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The Best Laid Plans for Marijuana Laws Go Astray

Not so fast, says the Department of Justice, on pot legalization. Just as California is poised to roll out its new marijuana laws, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has thrown a monkey wrench into plans devised by state lawmakers there and elsewhere who see potential tax revenues from making pot legal. In this Instant Insights, we show you the latest on the clash brewing over marijuana legalization and the complications arising.

News

Cannabis Law Practices Brace for Impact of Sessions Memo

Lizzy McLellan | January 04, 2018

Will the Trump administration's policy change on marijuana put a chill on law firms' slow embrace of cannabis clients?

Q&A

Q&A: Former DOJ Attorney Dissects AG Sessions' Marijuana Memo

Cheryl Miller | January 04, 2018

John W. Vardaman III says Sessions' rescission of Obama-era guidance on marijuana puts U.S. attorneys "in a very tenuous position."
News

NY Lawmakers Ask Congress to Pass Marijuana Law Following Sessions Pot Reversal

Josefa Velasquez | January 04, 2018

New York lawmakers who helped craft the state's medical marijuana program, joined by marijuana industry and drug reform advocates, are calling on the U.S. Congress to enact legislation that would protect legal marijuana programs in the states that have them after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced plans to rescind Obama-era policy.
California's Marijuana Legalization Rollout

ALM Staff | November 30, 2017

In 2018 California will be the largest state to implement a recreational marijuana scheme, which is bound to cause some regulatory headaches.
News

James Cole's Marijuana Memo Just Got Revoked. Here's What He Thinks About That.

Cheryl Miller | January 04, 2018

Cole, now a Sidley Austin partner, said he thought his namesake Justice Department memo outlined "a valid policy and was moving things in the right direction."

News

Cannabis-Industry Lawyer Raises Questions After His Bank Terminates Account

Cheryl Miller | December 28, 2017

"Our first duty as attorneys is to our clients and the ethical rules that apply to us," Khurshid Khoja, founder of Greenbridge Corporate Counsel said. "We are licensed by the state and it's our duty to protect confidentiality and to keep our clients safe." He added: "We can't have banks interfering with that."
News

New Players to Enter State's Medical Marijuana Market After Judge Rejects Challenge

Jason Grant | January 04, 2018

The action, brought by an association of existing companies in the market, aimed to stop an additional five from entering the market.
News

IRS Power Is Challenged in Marijuana Dispensary's Supreme Court Petition

Cheryl Miller | November 07, 2017

"The IRS claims it is necessary and within its power to make administrative determinations that a person is criminally culpable under federal drug laws. Such a claim of power by the IRS is unprecedented," Green Solution's lawyers wrote in the U.S. Supreme Court petition.