The newest Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner, Stephen Hahn, took office in December. Many have been worried about prior FDA leaders' concerns about cannabidiol (CBD)-infused food and beverage products and their apparent delay in determining whether to permit these products to be sold legally following...
Originally pioneered in the 1990s, special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, have gone in and out of Wall Street favor since. Currently enjoying a renaissance, SPACs are public companies that raise money then seek a private business that wishes to go public and access the...
I am not, in general, a betting man. If so, I would have lost some hard-earned dough last year when I predicted that New York will legalize the adult use of cannabis in the legislative session during the first half of 2019. There are a...
The rapidly emerging global market for medical and, potentially, adult use of cannabis is not typically focused on by the US media. Over 30 countries already have legalized medical cannabis. Canada and Uruguay have legalized adult use. Mexico intends to do so within the next...
In connection with an effort to address opioid addiction issues, Major League Baseball has agreed that cannabis will no longer be treated as a banned substance for minor league baseball players, according to various news reports. Previously, MLB tested minor leaguers for cannabis but had not...
Yesterday, the Federal Reserve, along with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and other agencies, issued guidance advising financial institutions, including banks, that they no longer need to file "suspicious activity reports" (SARs) with the U.S. Treasury when they take customers in the cannabis industry...
Earlier today, the US Department of Agriculture released "interim final" rules to implement the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (also known as the 2018 Farm Bill). The law removed hemp and hemp-derived products with less than 0.3% THC from being a Schedule I drug under...
On October 17, 2019, New York Governor Mario Cuomo (D) assembled governors from a number of Northeast states to discuss coordinating their efforts on proposed legalization of the adult use of cannabis in 2020. In opening the meeting, he said, "I think we're much stronger...
In comments last week, Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) has called for a multi-lateral meeting with his counterparts in neighboring states, including New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, to discuss legalizing adult use of cannabis. As reported by Politico, the Governor noted, “The federal government is doing nothing, what...
President Donald Trump last Friday reiterated his support of states choosing whether to legalize cannabis. When asked on the White House lawn by a Washington Examiner reporter whether cannabis would become legal during his Administration, Trump stated, “We’re going to see what’s going on. It’s...