Rohan Marley to Launch Lion Order on 4/20

First announced on “Twosday” February 22, or 2.22.22, Rohan Marley, son of the legendary Bob Marley, plans to launch Lion Order, a cannabis and CBD lifestyle brand that truly reflects the values of both the Marley family and cultivator Heavyweight Heads. Marley plans to launch the brand, fittingly, on April 20.

Marley played professional football in the Canadian Football League with the Ottawa Rough Riders, and currently performs as a musician periodically with his siblings. He shares his father’s affinity for the herb, both for spiritual and medical reasons. The Lion of Judah is a prominent symbol in the Rastafari faith—representing Emperor Haile Selassie I and as a symbol of strength.

“Lion Order represents the Lion of Judah,” Marley said. “The way of man, Strength, Power, Courage, Determination. Doing things the right way. Moving as a King or Queen, moving with dignity, self-respect and wanting to be a part of a movement and a lifestyle. It’s a way of life and how one should live.”

Marley continued, “Lion Order is a way for us to unite as a people, whether it’s with cannabis, water, psilocybin, coffee or food. We want to get together around a table, all different ethnicities, different religions, nations and have a real talk about life and love.” 

Lion Order’s alignment and synchronization with 2.22.22 is special to Marley as 2 is a special number to him personally. The number 2 was his football number when he played for the University of Miami alongside Warren Sapp, Ray Lewis, and The Rock. That’s also where the concept of Lion Order began, the company explains in a press release.

“Today, on 2.22.22 we are announcing Lion Order’s intentions on this historic day of alignment and synchronicity,” says Rohan Marley, “Lion Order is a movement to return to nature, a return to King of self and shift in consciousness that comes from the Earth.”#LIONORDER pic.twitter.com/6CBM9U0C37

— Rohan Marley (@Romarley) February 23, 2022

Partnering with Michigan’s Cannabis Cup award-winning cultivator Heavyweight Heads, the brand will launch on April 20 with its own Lion Order IP strains. Heavyweight Head’s strain Orangutan, for instance, won 1st Place for Best Recreational Sativa Flower at the High Times’ Michigan 2021 Cannabis Cup People’s Choice Edition.  

Marley will announce his complete product rollout in Michigan and other territories where Lion Order product will be sold this coming 4/20, the universal cannabis holiday of April 20.

Lion Order CEO Chloe Villano said, “Lion Order is a movement of the highest order. It represents this industry and all that it encompasses with integrity, authenticity, equality, and justice. This is something that means so much to me being an activist who worked on the ground floor of legalization, and one of the pioneers of the industry. When I connected with Rohan, we realized that we had the same values and the synergy was there to build a monumental movement, brand, and company; we knew that this would be bigger than we ever dreamed of. With the honorable legacy that Rohan Marley carries and the consciousness of the team and partners, this brand is a true staple of leadership, encompassing luxury culture and standards the industry has not yet seen. We aim to create one of the largest, most successful roots culture luxury brands in cannabis while creating a movement of truth that changes the world!”

Lion Order represents Marley’s Ital-approved, holistic way of nutrition, meditating, and training on the beach. Following his career in professional football, Marley founded several successful family brands such as Marley Coffee and House of Marley headphones and speakers. 

Countries such as Italy have observed cannabis for Rastafarian religious beliefs. In the U.S., the use of cannabis in observance of Rastafari sparked a religious debate in states like California and Wisconsin.

Lion Order will be a complete lifestyle brand of cannabis, hemp-derived CBD, clothing, and luxury accessories to enhance the ritual of cannabis consumption. Mike James, another former athlete and one of Lion Order’s company owners, played running back in the NFL for the Detroit Lions from 2016 to 2018.

“Lion Order is something that Rohan has been practicing his whole life and it has been passed down for generations. Now he’s giving our team and the world the opportunity to join this movement. We all want to be a part of something special in our lives. Why not that be liberation in the structure of LION ORDER. As humans, we have a duty to one another to do our best to preserve human life. The mission is to not only do that but to help liberate those lives into freedom,” James said.

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How Will the War in Ukraine Affect the European Cannabis Industry?

When Russian tanks rolled into the Ukraine last Thursday, perhaps the last thing on anyone’s mind was how the largest ground war in Europe since WWII would affect the nascent cannabis industry.

However, the reality has sunk in and it is clear to many within the cannabis space, in Europe at least, that the pending issues of reform, so important to the industry post-COVID, if not other issues inherent in a globally interconnected world, may come to a halt.

What will be impacted, and what will stay the same?

Production and Supply Chain Issues in Europe

One of the issues that will remain unaffected is the cannabis supply chain. Currently, Germany sources some of the cannabis it uses for the medical market domestically. Beyond this, cannabis is coming into the country from places so far directly unaffected by the outbreak of hostilities. This includes Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Holland, Greece, Columbia, Uruguay, Australia, Lesotho, and Uganda, as well as the beginning trickle of produced products from Israel. 

