While many states sprint towards the legalization of cannabis—at least nine states and the District of Columbia have legalized it for recreational use—Texas, a state often associated with conservative values, continues to take baby steps.  Still, progress is progress, even if at a snail’s pace.

Under the Texas Compassionate Use Act, enacted in 2015, patients living with intractable epilepsy (a seizure disorder that is difficult to control with treatment) are allowed to possess low-THC (up to 0.5%), high-CBD (more than 10%) oil that is prescribed by a qualified, registered physician.  This is one of the narrowest medical marijuana provisions in the United States.

Recently, however, on May 15, 2019, Texas legislators indicated they might be softening their stance on cannabis by unanimously approving, at the Senate level, House Bill 1325, which makes it legal for Texas farmers to grow industrial hemp.  The bill also legalizes hemp and hemp-derived extracts, like CBD oil, and removes hemp from Texas’ controlled substances list. Assuming the House approves the Senate’s amendments to the bill, which is anticipated, the bill will become law.

To be clear, hemp is not marijuana—hemp and its by-products contain no more than 0.3% of THC, which produces the “high” in marijuana—and marijuana is still illegal in Texas under House Bill 1325.  In fact, it seems Texas lawmakers sought to clarify that the bill should not be viewed as a step towards marijuana legalization by including a provision that outlaws the manufacturing of hemp for the purpose of smoking.

Relatedly, the Texas House also recently approved House Bill 63, which reduces the penalties for possession of marijuana.  For example, under the bill, possession of one ounce or less of marijuana would be reduced from a Class B to a Class C misdemeanor—the equivalent of a traffic ticket.  However, the bill is expected to die in the Senate.

Overall, the new law allowing farmers to grow hemp is a step in the right direction, but Texas still seems a long way off from legalizing marijuana, whether for expanded medical use or recreational use.

The Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act was signed into law in April 2016, and the state’s medical marijuana program was fully operational by early 2018. The law provides that Pennsylvania’s program shall be run by a Director of Medical Marijuana, who is supported by a 15-member Advisory Board.

The purpose of the Medical Marijuana Advisory Board is to monitor the progress of the medical marijuana program and those of other states, accept comments from the public and industry stakeholders, and to periodically report to the Governor, the Department of Health, and the Director of Medical Marijuana on proposed changes to the Commonwealth’s Medical Marijuana Program.

A main topic of discussion and debate within the Advisory Board is the list of qualifying medical conditions (known as “Serious Medical Conditions” in the Act) that are approved for the use of medical marijuana in Pennsylvania. The law originally identified 17 serious medical conditions, and in 2018, the Advisory Board expanded that list to include four additional conditions. The current list of serious medical conditions approved in Pennsylvania can be found here.

At its most recent meeting on May 15, 2019, the Advisory Board again discussed the addition of serious medical conditions. Specifically, the Advisory Board discussed the addition of Anxiety and Tourette’s Syndrome. These two conditions were already approved earlier this year through a vote of the Advisory Board, but have yet to be approved by the Commonwealth’s Department of Health. At the May 15 meeting, DOH Director Dr. Rachel Levine said she expects to make a final decision this summer on whether to approve these conditions under the law, but would like to conduct further study on how patients with these conditions would be affected by the use of cannabis.

The next quarterly meeting of the PA Medical Marijuana Advisory Board will occur on August 14, 2019. For more information on the Advisory Board’s activities, you can check out the PA Department of Health’s website, or check back here for more updates.

Joseph McNelis works in Fox Rothschild’s Blue Bell, PA office and focuses his practice on labor and employment matters. Joe also tracks legal developments in the cannabis industry in Pennsylvania and nationwide. Joe can be contacted at 610-397-2332 or jmcnelis@foxrothschild.com.

Get ready, Las Vegas… Within a matter of months, residents and visitors to Las Vegas, Nevada will be able to consume marijuana in City approved “social use venues” (the “SUVs”).

On Wednesday, May 1, 2019, the Las Vegas City Council approved Bill Number 2018-61 (the “Ordinance”), which allows the consumption of marijuana SUVs that have been approved and issued requisite SUV business licenses. While there are restrictions applicable to the SUVs, the passing of the Ordinance is nonetheless a welcome addition to the Las Vegas marijuana scene.

