On September 23, 2026, a Planet 13 cannabis dispensary customer filed a proposed class action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada against Planet 13 and its identity-verification vendor, IDScan.net, Inc. The suit, first reported by Law360’s Sam Reisman, alleges that Planet 13 scanned thousands of customers’ government-issued photo IDs at
Back in May, I wrote a piece predicting that Schedule III rescheduling would flip the first prong of the Central Hudson commercial speech test for state-licensed medical marijuana operators. My thought at the time was that speech proposing a transaction in a federally lawful product concerns “lawful activity,” and that term has been the death
A Michigan marijuana grower won a $31.8 million jury verdict for breach of contract… then watched it disappear on appeal. On September 10, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit held that federal courts cannot enforce a contract to buy and sell marijuana because performing the deal required the parties to commit
There’s a scene near the end of every heist movie where the crew finally cracks the vault and it’s empty. Somebody already got there first, or the money was never really in there to begin with. Four months into medical marijuana’s move to Schedule III, that’s starting to feel like the right metaphor for cannabis
Longtime Budding Trends readers know we try to lead each post with a bit of pop culture or witty turn of phrase. This is one of those posts where the hook took longer to find than the law. Turns out there isn’t a great classic rock anthem about assisted living facilities’ admissions policies. So, we’re
If an employee uses marijuana off the clock and the employer doesn’t test for marijuana, isn’t it much like the tree falling in the woods?
A recent Wall Street Journal report (“More U.S. Workers Are Testing Positive for Marijuana. Fewer Employers Are Concerned,” July 10, 2026) suggests that is the case, laying out data that
Raising money in the cannabis industry, like most everything else in the space, is no walk in the park and presents a landmine for those tasked with raising and spending capital. This month, two federal district court opinions reminded capital raisers of these truths and the dire consequences of violating securities laws. In the first
If you’ve followed Budding Trends for any length of time, you know the SAFE Banking Act — perhaps second only to rescheduling — has been the white whale for marijuana operators. This week, the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2026 popped its head above the water again: Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) filed
I don’t know why I write things that encourage people to take my job. I’ll add that to the list for my next therapy session.
Back in 2022, I wrote “So You Want to Be a Cannabis Lawyer?” In it, I said that being a cannabis lawyer had been the most fun and most rewarding
The April order rescheduling DEA-approved medications and state-licensed medical marijuana to Schedule III set off a scramble in the capital markets. Two questions sit at the center of it: Can plant-touching companies finally list on the major U.S. stock exchanges, and will banks finally open their doors to the industry? On the first question, the