Legal Issues

A Nebraska judge last week dropped all charges against a notary public caught up in an ongoing legal challenge against the medical cannabis ballot initiatives approved by voters earlier this month.

An appellate judges panel in Missouri recently ruled that local governments cannot stack cannabis sales taxes, overturning a lower court’s decision from May.

Colorado-based Bee’s Knees CBDs has agreed to pay the state attorney general a $225,000 settlement after an investigation found the company had misrepresented its product offerings, claimed false partnerships with nonprofits, and failed to verify customers’ ages.

Seven cannabis transportation companies in Illinois are suing the state Department of Agriculture claiming the agency’s licensing process favors larger, white- and male-owned companies.

A chief administrative law judge ruled Thursday to delay the DEA’s hearing for expert testimony on the rescheduling of cannabis under federal law until likely January or February 2025.

The owner of a Texas smoke shop was awarded a settlement of $80,000 from the Garza County Sheriff’s Office and the city of Post following an “illegal” raid in February that seized more than $20,000 worth of legal hemp products.

The trial over Nebraska’s two medical cannabis ballot initiatives began Tuesday after state officials challenged the proposals’ signature-gathering process. The initiatives, which together seek to legalize medical cannabis, will remain on state ballots but, depending on the trial, could be invalidated even if approved by voters.

A Queens County Superior Court judge has ruled that the New York City law enabling local law enforcement to crack down on unlicensed cannabis sales is unconstitutional because it violates the shop owners’ right to due process.

A Montgomery Circuit judge in Alabama has appointed a mediator to help resolve the legal dispute over the state’s attempts to license integrated operators for its long-embattled medical cannabis program.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments over whether a truck driver who was fired for failing a drug test after using a CBD product advertised as containing no THC can sue the manufacturer under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO.

A California judge last week ruled that the state’s emergency regulations restricting the sale of intoxicating hemp products can continue, blocking a legal challenge brought by hemp companies.

Nebraska officials are questioning the validity of more than half of the already-validated signatures on the state’s petitions to legalize medical cannabis; advocates say the approach is “working to silence and disenfranchise” Nebraska citizens.

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled last week that the odor of burnt cannabis alone is not sufficient grounds for police to conduct vehicle searches without a warrant.

One of the companies suing the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission asked a judge to toss all three of the agency’s attempts to award integrated cannabis licenses and to declare the regulators’ appeal process void.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that prosecutors cannot file gun possession charges against a Texas woman who admitted to consuming cannabis, citing a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that says modern firearm restrictions must be “consistent with this nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”

A lawsuit filed this week in New York on behalf of three licensed hemp retailers is accusing the state’s cannabis officials of “trampling” on their constitutional rights by conducting “military-style raids” as part of their crackdown on the sale of illegal cannabis products.

The Vermont Supreme Court last week overruled an appeal for unemployment benefits by a medical cannabis patient who was fired last year after failing a drug test for cannabis, and who lost their unemployment benefits because of it.

A federal judge in Wyoming recently dismissed the lawsuit challenging a state-wide ban on intoxicating hemp products. The suit was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be brought back to the court.

A Minnesota law that bans cannabis smoking in multifamily homes has taken effect however the law provides some exceptions for medical cannabis patients.

The attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, and South Dakota submitted a letter to federal regulators opposing the rescheduling of cannabis.

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has ruled that women registered with the state’s medical cannabis program who consume cannabis while pregnant cannot be prosecuted for child neglect.

A new Minnesota law bars police from carrying out warrantless vehicle searches based solely on the detection of cannabis odor; the law reaffirms the state’s Supreme Court ruling on the issue last year.

A Texas judge has dismissed a lawsuit by Attorney General Ken Paxton that sought to nullify voter-approved local cannabis decriminalization ordinances in Austin, Denton, Elgin, Killeen, and San Marcos.