Food and Drug Law Commons^™

State-Powered Acceleration Of Cannabis Economy Growth Engines, Benjamin C. Varadi

Pace Law Review

Small cannabis companies in state-regulated markets have driven extraordinary job creation and economic growth, but now face extinction as consolidation looms. Government intervention can build a future populated with prosperous small business growth engines, while failure to act will magnify economic disparity. This Article proposes state-backed loan guarantees, funded by municipal “cannabonds,” as a novel solution to guide the industry toward a healthier and more diverse economic landscape. This approach offers constitutionally resilient strategies to express explicit preference for local stakeholders and inverts traditional risk metrics to leverage historic institutional lending bias as a force for positive change. In doing …

Hemp And Marijuana: The Necessity Of Lab Testing For Fair Prosecutions, Jessica Aycock

Pace Law Review

This Article examines the evidentiary and ethical challenges prosecutors nationwide face in distinguishing between hemp and marijuana under current federal and state laws. Following the legalization of hemp under the federal 2018 Farm Bill, the legal distinction between hemp and marijuana now hinges on the concentration of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). This distinction requires quantitative lab testing to be established. Without quantitative lab testing, prosecutors cannot accurately determine THC levels, making it challenging, if not impossible, to meet the burden of proof required for marijuana possession convictions. This Article argues that the absence of testing raises evidentiary and ethical concerns that …

High Hopes, Clouded Realities: Minnesota's Cannabis Legalization And The Hidden Health Risks, Allison Crescimanno

Mitchell Hamline Law Journal of Public Policy and Practice

No abstract provided.

The Grass Is Not Always Greener: How The Legalization Of Recreational Cannabis Across The United States Is At Odds With Incarceration And Continued Punishment, Marc Sendra

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

Whether you call it Mary Jane, skunky funky, green, ganja, reefer, or just plain-old cannabis, this special green plant doused in purple and orange accents has become a popular topic of discussion within the legal community and American culture. Cannabis has been held in “high” regard for its scientific advances in the medical industry, alongside its recreational usage, enjoyed by laughs and giggles, munchies, and plenty of water, leading to a wave of medical and recreational legalization.

Incentives for legalization come at the onset of promising medical research, economic growth motives, and social justice, reflecting upon a comprehensive approach that …

The Marijuana Insurgency: Federalism And Social Reframing In Policy Reform, Matthew P. Cavedon

Seattle University Law Review

After fifty years of federal prohibition, marijuana reform efforts have won political and legal success. These victories hold lessons for anyone seeking to resist federal law without being able to directly affect it.

Victory can come from reframing an issue. For marijuana reform, social reframing—not formal legal analysis or material factors—provides the best explanation for how advocates achieved change. Their unconventional political tactics, akin to those used by insurgents in wartime, undercut federal prohibition by winning hearts and minds.

This is an analysis of the sociology of legal change. It is also the story of how ordinary Americans retook personal …

Weed Like Our Money Back: Amending Pennsylvania’S Medical Cannabis Law For Insolvent Cannabusinesses, Nikolajs V. Gaikis

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

In 2016, Pennsylvania joined what is now 37 states and the District of Columbia in legalizing medical cannabis. The Commonwealth’s cannabusinesses share in a struggle that is common in other legal jurisdictions: operating within the confines of the Controlled Substances Act and the Bankruptcy Code. Insolvent individuals and businesses that profit from cannabis or hold cannabis assets cannot declare bankruptcy because cannabis is a Schedule I drug. Under state law, other insolvency alternatives like an assignment for the benefit of creditors, receiverships, and compositions with creditors exist as potential alternatives.

Pennsylvania’s insolvent cannabusinesses are in a uniquely poor position because …

Altering United States Drug Policy And Shifting The Focus Of Drug Use From Conviction Toward Drug Addiction Treatment, Natalie Marra

Honors Projects

While these substances were not always controlled by law, drug use has been as issue throughout time going back thousands of years and continues to be a concern in the twenty-first century. Possession, distribution, and manufacturing of controlled substances outside of what is considered legal can lead to fines and or jail time and can also increases the severity of other crimes committed either due to or under the influence of drugs. As of Saturday June 10th, 2023, 44.5% of Federal inmates are incarcerated for drug offenses, including possession, distribution, and manufacturing1. Drug offenses make up the largest percentage of …

Development Of A Cannabinoid Testing Method Using Blood Collection Cards And Lc-Ms/Ms, Lindsey K. Reynolds, Matt J. Vergne

