Updated 6/8/2017 following release of bill text: Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) today introduced the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act. While we have not seen the text yet, Sen. Warren has published a summary. The bill would amend the Controlled...
As more and more politicians of all stripes move towards support of federal legalization of cannabis, two senior Republicans have joined the advisory board of a major cannabis company. According to The Hill, the former Speaker of the House John Boehner and former Massachusetts Governor William...
As discussed previously here, on January 4, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded all prior advisory memos on prosecutorial priorities relating to cannabis, including the 2014 Cole Memo which many relied on in entering the space. One consequence of rescinding the Cole Memo is its effect...
Yesterday, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded all prior advisory memoranda regarding enforcement priorities in connection with alleged cannabis crimes. This includes the key so-called Cole Memo issued in 2014. That memo advised US attorneys not to prioritize pursuing criminal cases against those complying with...
According to The Fresh Toast, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions is now hinting at expanding enforcement of federal cannabis laws. The report indicates that, at a news conference today, Sessions said they are looking "very hard right now" at possible changes to the Cole Memo. That...
The entire cannabis industry descended on Las Vegas this week for the MJBiz conference where over 18,000 professionals gathered. While we were there, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions made some news during a Congressional grilling focused more on his involvement with Russian players. Many have worried...
Last week the US Senate Appropriations Committee voted to renew the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment when it expires September 30. That amendment, renewed annually since 2014, blocks the US Department of Justice from using federal funds to interfere with the implementation of state medical cannabis laws. The...
Former NFL star Marvin Washington and others yesterday filed a lawsuit in NY against the US Government and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The suit is seeking to declare the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which makes cannabis illegal under federal law, unconstitutional as to its classification...
At his confirmation hearing to become the next US Attorney General yesterday, Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions seemed to soften his previous extreme views against legalization of cannabis. As we know, recently Sessions said things like "Good people don't smoke marijuana" and it is "not the...
In a major positive step for the cannabis industry, the New York Stock Exchange last week listed a new real estate investment trust called Innovative Industrial Properties (NYSE:IIPR), the first cannabis company to be listed on a US national exchange. The company plans to invest...