Legal Issues

A New York judge extended the statewide injunction against licensing new cannabis dispensaries pending the outcome of a hearing later this week; the licensing process was halted earlier this month after several veterans claimed in a lawsuit that the state failed to follow its own social equity rules.

A lawsuit filed in the Connecticut Superior Court is challenging the state’s cannabis legalization law and asking a judge to halt cannabis sales statewide because the plant remains federally prohibited.

A lawsuit filed by New York-based military veterans claims that cannabis regulators are failing to follow the social equity provisions included in the state’s cannabis legalization law.

Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice John Kane heard arguments on Tuesday in a case challenging a recently passed law that hikes medical cannabis licensing fees in the state.

The New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department filed a petition seeking a preliminary injunction against Sawmill Sweet Leaf, LLC, alleging the company has been diverting cannabis out of state and manufacturing concentrate without a permit.

Medical cannabis business applicant Alabama Always LLC is accusing the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission of improperly erasing recordings of its meetings in violation of the state’s Open Meetings Act.

Rhode Island dispensary Greenleaf Compassionate Care Center has filed a lawsuit over labor peace agreement provisions in the state’s cannabis legalization law, arguing it was “coerced into entering an oppressive collective bargaining agreement.”

Medical cannabis advocates in Oklahoma have filed a lawsuit challenging recent cannabis industry fee increases in the state.

A Florida appeals court this week ruled that the firing of a Department of Corrections officer over his prescribed medical cannabis use was justified under federal law.

An Arkansas judge last week voided 27 laws passed by lawmakers to amend the state’s voter-approved medical cannabis law in 2017, 2019, and 2021. The judge called the changes unconstitutional.

Federal investigators are looking into the relationship between Oregon’s former Secretary of State, Shemia Fagan, and the owners of cannabis company La Mota, who hired Fagan as a private consultant while her office was conducting an audit of the cannabis industry.

The Teamsters Local 777 union in Chicago has filed additional Unfair Labor Practice charges against Green Thumb Industries, the parent company of RISE dispensaries, adding new allegations to an ongoing labor dispute.

A Washington D.C. judge ruled this week that a medical cannabis patient who smokes in his apartment must stop following a neighbor’s complaint that the odor caused a nuisance in her apartment.

The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that some cannabis distribution convictions are eligible for expungement under the state’s adult-use legalization law.

A U.S. magistrate judge has tossed the class action lawsuit brought by several Humboldt County landowners who claimed they were wrongfully fined by the county for growing cannabis without a permit.

A lawsuit filed in federal court by an Arkansas medical cannabis patient alleges that the state’s cannabis testing labs are inflating THC levels in cannabis products in order to inflate prices.

Cookies CEO Berner responded to a recent lawsuit targeting himself and several other Cookies executives, calling the allegations — which accuse the company’s leadership of “pervasive self-dealing” and allege a pattern of personal benefits and kickbacks — “extremely false, harmful damaging claims.”

Curaleaf chairman Boris Jordan said the company will use “any legal means necessary” to “ensure renewal” of its New Jersey adult-use license; the license is set to expire this Friday after regulators declined its renewal.

Another federal judge ruled last week that the federal ban on cannabis consumers possessing firearms is unconstitutional.

A Florida doctor is suing the Department of Health and two investigators who posed as patients for a medical cannabis sting operation that officials tried, and failed, to use to strip him of his medical license.

South Dakota-based 605 Cannabis is suing the state’s Department of Health, alleging regulatory overreach and the improper issuance of violations leading to more than $1 million worth of damages.

A New York Appeals Court judge this week narrowed the injunction blocking the licensing of cannabis dispensaries. The move will let the licensing process move forward except in the state’s Finger Lakes region.

The Attorney General of Connecticut is suing five retailers over the illegal sale of delta-8 THC products that mimic child-friendly products.

Regulators in Vermont are investigating links between Roman Abramovich, a Russian oligarch, and cannabis MSO Curaleaf.