The ink is barely dry on the New Jersey ATC and Missouri medical marijuana facility applications that so many of us assembled this August. Yet now, a new round of states have issued applications for competitive cannabis licenses. Below we discuss the qualifications, requirements, deadlines and other relevant information for the Illinois (adult use), Michigan (adult use) and Texas (medical; <.5% THC) applications.

Illinois
Dispensaries

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (“IDFPR”) has posted its application form for conditional adult-use licenses for new dispensing organizations.… More

On Tuesday, September 24, 2019, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker declared a public health emergency.  The declaration can be found here.  Citing the growing number of cases of unexplained pulmonary illnesses in the United States and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Baker exercised his power under M.G.L. c. 17, § 2A to declare such an emergency.  The statute provides that when the governor declares a public health emergency,… More

California is the largest cannabis market in the United States and it is soon to be the first state in the country with a comprehensive data privacy regime designed to protect consumers’ personal information. The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) goes into effect on January 1, 2020, and will apply to companies with revenues in excess of $25 million that do business in California (as well as certain other categories of companies).… More

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) currently takes the position that cannabidiol (CBD) and other cannibinoids cannot be used in dietary supplements and food because of statutory provisions under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”) that prohibit the sale of products containing an ingredient treated as a drug or involved in clinical trials. Since CBD was the subject of clinical investigations that led to the approval of the drug Epidiolex® (cannabidiol),… More

Business is booming for cannabis ventures, but the legal landscape for related intellectual property protection and product advertising is rife with complications that demand special consideration, and companies should be paying attention to these issues out of the gate.

Foley Hoag presents a webinar covering a range of topics related to cannabis IP protection and promotion, including:

• Maximizing trademark rights at the federal and state level
• Leveraging copyright as secondary protection for brands
• Cannabis patent basics and strategies
• Advertising best practices and what not to say FDA regulation of cannabis and cannabis-derived products
• CBD,…

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Last month the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent joint warning letters to four companies that manufacture and advertise flavored liquids used in vaping (“e-liquids”).  While the letters focus on the nicotine content of the products, they should nevertheless be of interest to cannabis advertisers because they demonstrate a continued regulatory focus on vaping and suggest a framework that may soon apply more broadly to the promotion of retail cannabis products.… More

The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (“MDAR”) and the state’s Department of Health (“DPH”) have issued new guidance on the sale of Hemp and Hemp-derived cannabanoids, (namely, CBD) products in Massachusetts.

The MDAR guidance applies to hemp and hemp-derived products.  It establishes that the follow hemp-derived products can be sold in Massachusetts:

• Hemp seed
• Hemp seed oil
• Hulled hemp
• Hemp seed powder
• Hemp protein
• Clothing
• Building material
• Items made from hemp fiber.…

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Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin and his Securities Division are increasingly turning their attention toward securities offerings in the cannabis industry, as demonstrated by the June 19, 2019 filing of the second enforcement action against a cannabis business in the last two months.  The filing was accompanied by a statement from Galvin warning of future sweeps in the industry.

The latest enforcement action, brought against Positronic Farms,… More

Cresco Labs announced this week that United States antitrust regulators are seeking additional information about its anticipated acquisition of Origin House. Pursuant to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, Cresco Labs was required to notify the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (the “Division”) of the transaction and to observe a waiting period while regulators reviewed the transaction. On June 10, the Division requested additional information regarding the proposed transaction.… More

The New Jersey Department of Health’s Medical Marijuana Program announced on Monday that it was seeking applications to license up to 108 additional Alternative Treatment Centers (ATCs). More specifically, the Department intends to license up to 24 cultivators, 30 manufacturers, and 54 dispensaries.  The cultivator licenses will be divided into three different size categories: 5,000 square feet, 20,000 square feet, and 30,000 square feet. The purpose of sub-dividing the cultivation licenses by size is to create opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses to participate in the medical marijuana program.… More