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The Blunt Truth® has long covered the intersection of alcohol and cannabis. For example, just last month we explored the potential for regulatory confusion that might ensue if states begin allowing the sale of cannabis in liquor stores. We also commented on the potential casual use of cannabis in the workplace, with some co-working environments expanding access to alcohol and more.

As more and more states legalize cannabis, regulators seem to be turning to a friendly source for guidance––the alcoholic beverage industry. While some remain cautiously optimistic as to the impact that regulation of cannabis might have on the alcoholic beverage industry, many industry leaders welcome the marriage of pot and potent potables,  and are even exploring a whole new marketplace of cannabis-infused products, such as weed wine, beer, and spirits. Nevertheless, the overarching concern that the alcoholic beverage industry has from entering into the cannabis industry is that cannabis remains illegal at the federal level.Continue Reading Cannabis Receives a Welcome Push from The Alcoholic Beverage Industry, Leaving Regulators Buzzing

In a move that typifies how indirect legislation can achieve what direct legislation may not, the House Appropriations Committee has advanced a bill that would allow for cannabis ads to be broadcast on local television and radio.  In the FY23 Financial Services and General Government spending legislation, the Committee included a provision that would bar the FCC from using…
Continue Reading Permission by Prohibition: Cannabis Ads May Be Coming To Your Local TV

Upcoming PLUS Webinar: “SPAC and Related IPO Litigation as it has Evolved & The Current State of SEC Regulation of Disclosure”

Thursday, September 23, 2021

 

Join leading securities partners Greg Markel and Gina Ferrari for a complimentary webinar put on by the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) next week. The program “SPAC and Related IPO Litigation as it has Evolved …

Continue Reading SPAC and Related IPO Litigation as it has Evolved & The Current State of SEC Regulation of Disclosure

TBT readers are invited to join Seyfarth Shaw LLP’s upcoming webinar, “Risky Business: US Immigration Law and the Marijuana Industry,” on October 22 at 12 pm CT.

Register here
There is no cost to attend, but registration is required.

About the Program:

Despite the growing trend by states and foreign countries to legalize cannabis for recreational or medicinal use, and…
Continue Reading Upcoming Webinar: Risky Business: US Immigration Law and the Marijuana Industry

Cannabidiol (CBD) competed with Vitamin C as a top ingredient in new cosmetic products this past year, with promises of having anti-inflammatory effects and other healing properties. Amid the hype, at the end of 2018, the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, P.L. 115-334 (the “2018 Farm Bill”) was signed into law, changing the marketing of hemp and derivatives of cannabis and further removing hemp from the Controlled Substances Act thereby making it no longer an illegal substance under federal law. See Section 297A. The 2018 Farm Bill amended the definition of “hemp” to specifically include “all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids,” which has been construed as an attempt to include hemp-based CBD under the definition of industrial hemp. The 2018 Farm Bill allows, subject to certain restrictions, hemp cultivation, along with the sale, transport (including via interstate commerce), and possession of hemp-derived products.
Continue Reading “C” is for…

Cannabis and CBD-driven business format franchising is coming.

Franchising in the United States has deep historical roots in a nearly endless array of industries, from Benjamin Franklin’s Franchise-esque Printing Business to the Singer Sewing Machine’s profit-share model (1851) to Martha Matilda Harper’s Creation of the Modern Franchise with the Harper Method – all sixty-plus years before Ray Kroc created the…
Continue Reading High Risk, High Reward: When is it Time to Establish or Grow a Cannabis Franchise System?

The 2018 Farm Bill lifted the ban on hemp, creating a lot of buzz about products derived from hemp, including hemp-derived CBD oil.

Although this creates an exciting market opportunity for veterinarians and members of the pet industry, some important issues still need to be resolved.

Passing the Farm Bill did not legalize “pot for pets” — but it does mean pets can enjoy the benefits of CBD derived from industrial hemp.
Continue Reading Pets and Pot: Cannabis and Pet Products

This is Washington, and we do like to speak in initials.  A plain English translation of the title of this piece would read “FDA ‘places FDA-approved drugs that contain CBD derived from cannabis and no more than 0.1 percent tetrahydrocannabinols in Schedule V.’”  DEA Final Order, Docket No. DEA-486 Schedule V drugs include cough medicine with codeine and many pain relievers that still require a prescription.  So, really what this order does is allow doctors in the US legally to prescribe the recently approved epilepsy drug, Epidiolex, and allows pharmacies, rather than marijuana dispensaries, legally to sell the drug.
Continue Reading FDA: .1% CBD OK