Student Works

Cannabis is one of the most widely used drugs in the world. Marijuana is a type of cannabis with high amount of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) which is psychoactive and intoxicating. Δ9-THC affects alertness and concentration, reducing driving skills when one is intoxicated. Law enforcement of driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) is difficult for police because there is no rapid way to test for Δ9- THC intoxication at the scene of an accident or police stop. Currently, police have to take suspects to a facility to acquire blood samples for testing and the average time before testing is more than …

We[Ed] The People: How A Broader Interpretation Of The Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment Effectuates The Changing Social Policy Surrounding Medical Marijuana, Tess A. Chaffee

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Immigration Implications Of Presidential Pot Pardons, Jason A. Cade

Scholarly Works

This Essay examines the immigration implications of President Joe Biden’s Proclamation on October 6, 2022, pardoning most federal and D.C. offenders who committed the offense of simple marijuana possession. A late twentieth century interpretive shift by the Board of Immigration Appeals holds that pardons only prevent deportation for certain criminal history categories, which do not include controlled substance offenses, and thus far lower federal courts have deferred to the agency’s approach.Nevertheless, according to the analysis I offer, President Biden’s cannabis pardons should be deemed fully effective to eliminate all immigration penalties. All of the immigrant pardon cases to reach the …

"Serving Time And It's No Longer A Crime: An Analysis Of The Proposed Cannabis Administration And Opportunity Act, Its Potential Effects At The Federal And State Level, And A Guide For Practical Application By Local Government", R. Allyce Bailey

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

There has been much recent discussion surrounding cannabis use with some researchers supporting the use of medical marijuana, some investors relishing in the recently booming cannabis and CBD industry, and some states decriminalizing marijuana and even harsh controlled substances. As it appears, at least some public opinion is changing regarding marijuana, but the law has not effectively caught up to that change. Bias in the criminal justice system has led to the over-policing of, higher conviction rates, and harsher sentences for minorities. Thus, the decriminalization of marijuana alone does not remedy the grave disproportionate negative effects on populations of color …

Legalization Without Disruption: Why Congress Should Let States Restrict Interstate Commerce In Marijuana, Scott Bloomberg, Robert A. Mikos

Pepperdine Law Review

Over the past twenty-five years, states have developed elaborate regulatory systems to govern lawful marijuana markets. In designing these systems, states have assumed that the Dormant Commerce Clause (“DCC”) does not apply; Congress, after all, has banned all commerce in marijuana. However, the states’ reprieve from the doctrine may soon come to an end. Congress is on the verge of legalizing marijuana federally, and once it does, it will unleash the DCC, with dire consequences for the states and the markets they now regulate. This Article serves as a wake-up call. It provides the most extensive analysis to date of …

Cannabis Derivatives And Trademark Registration: The Case Of Delta-8-Thc, W. Michael Schuster

Indiana Law Journal

The legal environment surrounding the cannabis industry is ambiguous and constantly changing. While cannabis is prohibited under federal law, a 2018 statute legalized a variant of the cannabis plant (“hemp”) that is low in its most common intoxicating agents. Recognizing this, entrepreneurs began to process hemp to extract and sell chemicals contained therein. Included in this trend is the extraction of Delta-8 Tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ8-THC)—a psychoactive drug with an increasing market presence in states where most cannabis (e.g., “marijuana”) is illegal.

As competition in the Δ8-THC field emerged, firms sought to distinguish their wares through brand recognition and federal trademark registration. …

Cannabis Receiverships: The Alternative For State Legal Cannabis Businesses Seeking Financial Rehabilitation Locked Out Of Bankruptcy Court By The Controlled Substances Act, Ryan C. Griffith

Seattle University Law Review

This article explores how cannabis businesses suffer by being unable to utilize federal bankruptcy and explore state law receiverships as an alternative remedy to help cannabis businesses weather financial storms.

Part I explores the limitations and differences between a receivership and a bankruptcy. Part II discusses how state legal cannabis companies cannot seek financial rehabilitation in bankruptcy court due to cannabis being listed as a schedule I drug federally. Part III explores how receivership be used to help cannabis companies that cannot seek bankruptcy protection to financially rehabilitate themselves. Part IV details how a receiver can help a cannabis company …

The Dope On Marijuana Consumption And Impaired Driving, Samuel D. Hodge, Jr., Lauren Williams

Cleveland State Law Review

Marijuana is the most frequently used psychotropic drug in the United States, following alcohol consumption. Its use is becoming socially acceptable as more and more states legalize recreational consumption. Nevertheless, marijuana is still a drug, and individuals must understand that it has adverse health effects and potential therapeutic benefits.