That said, the industry is likely to be affected by higher energy costs. Germany and Holland are the two countries in Europe most affected by rising gas prices arising directly from the conflict. The UK is also suffering. The requirement for EU-GMP certification that is required of all medical cannabis prescribed and consumed here, is that it must all be grown indoors. As a result, it is also an energy and water hog.

Alain Menghé à Menghé, the CEO of Lio Pharmaceuticals, a German distributor who is building a manufacturing hub based in Solingen, just outside Dusseldorf, is a bit more pessimistic. He expects the outbreak of hostilities to affect the entire industry, even if not directly. “Unfortunately, the situation is already causing higher energy prices which will impact anyone in the industry who needs to transport, store, or manufacture the plant or drugs made from it,” he said.

Price issues are one of the greatest problems in the medical market now — namely in the insurers willingness to approve cannabis-related medicine.

The Impact on the Ukrainian Cannabis Industry

The cannabis industry has a long history here. During the Soviet era, the country was one of the largest cultivators of industrial hemp. Cannabis with a higher THC level was also routinely grown, even if on the down-low, creating a large user base.

More recently, the legalization movement has caught on here. In October 2017, a Cannabis March of Freedom took place, kicking off the modern movement here to legalize the drug for medical and recreational purposes.

According to local advocates, the Russian invasion is essentially going to devastate the local cannabis industry. Thanks to several years of lobbying, including by the Ukrainian Association of Medical Cannabis, there had been some victories. Before last Thursday, it was possible to get a prescription for medical cannabis but obtaining both it and legal supplies was very difficult. 

That said, this does not mean there was no impetus for reform although local experts were not expecting change to come for the next five years. There have also been repeated efforts to introduce cannabis reform into the political debate — all of which have failed.

In 2019, the Ukrainian Association of Cannabis submitted a proposal to the Parliament to consider legalization of medical use. In 2020, a national survey showed that 65% of the population was in favour of medical reform. As of 2021, drugs containing nabilone, nabiximol, and dronabinol were on sale in the country. Up until last Thursday, cannabis was technically illegal in the country, although people were allowed to grow up to 10 bushes for personal use.

Given the current conditions in the country, it is very possible that the illegitimate market will get a major boost, starting with wartime interruption of everything, an inevitable black market, and the unavailability of medicines.

Political and Personal Issues

One of the greatest impacts of the war beyond the Ukraine is likely to be the political fallout everywhere else. This is particularly true in Germany where politicians have already mentioned that COVID would be pushing the entire recreational conversation back. War is yet another distraction. This is also as true of Deutschland as it is in every EU country and the UK right now.

According to Menghé à Menghé, “The deprioritization of other issues (than the war) could slow the dynamic of regulatory change.”

Beyond this, there are other considerations that people on the cannatech side of the equation are also feeling – namely the direct impact of the war. Ziya Gaziyev, the CEO of Berlin-based HelloMary, an AI-centered marketplace and platform, has part of his programming team on the ground in the Ukraine. “We are very concerned for our friends and colleagues,” he said. “Obviously this affects us on a personal level, directly. However, it will not affect our programming efforts or deadlines as our core team are spread out across several countries.”

Why Legalization Should Not Slow Down

Right now, it is critical for the cannabis industry to take charge of their own destiny. The vertical has been recognized globally as good for economies, a strong employer, and of course, is producing highly effective drugs, even if people are still not copacetic in supporting full reform. 

Given its “flower power” past, no matter how corporate it has also become, this is also generally an industry made up of people who are pro-peace and diplomacy.

Delaying change because of supposedly more important and pressing issues will only exacerbate the difficulties patients have in obtaining the drug. And escalating the war will only increase a suffering that not even cannabis can solve.

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New Jersey Governor Says Adult-Use Pot Sales Could Start Soon

Democratic Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey announced the imminent launch of the state’s regulated recreational cannabis market, saying retail sales could begin “within weeks.” The announcement came after regulators missed last Tuesday’s self-imposed deadline for adult-use cannabis sales to start.

“If I had to predict, we are within weeks—I would hope in March—you would see implicit movement on the medical dispensaries, some of them being able to sell recreational,” Murphy said on his WBGO Newark radio show, as quoted by NJ.com. “They’ve got to prove they’ve got the supply for their medical customers. I hope shortly thereafter, the standalone recreational marijuana operators.”

New Jersey voters legalized adult-use cannabis in the November 2020 general election with the approval of Question 1, a ballot measure that passed with 67 percent of the vote. The law set a September 2021 deadline for the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) to begin accepting applications for business licenses. 

