Federal Policy

A Trump–appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia has issued a warning letter to Green Theory, a licensed medical dispensary serving patients in D.C., asking them to produce documentation proving their compliance with federal law.

A bipartisan proposal filed in the House of Representatives would federally legalize cannabis in states, territories, and tribal nations that have already passed adult-use reforms.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company announced it is transferring The Hawthorne Collective, Inc., the company’s cannabis industry investing arm, to an unnamed “independent strategic partner.”

The U.S. Supreme Court has sided with a former truck driver who is seeking triple damages in a lawsuit after a CBD product that was advertised as containing zero THC caused him to fail a drug test, which resulted in his firing.

The first messaging on cannabis policy out of the second Trump Administration is that “no action is being considered at this time.”

The U.S. Sentencing Commission reported that the number of federal charges for cannabis trafficking has hit an all-time low, down 93% since 2012.

The California state Supreme Court has de-published a prior ruling that said cannabis was illegal in the state due to federal law, meaning it can no longer be used as a legal precedent for other cases.

The Department of Government Efficiency, established by President Donald Trump and led by Elon Musk, has canceled a nearly $700,000 federal research grant to study cannabis use by LGBTQ+ women.

37-year-old Ma Yang, a Hmong American woman who has lived in Wisconsin since she was 8 months old, was deported to Laos last week due to filing a guilty plea in 2020 for her role in a federal cannabis trafficking case.

Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford (R) has introduced legislation to prohibit cannabis operators from deducting business expenses from their taxes, even if cannabis were to be federally rescheduled under federal law.

In a letter to Elon Musk, the chairman of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) called for an end to raids by the DEA and CBP on state-legal cannabis businesses.

Two cannabis industry groups, the National Cannabis Roundtable and the U.S. Cannabis Council, announced they are combining to form the United States Cannabis Roundtable (USCR), aiming to become “a singular voice” representing the industry.

The judge who was set to oversee the long-anticipated hearing for testimony for/against the rescheduling of cannabis has postponed the hearing for at least three months amidst new legal challenges brought against the DEA.

The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has reaffirmed that the federal prosecution of Patrick Darnell Daniels Jr. for illegally possessing a firearm while having also consumed cannabis was a violation of his Second Amendment rights.

Cannabis reform proponents have again requested the removal of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from the rescheduling hearing coming later this month, citing new evidence the agency might seek to “subvert the process” and “thwart” the rescheduling process.

The FDA has sent letters warning manufacturers of products containing amanita mushrooms that the products, which are often marketed as psychedelic and sold in gas stations or smoke shops, violate federal law.

In a letter last week, sixty-six members of Congress asked President Joe Biden (D) to use his clemency powers to “address longstanding injustices” in the U.S. legal system during the final months of his presidency.

A new draft of the Farm Bill includes language aimed at closing intoxicating hemp loopholes, but stops short of setting per-serving or per-container limits for hemp-derived THC.

USDA officials last week delayed the enforcement of a rule requiring consumer hemp products to be tested by labs registered with the DEA; it’s the third year in a row that officials have delayed enforcing the rule.

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.

A lawsuit filed on behalf of eight licensed New Mexico cannabis operators alleges that federal agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Customs & Border Protection unlawfully seized state-legal cannabis products and cash, violating the companies’ Fifth Amendment right to due process.

The American Institute of CPAs is asking the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to provide tax guidance for cannabis businesses as the Biden Administration moves to reschedule cannabis under federal law.