Legalization Efforts

Subscribe to Legalization Efforts via RSS

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) John Mulrooney has cancelled the long-awaited cannabis re-scheduling hearing set for next week.  Pro-reform advocates have suggested that the DEA had improper communications with re-scheduling opponents, and filed a request for leave to file an interlocutory appeal. ALJ Mulrooney granted this request and has stayed proceedings for at least 90 days.  Next…

Continue Reading Re-scheduling in Limbo – Hearing Cancelled

Cannabis would move to Schedule III from Schedule I under this reclassification.

In a move long awaited by the cannabis industry, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has decided to re-schedule cannabis. Currently classified under Schedule I, along with heroin, cannabis would now move to Schedule III, along with ketamine and anabolic steroids.

This would not legalize cannabis for adult-use; rules…

Continue Reading BREAKING NEWS: DEA TO RESCHEDULE CANNABIS

It has already been a busy year for marijuana law! Catch up on key legislative, regulatory, and legal developments affecting the manufacture, distribution, sale, and use of marijuana occurring in 2022, including key decisions and regulatory material.

Date Development
May 26, 2022 Governor Kevin Stitt signed legislation enacting a moratorium on some new medical marijuana licenses, effective on August 1,

…
Continue Reading In Case You Missed It: Key Marijuana Law Developments in 2022

Two years ago, we detailed here legislative and other efforts in Texas to expand legal uses of cannabis.  The bill related to expanding Texas’ compassionate use registry for medical marijuana (still one of the narrowest in the nation) was successful; broader efforts at decriminalization or legalization were not.

2021 brings another legislative session (In Texas, the state legislature only meets in odd-numbered years and for a period of less than 5 months), and further prospects for opening up opportunities for the use of cannabis in the 2nd largest state in the country.

Over a dozen bills were “pre-filed” before the session began.

Here are some of the featured bills:Continue Reading Marijuana Legislation Progresses in…Texas?

During the last two weeks, the U.S. House of Representatives passed two bills aimed at reforming marijuana laws, the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement Act (MORE Act) and the Medical Marijuana Research Act (MMJ Research Act).  Since neither bill will be considered by the Senate in the present session of Congress, they will have to be reintroduced and pass both…
Continue Reading The House Passes the MORE Act and the Medical Marijuana Research Act. Will It Matter?

While the votes continue to be tallied in the Presidential election, one thing is certain – it was a BIG night for cannabis in America with five new states approving ballot measures to allow for legalized marijuana.  With these new laws, nearly 110 million Americans (or over 1/3 of the country) will now live in a state where marijuana is…
Continue Reading And the Winner of the 2020 Election Is…Weed!

Election Day 2020 is quickly approaching and with this election cycle occurring during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is gearing up to be one of the most unique and unprecedented election seasons in recent memory. Each ballot contains consequential choices at every level of government, from the highest office in the land to the “highest” ballot initiatives in several states…

Continue Reading MJ in NJ is on the Ballot in 2020

On July 29, 2019, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) signed state legislation that further decriminalizes the possession of cannabis. The bill, sponsored by Senator Jamaal Bailey (D-Bronx), was passed by the New York State Assembly just over a month before it was signed, receiving 39 to 20 votes in the State Senate and 94 to 44 votes in the…

Continue Reading Win Some, Lose Some, Fight Another Day: Cannabis Decriminalized in New York and Full Legalization Discussions Postponed

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is expected to sign a comprehensive recreational cannabis bill.  While the “Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act” contains extensive provisions preserving an employer’s right to ban cannabis and otherwise have a “zero tolerance” substance abuse policy, there are potential traps for the unwary and, thus, employers should carefully consider how the new law will impact their existing substance abuse and drug testing policies and procedures. 
Continue Reading Half Baked: Illinois Legislature Includes Some Employer Protections in New Recreational Cannabis Law – But Beware the Traps

Texas is joining the states weighing whether to expand legalized uses of marijuana, with state legislators filing almost a dozen bills related to marijuana use in advance of the legislative session, which began on January 8.  (In Texas, the state legislature meets biannually for a 140-day session.)  Texas first established a limited compassionate use program for medical marijuana in 2015,…
Continue Reading Light (Up) at the End of the Tunnel in Texas?