazine published a piece on why psychedelics may become a key treatment for PTSD and depression. tinyurl.com/ycks748t
- Five governments around the world are currently funding research to evaluate the potential of psychedelics to treat various mental health conditions. https://lnkd.in/gwWEhMYE
- After six-decade hiatus, psychedelic therapy returns to the V.A.: https://lnkd.in/gT-rv5mg.
- Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is effective at treating depression, new study finds: https://lnkd.in/gsedu7hd.
- CO: Two psychedelic-related initiatives may be on the 2022 ballot: https://lnkd.in/gwhEGTy2.
- Special thanks to Jonathan Havens for amalgamating some of these items.
- These are news stories for general information purposes only, and not legal advice. Contact me if you want to see how any of the above affects you or your business plans.
Have a wonderful week!
Best Regards,
Lisa
Lisa Pittman, LLC
Lisa@Pittman.Legal
www.Pittman.Legal
512-775-5308 (cell)
512-900-6310 (office)
PO. Box 164294
Austin, TX 78746