Marijuana can influence a user’s judgment and impair a person’s driving abilities. A significant problem with its consumption and driving is that there is no statistical link to show what level of marijuana in the blood causes impairment. Roadside tests for the appropriate blood alcohol content to show intoxication are well …

Researching Marijuana Law, Seth Quidachay-Swan

Law Librarian Scholarship

This article provides a brief overview of the current legal framework governing the regulation of marijuana at the federal and state levels in the United States. It also provides an overview of the state of Michigan’s current regulatory framework and resources for attorneys interested in learning more about marijuana regulation.

Fair Lending For Cannabis Banking Justice, Benjamin T. Seymour

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform Caveat

This Comment offers a fair lending solution to promote racial equity in cannabis banking reform: amend the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to ensure individuals previously arrested, charged, or convicted for selling, cultivating, or possessing marijuana will not therefore be precluded from loans to start legal cannabis businesses. Given disparities in the criminal enforcement of marijuana laws, this amendment would provide racial justice benefits, while also encouraging entrepreneurship. As a market-based social justice effort, this amendment offers a bipartisan approach to one of the most vexing and contentious issues in marijuana banking reform.

Part II of this Comment briefly surveys the …

Is It Really Safe To Provide Banking Services To Marijuana-Related Businesses? The Marijuana Banking Dilemma, Caitlin Steiner

Et Cetera

As more and more states begin to legalize marijuana, marijuana-related businesses such as dispensaries are cropping up all over the United States. Like most other legitimate businesses, marijuana-related businesses need a safe place to keep their money. However, unlike most other legitimate businesses, marijuana-related businesses often cannot find banks that are willing to do business with them. This is because banks are heavily governed and regulated by federal law, and marijuana is still illegal on a federal level—even where states have legalized its use. Although federal guidance on the subject has been issued, many legal “gray areas” continue to exist, …

Hitting The Trip Wire: When Does A Company Become A "Marijuana Business"?, Lauren A. Newell

Law Faculty Scholarship

Like the alcohol industry was during Prohibition, the marijuana industry is a profitable one. And, as bootlegging was then, selling marijuana in the United States is currently illegal. Despite the number of states that have legalized or decriminalized the sale of marijuana for medical or recreational use under state law, marijuana sales remain illegal as a matter of federal law under the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (“CSA”). Individuals and entities that violate the CSA face substantial criminal and civil liability, including prison time and fines, alongside a host of additional negative consequences arising from business, tax, bankruptcy, and …

The Dormant Monster: Florida’S Intrastate Marijuana Regulation And Its Susceptibility To Dormant Commerce Clause Challenge, Ivan Feris, Jr.

FIU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Commercializing Cannabis: Confronting The Challenges And Uncertainty Of Trademark And Trade Secret Protection For Cannabis-Related Businesses, John Mixon

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

Over the last couple of decades, society has become more accepting of recreational cannabis and an ever-growing number of states have passed pro-cannabis legislation. With this change, the cannabis industry has, to some extent, exploded into a booming enterprise in states that have legalized marijuana. Nonetheless, cannabis' status as a Schedule I banned substance under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 remains unchanged. As a result, businesses in the cannabis industry face the unique challenge of having to toe the line between "legally" operating under state law and violating federal law, which trumps state law. One particular situation in which …

A History Of United States Cannabis Law, David V. Patton

Journal of Law and Health

Perhaps the best way to understand early-Twenty-First Century state and federal cannabis law in the United States is to examine the relevant history. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.’s statement is apropos: "[A] page of history is worth a volume of logic." This article begins by discussing the early history of cannabis and its uses. Next, the article examines the first state and federal marijuana laws. After a brief comparison of alcohol prohibition to cannabis prohibition, this article addresses cannabis laws from the 1920s to the early 1950s. Then, the article takes up the reorganization of the federal drug regulatory bureaucracy …

The California Cannabis Industry: The Complexities Since Recreational Legalization, Talia Lux

The Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship & the Law

This comment will first provide a look into the history and legality of cannabis in the United States, followed by a look into California’s cannabis industry. There will be a discussion on both medical and recreational legality in California and the provisions surrounding both types of legality. Next, the complexities of the cannabis industries will be discussed in terms of opening and operating a cannabis business, the different cannabis business types and the requirements for starting them, and state and local limitations. Immediately following, there will be a federal illegality discussion and how federal illegality conflicts with California law in …

