In the days of the Armada, a fleet of warships, the scuttlebutt was the rumor or gossip that would spread throughout the ship. Today, Armada Law Corp presents The Scuttlebutt, a daily summery of news articles that people within the cannabis, hemp and plant medicine industries are chatting about along with links to the full articles.
In today’s news:
Cannabis Operators Sue U.S. Over the CSA, Intrastate Commerce
#cannabisindustry – “A coalition of U.S. cannabis operators and investors, including some of the largest multistate operators, filed a lawsuit against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, alleging that the federal government has no basis for enforcing the Controlled Substances Act against intrastate, state-regulated cannabis operations.
According to the statement, the coalition seeks to urge the federal government to not enforce the CSA in a manner that interferes with the intrastate cultivation, manufacture, possession, and distribution of cannabis, pursuant to state law.
“The federal criminalization of safe, regulated marijuana commerce in states where it is legal unfairly burdens legal operations and expands the production and sale of illegal marijuana that is unregulated, can be unsafe, and is likely to find its way to other states,” said David Boies, chairman of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP….”
Read More: https://www.greenmarketreport.com/cannabis-operators-sue-u-s-over-the-csa-intrastate-commerce/
New Report Aims To Protect Small Cannabis From Corporate Takeover
#cannabisindustry – “The report, “How to Federally Legalize Cannabis Without Violating the Constitution or Undermining Equity and Justice,” was ideated by the Parabola Center for Law and Policy. Its author Tamar Todd is an attorney with a breadth of experience in drug policy. She also serves as a lecturer at the U.C. Berkeley School of Law teaching cannabis law and policy.
It offers a clear blueprint for Congress to protect the cannabis industry, ensure justice, and not obliterate the hard work that the states have done in the last decade. America’s weed industry is made up of over 10,000 small businesses providing an estimated 400,000 jobs across the country. According to Parabola Center founder and director Shaleen Title, the report was written to address “concerns that federal marijuana legalization would wipe out current state markets and replace them with a national monopoly.””
State Revokes Third Cannabis Business License
#newmexicocannabis – “New Mexico’s Cannabis Control Division has revoked another business’ license—the third since sales of adult recreational cannabis became legal here in 2021. According to the agency’s final decision published last week, Albuquerque-based company Golden Roots violated close to a dozen state statutes governing the industry, including those involving tracking, storing and transporting cannabis. The agency also fined the company more than $298,000. As SFR previously reported, the Cannabis Control Division revoked its first license, for Paradise Distro, last July, a move that followed a request from more than 100 cannabis business owners for the state to pause licensing in order to stabilize the market. It revoked its second license, for CMF Productions, in August. CCD Division Director Todd Stevens, who began his position in August, tells SFR the agency hired seven new compliance officers over the summer, bringing its total to 13. “These officers have hit the ground running and are picking things up quickly…We continue to complete spot inspections, investigate complaints from the community, and…find noncompliant actors and bring them into compliance,” he says, noting that the agency’s compliance officers “are out in the field each day inspecting New Mexico cannabis businesses.” Regarding Golden Roots’ license revocation, Stevens tells the Albuquerque Journal the company showed “a blatant disregard for the Cannabis Regulation Act and the laws all licensees in New Mexico must follow.””
9th Circ. Kicks Psilocybin Rescheduling Petition To DEA
#cannabislawsuit – “A Ninth Circuit panel on Friday sent a Seattle-based physician’s request to reschedule psilocybin, the active ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms, back to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and ordered the agency to clarify why it believes the drug should remain a Schedule I substance.
The unsigned, unpublished decision comes one week after the circuit panel heard oral arguments from the physician’s counsel urging the appellate court to find the entire process that the DEA uses to review rescheduling petitions unlawful.
In granting the DEA’s request for a remand, the panel declined to weigh in on whether the agency’s criteria — the so-called five-part test — is lawful under the Controlled Substances Act, but did chasten the agency for summarily rejecting Dr. Sunil Aggarwal’s petition to move psilocybin to Schedule II without any explanation.
“Even if we inferred that the DEA does require a substance to meet the five-part test for ‘currently accepted medical use’ in order to be transferred to Schedule II, the DEA failed to explain why Aggarwal’s submission did not show that psilocybin met the five-part test,” the decision said. “Nor did the DEA’s letter explain its reasoning for any such conclusion.””
Cannabis Atty Convicted In Plot To Bribe Mass. Police Chief
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#cannabislaw – “A Boston federal jury on Friday convicted a lawyer of seeking to bribe a police chief working on local marijuana licensing approvals with a $25,000 payment to the official’s brother.
The verdict, delivered hours after closing statements, rejected arguments by real estate attorney and former Somerville elected official Sean O’Donovan that he only asked that his cannabis client’s application be read, and that it wasn’t believable that he would try to corrupt the “untouchable” police chief.
The jury heard three full days of testimony in the case against O’Donovan, including undercover video recordings of his meetings with Michael Buckley, the chief’s brother, who cooperated with the federal investigation and became a key witness in the corruption trial….”
The Impacts Of Magic Mushrooms On The Workplace: Legal Considerations, Testing Options, And Employer Policies
#psychedelics – “In recent years, psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, has gained increasing attention for its potential therapeutic benefits. As a result, the legal status of psilocybin is evolving, with several states and local jurisdictions decriminalizing or legalizing its use for medical and recreational purposes….”