states

The Cole memorandum pops up frequently in media reports and discussions about the legal marijuana industry. This is especially true in recent days, when it appears it could be under attack by the Trump Administration. But just what is the Cole Memo? Simply put, it's all that stands between...

While the primary issues that will be debated in the 2020 presidential race will likely include the usual topics – jobs, infrastructure spending, national security, taxes, healthcare laws, trade, crime, immigration, and economic growth, another topic that may very well take on added prominence...

Almost an entire continent separates the states of Washington and Alabama, and on some political subjects the philosophical gap may be even wider. For the most part, what happens in those states stays in those states, but that may change – emphasis on the "may" – on the issue of marijuana...

The National Conference of State Legislatures, a body of hundreds of lawmakers representing all 50 states, passed a resolution this week urging the federal government to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, signaling a significant shift towards marijuana legalization. The...

With thousands of jobs and billions of dollars at stake, it’s a burning question: Is Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions preparing to mess with voter-approved sales of recreational marijuana? It’s a question of prime importance in six Western and two New England states that have legalized marijuana use...

A bipartisan group of Oregon lawmakers joined legislators from across the country on Monday in calling for the federal government to reclassify marijuana so it's no longer a Schedule 1 drug. If the federal government were to heed the request, it could ease restrictions on cannabis research...

This week, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, sponsored the Marijuana Justice Act of 2017. Without question, this is the most progressive piece of marijuana-related legislation ever filed in the United States Congress. It goes far beyond the popular Rohrabacher-Blumenauer legislation that...

The betting was that law-and-order Attorney General Jeff Sessions would come out against the legalized marijuana industry with guns blazing. But the task force Sessions assembled to find the best legal strategy is giving him no ammunition, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press...

This week, Senator Cory Booker introduced legislation to legalize marijuana nationwide. If passed, the New Jersey's Democrat's bill would "expunge federal marijuana convictions and penalize states with racially-disparate arrest or incarceration rates for marijuana-related crimes," according to...

Congress is heading for a confrontation with Attorney General Jeff Sessions over pot. Sessions is seeking to crack down on marijuana use while lawmakers from both parties are pushing legislation that would do the opposite. Measures have been attached to must-pass bills in the Senate that...

A traffic safety organization is warning that two recent studies suggest that legalizing recreational marijuana could lead to an increase in crashes, including deadly ones. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) says that studies by the Highway Loss Data Institute and researchers...

Presented today, a new congressional bill aims to get government and cannabis on the same side of the law by ending a decades-long federal ban on the plant. Introduced by New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, the 'Marijuana Justice Act of 2017' seeks to end federal prohibition of cannabis and...

If Sen. Cory Booker's new legislation is successful, the United States will be one step closer to legalizing marijuana. Refinery29 has learned that the New Jersey Democrat is introducing the Marijuana Justice Act today, a new bill that would remove cannabis from the U.S. list of controlled...

Sen. Cory Booker is introducing a longshot bill to incentive states to legalize marijuana. Legislation unveiled Tuesday from the New Jersey Democrat, who hasn't ruled out running for president in 2020, would remove cannabis from the federal scheduling system, which currently classifies the...

The legality of cannabis has always been a topic of great debate especially due the old myths about the plant being debunked due to the research on it. The United States Congress has finally showed an open mind towards this topic since the time of Reagan and it is not just the Democratic...

A fifth of NBA teams – Nuggets, Trail Blazers, Lakers, Celtics, Warriors, Kings and Celtics – play in a state with legalized recreational marijuana. Many more play in a state that allows medical marijuana. And it’s trending toward more teams playing in places that permit marijuana. Yet, the NBA...

A recurring refrain of Wisconsin cannabis legalization opponents is the "wait and see" approach heard across the political spectrum from state Sen. Roger Roth, R-Appleton, on the right to former Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz on the left. Responding to the introduction of a bill from Rep...

When it comes to the fastest-growing industries in the U.S., few, if any, can top legal marijuana. According to Marijuana Business Daily's newest report, "Marijuana Business Factbook 2017," legal sales of the drug -- including medical and recreational weed -- are expected to grow by...

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is an outspoken critic of recreational marijuana, and he has the power to hobble cannabis sales in states where it's legal. But for now, business owners and advocates say they don't think he'll actually do it. As the head of the Justice Department, Sessions has...

Though I very much want states (and our clients) to follow the federal government's "robust regulation" directives in the 2013 Cole Memo, I can't help but bemoan when "robust" state cannabis regulations take the fun and creativity out of cannabis business operations. Over the years, clients...