Cannabis And Its Historical Role In America’S Intentional Segregation Of Race, William E. Kelley

Student Publications

One of the more dramatic shifts in attitudes towards a particular trend or culture we have seen during the turn of the century is none other than attitudes towards marijuana. The Cannabis plant, commonly known as marijuana, has been illegal in the United States for a while now. In the past ten years, we have seen an influx of states and countries relaxing their attitudes towards marijuana, and it's potential benefits. While this shift in attitude towards a relatively harmless drug is a step in the right direction, many are unaware of the sinister and racist history behind outlawing the …

Our Federalism On Drugs, Jonathan Adler

Faculty Publications

Over the past decade, voters and legislatures have moved to legalize the possession of marijuana under state law. Some have limited these reforms to the medicinal use of marijuana, while others have not. Despite these reforms marijuana remains illegal under federal law. Although the Justice Department has not sought to preempt or displace state-level reforms, the federal prohibition casts a long shadow across state-level legalization efforts. This federal-state conflict presents multiple important and challenging policy questions that often get overlooked in policy debates over whether to legalize marijuana for medical or recreational purposes. Yet in a “compound republic” like the …

Cannabis Legalization In State Legislatures: Public Health Opportunity And Risk, Daniel G. Orenstein, Stanton A. Glantz

Marquette Law Review

Cannabis is widely used in the United States and internationally despite its illicit status, but that illicit status is changing. In the United States, thirty-three states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical cannabis, and eleven states and D.C. have legalized adult use cannabis. A majority of state medical cannabis laws and all but two state adult use laws are the result of citizen ballot initiatives, but state legislatures are beginning to seriously consider adult use legislation. From a public health perspective, cannabis legalization presents a mix of potential risks and benefits, but a legislative approach offers an opportunity …

Green Means Go: Tribes Rush To Regulate Cannabis In Indian Country, Julie Kim, Jessica Roberts

American Indian Law Journal

During the Obama administration, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a series of memos stating that the federal government would not interfere with state laws legalizing cannabis. The United States Attorney General later expressly extended this policy to Indian Country. As a result, tribes began debating potential advantages and disadvantages of participating in the cannabis market. Then, in January 2018, the DOJ rescinded the memos and publicly recommitted itself to prosecuting the possession, cultivation, and distribution of marijuana. Consequently, tribes should approach “The Green Rush” as an exercise of their sovereignty; when a tribe decides to legalize or …

Puff Puff Pass The Legislation: A Comparison Of E-Cigarette Regulations Across Borders, Rachel E. Zarrabi

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

This comment explores the types of legislation, approaches to regulating e-cigarettes, and analyzes whether the FDA’s campaign and current regulations are effective. So far, it appears that the United States is ahead of the game with its new, aggressive proposal for regulating e-cigarettes. The FDA is standing against the companies and products that target youthful consumers. Most countries acknowledge the gaps in current scientific research regarding the long-term health risks of vaping, and some are waiting to take a legislative stance until it is clearer which side of the health line e-cigarettes fall. Section II of this comment discusses the …

Has The "M" Word Been Framed? Marijuana, Cannabis And Public Opinion, Robert A. Mikos, Cindy D. Kam

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Over the past two decades, a growing cadre of US states has legalized the drug commonly known as “marijuana.” But even as more states legalize the drug, proponents of reform have begun to shun the term “marijuana” in favor of the term “cannabis.” Arguing that the “M” word has been tainted and may thus dampen public support for legalization, policy advocates have championed “cannabis” as an alternative and more neutral name for the drug. Importantly, however, no one has tested whether calling the drug “cannabis” as opposed to “marijuana” actually has any effect on public opinion. Using an original survey …

Marijuana’S Continuing Illegality And Investors’ Securities Fraud Problem: The Doctrines Of Unclean Hands And In Pari Delicto, Casey W. Baker

The Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship & the Law

Marijuana-related businesses have blossomed into an industry with an estimated total market value of $7.2 billion in 2016, with annual growth projected at 17%. Industry surveys report that 62% of marijuana-related businesses have offered equity stakes to investors and approximately one-half of marijuana-related businesses planned to actively seek investment funding in 2017. Along with the investment opportunity comes heightened fraud risk, with regulators cautioning investors against investment due to the lack of accurate and publicly-available information. Also, despite state-level decriminalization, marijuana possession, sale, and distribution continues to be a crime under federal law. The criminal nature of the marijuana industry …