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Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 1, 2021, the California State Senate passed Senate Bill 519 which calls for the legalization for non-commercial use of specific psychedelics. This Bill is the newest among the growing list of legalization efforts of psychedelics, this being a major momentum shift.

In the most recent news of the ongoing modern psychedelic revolution, the California State Senate…
Continue Reading California State Senate Passes Psychedelic Legalization In Latest Wave of the New Psychedelic Revolution

Recently, when dismissing a job-applicant’s disability discrimination claims brought under California state law, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued two welcome reminders to employers.  First, an employer can condition an offer of employment on the completion of a preemployment drug screen, including a test for marijuana. This is true even though California has legalized marijuana…
Continue Reading California District Court Dismisses Disability Claims Based on Failed Preemployment Marijuana Screen

Marijuana remains a Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act. However, more and more states and localities are either enacting marijuana laws with express employment protections or resolving court cases in favor of marijuana users. Yet, more than a decade ago, the California Supreme Court held in Ross v. RagingWire Telecomm., Inc., that employers have the right…
Continue Reading California (Yet Again) Considers Legislation Regulating Employer Consideration of Marijuana Use

When we all sheltered in place in mid-March, social media accounts everywhere reflexively joked how marijuana use was about to skyrocket like wine consumption and On Demand streaming. True to form, recreational marijuana retailers in LA and several markets in the US where stores remained open saw an immediate spike in sales; there was a 159% increase in California over…
Continue Reading To Live and Die in LA: Despite Increased Demand, Cannabis Retailers Still Fight for Life in Light of the Pandemic – Is Help on the Way?

With the spread of COVID-19 fears, states and cities nationwide are in the process of issuing a variety of executive orders and other ordinances shutting down businesses that are considered “non-essential.”  However, what is considered “essential” differs by state and locality.  Across the board, these laws have included healthcare services as “essential.” The question many have is whether marijuana dispensaries…
Continue Reading Marijuana Dispensaries – Are They Essential Services?

As previously reported, the Tenth Circuit created a buzz when it found that cannabis companies need to pay overtime under the FLSA even though marijuana is illegal under Federal law.

Since then, another case has emerged from the “weedwork” in the Northern District of California claiming that cannabis companies owe employees: overtime hours, expense reimbursements, and penalties for failing to…
Continue Reading Will cannabis legalization lead to “high” stakes wage and hour litigation?

It is widely known that California’s Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law (and also rejected) a flurry of bills in recent weeks.  But what has been done in the cannabis space?  So glad you asked, because, indeed, Newsom has signed several bills impacting the cannabis industry, reflecting a focus on encouraging minority participation, encouraging union membership, and clarifying select…
Continue Reading Higher Laws — What’s New on the Legislative Front for Cannabis Businesses

California’s AB 2069, a bill to require employers to accommodate medical cannabis users, recently failed to advance past committee.

We previously reported that the California legislature was considering AB 2069, the “Medical Cannabis Worker Protections Act,” a bill to amend the Fair Employment and Housing Act to require most employers to engage in the interactive process with and consider…
Continue Reading Proposed Amendment to California’s Medical Marijuana Law On Hold – For Now

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) recently held advisory meetings on the Agency’s draft rules for the Marijuana/Cannabis Industry and for the Heat Illness Prevention in Indoor Places of Employment.  It is seeking public comments.
Continue Reading Cal/OSHA Drafts Rules for the Marijuana/Cannabis Industry and Heat Illness Prevention in Indoor Places of Employment

The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office has announced that it will retroactively apply Proposition 64, which legalized the possession and recreational use of marijuana in California, to marijuana related misdemeanor and felony convictions dating back to 1975 with immediate effect.  As a result, over 3,000 misdemeanor convictions will be dismissed and sealed, and nearly 5,000 felony convictions will be reviewed and potentially reduced.
Continue Reading San Francisco DA’s Office to Dismiss Thousands of Marijuana Convictions