If you know either of us, you know neither of us would pass up a chance to say, “I told you so.” As we looked ahead to 2024 in January, we speculated that psychedelics could be legalized as a prescription medicine. Now, not even a quarter into 2024, proponents of the psychedelic industry should
Federal Agencies
Big Brother Cancels Trip, Court Says Not So Fast My Friend
A few weeks ago, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Aggarwal v. U.S. DEA directed the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to reconsider its decision not to transfer psilocybin from Schedule I to Schedule II.
Since at least 2021, Dr. Sunil Aggarwal has been working to legally obtain psilocybin for terminally ill cancer patients…
To Reschedule or To Deschedule: That Is the (Marijuana) Question
Now that the dust is starting to settle on the recent news that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has recommended to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) that marijuana be moved from Schedule I to Schedule III under federal law, it is important to understand the implications of rescheduling marijuana and…
Smoke ‘Em if You Got ‘Em (OK, Not Just Yet): Feds Recommend Rescheduling Marijuana
According to a report from Bloomberg News, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is officially recommending to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) that marijuana be moved from Schedule I to Schedule III under federal law. The move follows a directive issued by President Biden last year that Secretary of Health…
Good News, Bad News: Congress Wants to Help the Hemp Industry
Last week in a small hearing room in a House office building, the House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services held a hearing titled “Hemp in the Modern World: The Years long Wait for FDA Action.” The hearing, billed as a “first-of-its-kind,” allowed lawmakers and hemp industry experts to discuss issues…
FDA Announces Important Shift in CBD Products Regulation
In the pilot episode of NBC’s Parks and Recreation, Leslie Knope, deputy director of the Pawnee Parks and Recreation Department, promises her constituents she will fill in “the pit” that has become a hazard to her community and will build a park in its place. Despite the roadblocks and red tape, Leslie delivers on…
Warning Sign? A New Round of FDA Warning Letters Over CBD Consumer Confusion May Signal a Shift in Government Enforcement
FDA warning letters are nothing new in the cannabis industry. In fact, we here at Budding Trends have covered this topic a number of times (here, here, and here). Not resigned to playing the hits, however, the FDA issued a new set of warning letters on November 21 that may signal…
Like a Steam Locomotive, Rolling Down the Track: Biden Signs Marijuana Research Bill
For decades, the federal government only allowed scientists to research marijuana grown on the campus of the University of Mississippi. While Mississippi-grown cannabis will continue to be the subject of federally sanctioned research, the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act, which President Biden signed into law on December 2, 2022, will significantly expand the…
Attorney General Garland Reconfirms the DOJ’s Hands-Off Approach Toward Federal Marijuana Prosecution
Attorney General Merrick Garland has reiterated that the Department of Justice will not prioritize prosecuting marijuana use, a position that Garland expressed during his confirmation hearings. In remarks in front of a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on April 26, 2022, Garland held firm in this position, stating that prosecuting the possession of marijuana is “not…
COVID and CBD Prove to be a Powder Keg for Federal Regulators
Cannabis operators (from marijuana to hemp-derived products such as CBD) often get the sense they are one of the central targets of the federal government’s reach. But they are not in the same league lately as the COVID-19 virus. Earlier this month, those worlds collided.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal…