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Perkins Coie is proud to announce the launch of “Cannabis Law: A Primer on Federal and State Law Regarding Marijuana, Hemp, and CBD,” published by the American Bar Association, authored by various Perkins Coie Cannabis Law attorneys, and edited by Barak Cohen, chair of our Cannabis Law industry group, and Michael Bleicher. Until…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a final rule today, building off the interim final rule it issued in October 2019 and incorporating both public comments and the agency’s takeaways from the 2020 growing season. In general, the final rule makes modest adjustments to the interim final rule in order to make it less onerous for producers to grow hemp while imposing stricter requirements on how crop must be tested.

Most importantly, the final rule recognizes that growers may accidentally produce crop that contains more than 0.3 percent THC and raises the limit for negligently doing so from 0.5 percent to 1 percent, but requires that producers test for total THC levels in crop, rather than for delta-9 THC levels. Testing for total THC levels makes it more likely a crop could exceed the legal limit for THC in hemp.…
Continue Reading USDA’s Final Rule Makes Hemp Easier to Grow, Harder to Test

On October 27, 2020, the New York State Department of Health issued proposed regulations regarding cannabinoid hemp products. These proposed regulations (available here) are open for public commentary until January 11, 2021. They would change how products containing hemp-derived cannabinoids, including cannabidiol (CBD), are manufactured and sold in New York State. While the industry continues to await federal guidance from the FDA, these proposed regulations offer a glimpse into what actions the federal government might take with regard to CBD.…
Continue Reading New York State Proposes New Cannabinoid Product Regulations

A former part owner of a failed venture sued the venture’s former CEO, Paul Smith, alleging he misappropriated trade-secret hemp strains, selling them to a Canadian cannabis company for nearly $4 million.

In its September 21, 2020 complaint, Big Wuf Enterprises, LLC and its principal, W. John Short, allege their former venture, YCG Holdings LLC,…

Amid sustained legislative pressure for regulatory guidance and the FDA’s recent submission of draft enforcement guidance regarding cannabidiol (CBD) to the White House, signs from the FDA indicate increased momentum towards a federal pathway for the CBD market. This momentum from the FDA is affected by the approach to CBD taken by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). While the industry awaits the FDA’s forthcoming guidance policy on CBD enforcement, the FDA’s approach articulated in two recent guidance documents contains important signals.…
Continue Reading FDA Guidance Offers Clues Regarding Future Federal CBD Policy