It’s hard to be surprised when you’ve been writing and talking about government decisions about the cannabis industry over the past decade. But I’ll admit that my eyebrows raised when I read a recent letter from the solicitor general of South Carolina stating that, as a general rule, hemp beverages containing less than .3% delta-9
Hemp
Missouri Cannabis Regulators Show Me a Well-Considered Clarification of Earlier Rule Essentially Banning Hemp Products
I can only assume that being a cannabis regulator is a challenging and usually thankless job. The laws are relatively new and constantly evolving. Operators are always pushing the science faster than regulators can promulgate thoughtful new rules. And of course, there is no shortage of bad actors in the cannabis business.
That said, Budding…
Mississippi Attorney General Deems Hemp Beverages Impermissible in Controversial Opinion, Highlighting Ongoing Tension Between the Marijuana and Hemp Industries
I guess if you do this job long enough, you’ll see just about everything. This time, it’s the attorney general of Mississippi wading into the legality of beverages containing hemp. And it’s a doozy.
The late, very great artist (and I stress the word artist) Merle Haggard used to sing “I Think I’ll Just Stay…
California Bans Most Hemp Products and Illuminates Battle Between Hemp and Marijuana Businesses
What if I told you that California of all places – where virtually any adult can purchase marijuana on demand – was trying to harsh the mellow of citizens trying to access certain hemp-derived products? On the next 30 for 30, “California Schemin’.”
Welcome to the next front of the battle between marijuana and…
Because I Got High: Settlement Reached in Terminated Hemp User’s Disability Bias Suit
When can you rely on a positive drug test to terminate an employee? If the employee suggests a reason for a false positive, like hemp use, can you still side with the drug test? The Sixth Circuit’s decision in Fisher v. Airgas USA, LLC, et al. is instructive.
Blowing Smoke
In October 2019, Airgas hired…
Power Play or Fair Play? 21 Attorneys General Call for Prohibition of Intoxicating Hemp as Industry Faces Existential Threat
The novel cannabinoid industry took another hit recently as a bipartisan group of 21 attorneys general urged Congress to make clear that states may regulate, and even prohibit, intoxicating products derived from hemp.
In a letter addressed to the leaders of the Senate and House Agriculture Committees and dated March 20, 2024, the attorneys generals…
FDA Chief Says CBD Is Not NBD, Urges Congressional Action
Supporters of hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) who hoped the Food and Drug Administration would adopt a more progressive view of CBD were disappointed when FDA Chief Robert Califf recently testified that FDA does not consider hemp-derived CBD safe enough to be sold lawfully as a dietary supplement, and urged Congress to create a new pathway to…
Happy Cannabis Day! Top 10 Weed Roundup of Budding Trends’ Trendiest Blog Posts of the Year
It’s been, like, a whole year since our last 420 blog post, man. And the past year made way for even more of the choicest blog posts about cannabis industry topics ranging from the business of THC, CBD, the Deltas, Medical Marijuana, hemp, and more. Our second annual “Weed Roundup” — featuring our top…
Will Hemp Save the World, Before the Government Kills It?
There is a great line in the wonderful film Charlie Wilson’s War, where Charlie Wilson (played remarkably by the inimitable Tom Hanks) describes the successful, if relatively covert, involvement of the United States government in the Soviet-Afghan War: “These things happened. They were glorious and they changed the world… and then we f***d up…
Texas Regulators to Consider Changes to Consumable Hemp Program
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission, on behalf of the Texas Department of State Health Services, recently announced that it was accepting public comments to the current rules governing consumer hemp products in the state.
By rule, “consumable hemp products” are defined as “[a]ny product processed or manufactured for consumption that contains hemp…