Before the Ordinance was passed, recreational and medicinal users of marijuana were restricted to consuming marijuana in the privacy of their own homes. This restriction posed an issue for tourists, as there was no place for the tourists to consume their marijuana purchase. The Ordinance now allows the consumption of marijuana in social venues, further demonstrating Las Vegas’ acceptance of marijuana, making Las Vegas that much more attractive to its residents and tourists.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, and pursuant to the Ordinance, the following limitations apply to SUVs:

  • The City of Las Vegas must approve and issue an SUV business license following application submission. Thereafter, the yearly cost for such license is approximately $5,000.00.
  • For the first year, only licensed dispensaries located within the City of Las Vegas are able to apply for the SUV business license. Moreover, SUVs cannot be located inside of a Las Vegas licensed dispensary.
  • SUVs must meet specified odor standards and must have an approved security, training, fire safety, air quality, and sanitation plan.
  • Each SUV must be set at least 1,000 feet from a school or casino, and set at least 300 feet from certain protected institutions, including but not limited to churches.
  • As marijuana is prohibited from being consumed in public, the SUVs must restrict their view from the public.
  • Alcohol is prohibited from being sold or consumed at SUVs.
  • No one under 21 years of age will be granted admission to SUVs.

On the flip side, non-alcoholic beverages and food can be sold and consumed on-site. There is also buzz that some SUVs will feature arcade games and other recreational activities, making the SUVs akin to bars, and that much more appealing to its patrons.

The Ordinance will certainly add more joints to the City of Las Vegas…pun intended.

This weekend, Illinois’ governor announced a proposed bill, planned for filing in the hopper today or very soon, which will allow for the cultivation and retail sale of adult-use (i.e., recreational) marijuana in Illinois.  The bill will allegedly be several hundred pages long, so the Governor’s office has provided us with a summary of the provisions, available here: https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/5988612/Cannabis-bill-summary-from-Gov-Pritzker-s-office.pdf.  The bill proposes to allow existing medical marijuana licenses to have a head start selling adult-use cannabis on January 1, 2020, with additional licenses to be made available in “waves” thereafter in May and July, 2020, and again in December 2021.

Feel free to call me if you have any further questions about the proposed bill – William Bogot

Illinois finally issued its industrial hemp applications and final regulations in accordance with the new Illinois Industrial Hemp Act. https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/agr/Plants/Pages/Industrial-Hemp.aspx. These is no limit on the number of licenses, which are to be issued to qualifying applicants within 30 days of application. Applications are available for growers and processors, with fees ranging from $100 – $1000. The application is unlike the one for medical marijuana, in that it is not merit/point based, and it can easily be completed in a short amount of time. Those individuals with a controlled substance felony conviction in the last 10 years are ineligible for licensure.

The regulations provide that the minimum land area for industrial cultivation shall be ¼ acre of contiguous land for outdoor cultivation and 500 square feet for indoor cultivation. No land area used for industrial hemp shall produce a plant with more than .3% THC concentration on a dry weight basis. The regulations allow for the sale of marketable hemp products to members of the general public both within and outside the State of Illinois, and there is no restriction on the transportation of any such product following retail sale to a member of the public.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions – William Bogot

On April 1, 2019, Fox Rothschild attorneys Josh Horn and Joseph McNelis will present Implications of Medical Marijuana in the Workplace, a live webinar, in conjunction with Lorman Education Services.

Joshua Horn, Partner, Fox Rothschild LLP

Joseph A. McNelis III, Associate, Fox Rothschild LLP

The presentation will discuss the challenges employers across the country face given the dichotomy between state and federal laws governing cannabis. Josh and Joe will will provide an overview of federal and state marijuana laws, discuss specific aspects of the employment relationship affected by the legalization of marijuana, and offer practical guidance for employers on how to navigate this new and developing area of the law.

For more information and to register for this webinar, click here.

Also–don’t forget to check out our “White Paper” on the same topic, which provides a great overview and important takeaways for employers.

Florida Governor Ron De Santis signed SB182 into law yesterday.  SB182 redefines medical use of marijuana to include possession, use or administration of marijuana in the form of smoking.

The new law also triggered the dismissal of an appellate court action regarding the constitutionality of Florida’s medical marijuana law which previously banned the smoking of medical marijuana.

Notwithstanding the new law legalizing smokable medical marijuana it will take time for dispensaries to start selling it, since the Florida Department of Health will have to institute regulations and procedures for the new product.  If the past is predictive of the present, it could take a year for new regulations to be issued by the Florida Department of Health.  The new law also legalized the purchase and possession of smoking paraphernalia.

Medical marijuana patients will still need a prescription from a doctor and a Florida medical marijuana patient i.d. card to purchase smokable medical marijuana.  Additionally, nothing in the new law permits or authorizes smoking medical marijuana in public, in an enclosed work area, or on public transportation.  Further, the owners of private property can ban smokable medical marijuana on their property.

Children will also be able to use smokable medical marijuana if they suffer from a terminal illness and they have received two opinions from two doctors that they should utilize smokable medical marijuana.

