Marijuana Testing of Job Applicants Is Barred by New York City in Groundbreaking Measure
Most employers in New York City would no longer be able to force job applicants to take drug tests for marijuana use, under a bill overwhelmingly approved this week by the City Council. If the drug-screening law is enacted, it would put New York in relatively uncharted territory. Several... Read more
$350,000 in cash? California marijuana taxes still make growers – and tax collectors – nervous
On tax days, it’s not hard to spot marijuana growers waiting to exhale in downtown Eureka. They haul cash in grocery bags and boxes, making their way to a state office where they can pay their taxes. One grower “holds his breath as he walks into the building,” said... Read more
Oregon Wine and Cannabis Litigation: Why Can’t RICO Be Friends?

The Oregon wine and cannabis industries can’t seem to get along. Where some see a natural synergy, others see undesirable competition. And as a RICO case filed in the Oregon federal court last week makes clear, Momtazi Family, LLC v. Yamhill Naturals, LLC, et al., No. 3-19-cv-00476-BR, some see only a criminal enterprise. At first…

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Tennessee medical marijuana bills are dead until 2020
Tennessee lawmakers have abruptly delayed all efforts to legalize medical marijuana until next year, abandoning several bills moments before the controversial topic was expected to be debated for the first time. Sen. Steve Dickerson, a doctor who is one of the biggest advocates in the Tennessee legislature for medical... Read more
Majoring in marijuana: Michigan universities expand their degree programs
Marijuana is moving from the dorm room to the classroom at Michigan universities. Two universities in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula are the first in the state to add cannabis-focused degree programs to their offerings. In Marquette, Northern Michigan University — which first launched its Medicinal Plant Chemistry program in 2017 — is... Read more
Prop. 65 Potentially Expanding to Cover More California Cannabis Products

We’ve written time and again about the looming terror of Prop. 65 violations for cannabis businesses when it comes to packaging and labeling their products with the correct safe harbor language. The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (a/k/a Prop. 65), requires the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to publish a…

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Phil Murphy sets May deadline for New Jersey legal marijuana vote, what’s next?
When Gov. Phil Murphy came into office, he vowed to legalize marijuana within 100 days.  Now? It’s looking like weed may not be legalized until 500 days into Murphy’s tenure — at the earliest.  The push for New Jersey marijuana legalization hit a roadblock last month when scheduled votes on... Read more
Michigan’s unlicensed pot dispensaries to get firm closure deadline
Lawmakers will try to shutter unlicensed medical marijuana providers once and for all, as of June 1, under a bill now on a fast track in the Legislature. Earlier efforts to shut down providers who have not yet obtained licenses under Michigan’s new regulatory setup have been thwarted by... Read more
Breaking News: L.A. Identifies Phase 3 Retail License Undue Concentration Numbers

On April 10, 2019, the Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulation (or “DCR”), the local department that oversees cannabis operators, sent an email blast regarding its newly re-designed website. One of the many new features is an interactive city licensing map, which breaks down each individual neighborhood in the City of Angels for retail operations….

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Connecticut lawmakers advance bill that would legalize marijuana, erase criminal records for low-level drug offenders
State legislators Monday narrowly advanced a bill that would legalize recreational marijuana and erase criminal records for low-level drug offenders. By a vote of 21-19, mostly along party lines, the judiciary committee passed the second legal marijuana bill of the legislative session. Both bills still have to be voted... Read more
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