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Friends, In 2020, McAllister Garfield attorneys successfully defended hemp farmers in Elbert County Colorado from an overly burdensome hemp regulation that would have charged thousands of dollars in fees for county hemp cultivation permits, putting dozens of small hemp farms out of business. Late last year Elbert County, Colorado announced a proposed hemp ordinance which […]

Friends, Sean McAllister has expanded his practice to another cutting edge drug policy reform issue: decriminalization and ultimately legalization and regulation of psilocybin mushrooms (aka magic mushrooms). The city of Denver decriminalized psilocybin mushrooms in May 2019 and Sean was recently appointed to the Denver Mayor’s Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel. In addition, Sean is […]

Friends, California Governor Newsom announced his proposed budget for the coming year, which included some important developments for the cannabis industry. 1.      The Governor has proposed consolidating the three cannabis licensing agencies into one new agency under a new Department of Cannabis Control by 2021. This will lead to significant regulatory simplification of the licensing process […]

Friends, Sean McAllister has expanded his groundbreaking work from cannabis to include the emerging issues around psychedelic mushrooms or psilocybin. Sean is General Counsel to the Denver campaign that decriminalized psilocybin mushrooms last year and he has been appointed by the Mayor of Denver to the Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel working on the implementation […]

Friends, On November 14, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report identifying vitamin E acetate, sometimes used as a thickening agent in vaping products, as the likely culprit in the recent vaping outbreak.  As of November 13th, the CDC identified 2,172 cases of vaping product associated lung injury in 49 states […]

USDA Hemp Rules: Impacts and Analysis, Q&A This one-hour webinar will present an overview of the USDA’s Interim Final Rule for Establishment of a Domestic Hemp Production Program and will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of the rule’s impact on the hemp industry. McAllister Garfield hemp chair David Wunderlich will offer a summary and analysis […]

Friends, Yesterday, news broke that the California Bureau of Cannabis Control suspended nearly 400 marijuana business licenses based mostly on the lack of utilization of the track and trace system in CA, Metrc. Any company that received a provisional license was required to sign up for Metrc within five days of getting the license and […]

Friends, This morning, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) distributed a Draft Interim Final Rule to govern the hemp industry. This long-anticipated rule sets the stage for further federal and state regulation of the hemp industry. Once effective, the rule will govern how state and tribal hemp plans will be evaluated and approved by the […]

Friends, What some have called the “national vaping crisis” has led to rulemaking by the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division (the “MED”). In Colorado alone there have been nine reported cases of vaping related illnesses resulting in seven hospitalizations, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Some Colorado cannabis industry stakeholders favor more […]

Friends, McAllister Garfield is a leading regulatory enforcement law firm in both CO and CA. Each year, the Firm inventories the regulatory enforcement cases brought in the past year. 2018 was an eventful year for the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division (the “MED”) and industry participants regarding enforcement actions. From January 1 until December 31, the […]

Friends, Once again, a cannabis-related business has tried and failed to convince a court it need not follow other federal law because it violates the Controlled Substances Act (the “CSA”). On September 20, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Denver held that employers operating in the cannabis industry must […]

Friends, On September 3, the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division (the “MED”) issued guidance FOR the emergency rules implementing HB-1090, commonly known as the “Pubco Bill,” which goes into effect November 1. Much of the publicity and activity concerning implementation of HB-1090 and the emergency rules has focused on publicly traded entities and private equity funds […]