 

Dori K. Stibolt is a West Palm Beach, Florida based partner with Fox Rothschild LLP.  She focuses her practice on litigation and labor and employment issues and has taken a special interest in the cannabis business.  You can contact Dori at 561-804-4417 or dstibolt@foxrothschild.com.

On March 22, 2019, the Pennsylvania Bar Institute will hold its second annual Medical Marijuana & Hemp Law Symposium, a full-day interactive event that will touch on all aspects of the emerging cannabis industry in Pennsylvania.

Light bulb symbol composed of cannabis, illustrating concept of cannabis-related patents

Speakers will include attorneys, government officials, doctors, and other experts in the industry, and the Symposium will feature Fox Rothschild attorneys Josh Horn and Joseph McNelis. The Symposium will be held live in Philadelphia, simulcast to 18 locations around Pennsylvania, and offered in a webcast.

Josh will co-lead the opening “Year in Review” presentation, discussing developments in Pennsylvania’s cannabis industry in 2018 and an outlook for the future, as well as a session on “Transactions in the Medical Marijuana Industry.” Joe will co-lead a panel on Employment Law issues, where he will discuss recent case law developments around the country, and what the PA Medical Marijuana Act means for the workplace.

For more information, or to register for the event, click here. We hope to see you there!

 

Although cannabis is illegal under federal law, at least 30 states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis for medical use and ten states, as well as D.C., have legalized it for recreational use—a dichotomy that presents a unique and complex challenge for employers. Fox Rothschild’s Cannabis Law and Employment Law attorneys have been on the forefront of these issues in multiple states, particularly in Pennsylvania.

Check out our latest thoughts and practical tips for employers in Pennsylvania (and elsewhere) in the recent issue of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Section Newsletter:

Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana – Challenges and Opportunities in the Workplace, by Joseph McNelis and Joshua Horn. A link to the article can be found here, courtesy of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Section.

You can also read a more in-depth analysis of questions at the intersection of legal cannabis and Employment Law in our White Paper on the subject, “Employment Compliance in the Age of Legalized Marijuana.”

Joseph McNelis works in Fox Rothschild’s Blue Bell, PA office and focuses his practice on labor and employment matters. Joe also tracks legal developments in the cannabis industry in Pennsylvania and nationwide. Joe can be contacted at 610-397-2332 or jmcnelis@foxrothschild.com.

With momentum growing for legal adult-use cannabis in Illinois following the election of J.B. Pritzker to the governorship, the Illinois General Assembly is already proposing legislation that would loosen regulations governing the cannabis industry.

On February 15, 2019, Sen. Heather A. Steans introduced SB 2023, which would amend the Illinois Banking Act and the Illinois Credit Union Act to prevent the Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation from taking various punitive actions against banks for providing financial services to legitimate cannabis-related businesses.  The proposed bill would also prevent the Secretary from recommending or incentivizing a bank to decline, downgrade or cancel financial services for an individual or entity solely because such individual or entity is engaged in a legitimate cannabis-related business, or becomes engaged in such a business, or the financial institution discovers that such individual or entity is engaged in such a business.  Senator Steans, together with Representative Kelly Cassidy, is also leading the charge on the legislation to legalize cannabis for recreational adult use in Illinois.

Proponents in the Illinois cannabis industry hope that the proposed bill will provide greater comfort for banks to provide financial services to cannabis-related businesses, since most banks in Illinois and other states have been hesitant to do so in the face of the federal prohibition on cannabis and certain actions taken by the current leadership at the Department of Justice that indicated greater hostility towards the cannabis industry.

On January 4, 2018, the Department of Justice withdrew the August 2013 Cole Memorandum, which had discouraged the federal prosecution of individuals and entities operating cannabis-related businesses in accordance with state laws, and the February 2014 Cole Memorandum, which applied the principals of the initial Cole Memorandum to financial institutions providing services to entities operating cannabis-related businesses in accordance with state law.  As a result of these actions by the Department of Justice, Springfield Bank, a downstate bank which had been operating as the main source of financial services for the Illinois medical cannabis industry, stopped providing services to the industry in the spring of 2018.  Although some smaller financial institutions continue to work with cannabis-related businesses, the industry is still severely underserved.  Since the federal issues that chilled banking activity have not yet been resolved conclusively, the proposed Illinois bill is unlikely to solve the issue on its own, but it would be a good first step in giving greater comfort to banks that wish to get involved in the industry.

Fox Rothschild will continue to track the status of SB 2023, as well as the expected recreational adult-use bill once it is introduced in the General Assembly.  For the full text of SB 2023, please see the website of the Illinois General Assembly.