However, the agency missed the deadline and instead announced that they were establishing the process to accept the applications. On December 15, the CRC began accepting applications for cannabis cultivators, manufacturers, and testing labs. Applications for recreational cannabis retailers are scheduled to launch on March 15.

Regulators Miss Deadline for Retail Sales

The legislation also mandated that legal sales of recreational cannabis begin by mid-February of this year or within six months after the commission adopted its initial regulations. But in September, Murphy said that the launch of adult-use sales would also likely be delayed. Sales will first begin in the state’s existing medical cannabis dispensaries, which now serve 120,000 registered patients, followed by retailers licensed to sell only recreational cannabis.

“First or second quarter from a medical dispensary, and then a little bit behind that from a standalone retail shop,” the governor said at the time. “I think there’s a very good chance, assuming the medical dispensaries can prove that they’ve got enough supply for their patients, that they’ll be able to participate in the adult use of cannabis before there are actually retail establishments independently set up, but this is coming.”

Eight of the 10 companies operating New Jersey’s 23 medical marijuana dispensaries have applied for licenses to sell adult-use cannabis. CRC Executive Director Jeff Brown said on Thursday that five of those applications had been deemed “complete and are in substantive review.” 

Last month, Brown reported that several factors were delaying the approval of licenses to sell recreational cannabis, including approval from local authorities. Under the state’s regulations, municipalities must approve a medical cannabis dispensary’s bid to begin serving adult-use cannabis consumers.

“One of the biggest deficiencies we’re seeing is a lack of municipal approval,” Brown said at a meeting in January. “That’s an issue, and supply continues to be an issue. It’s the priority of the CRC to get recreational sales started as soon as we can, but we have to do it in a way that’s compliant with the law. We need the industry to get there.”

But medical cannabis operators, including Curaleaf northeast regional president Patrik Jonsson, criticized the CRC’s slow pace of approving licenses. Some companies have said that they may have to lay off employees and destroy expiring product if the recreational cannabis market does not open soon.

“They’re so concerned with getting it perfect, and it’s unfortunate because I think you’re losing a lot of opportunities,” Jonsson told USA TODAY Network New Jersey last month.

Murphy noted on Wednesday that the process of legalizing cannabis in New Jersey, which was a featured issue during his 2017 gubernatorial campaign, has been difficult and is taking longer than he expected. But, the governor said, it is “better to be right than fast.”

“And God willing, that’s what we’re gonna get,” Murphy added.

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Cannabis Banking: All Businesses are Marijuana Related Businesses

All U.S. businesses are marijuana related businesses (MRBs). By “all” I mean everyone from Amazon to your local hardware store, with very few exceptions. Allow me to explain.

Guidance on banking and MRBs

Over eight years ago, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network published the FinCen Memorandum of February 14, 2014 (“FinCen Memo”). FinCen is a Bureau within the U.S. Department of Treasury. Its mission is to combat money laundering and financial crimes. I’ve written that in cannabis years, the FinCen Memo is as old as dirt and reads like a relic of a bygone era. However, since companion guidance from the U.S. Department of Justice on “Marijuana Related Financial Crimes” was rescinded in 2018, the FinCen Memo has been the only game in town for federal banking guidance.

People often cite the FinCen Memo as creating the three “tiers” into which banks and credit unions triage MRBs for know-your-customer (KYC) and screening purposes. That’s wrong. The FinCen Memo doesn’t mention tiers at all. The closest we have to a federal framework is from this 2018 SBA Policy Notice, which categorizes MRBs as “direct”, “indirect”, and “hemp-related businesses.” But banks don’t really use that.

Instead, early industry adopters — like our pioneering credit union clients — began using a three-tiered system to analyze potential cannabis industry clients within the FinCen framework. I believe this system was first expounded in 2016 by Steve Kemmerling of CRB Monitor. It involved the following categories (I’ll paraphrase a bit):

• ‍Tier I MRB: “Plant touching” businesses licensed by the state. Cannabis dispensaries, cultivators, processors and testing facilities all fall under this definition. These are the highest risk businesses for banks and constitute the majority of suspicious activity report (SAR) filings.
• Tier II MRB: Businesses that rely on Tier I MRBs for the majority of their revenues and play a large role supporting the industry. See: equipment suppliers, consultants and industry associations. These businesses are lower risk for banks than Tier I. However, banks target them for enhanced KYC.
• Tier III MRB: Businesses that service Tier I businesses, but do not rely on the cannabis industry for their primary source of revenue. Classic examples include lawyers, accountants, property management firms and utility companies.

‍These tiers were revised and further parsed by CRB Monitor in 2020, but in my experience, most financial institutions keep it simple with the legacy framework. It isn’t a legal framework, after all. It’s just an expedient model that has been adopted widely given the federal leadership vacuum.

All businesses are MRBs

Now, go read the Tier III MRB definition again. Do you know who it captures– beyond lawyers, accountants, etc? It captures everyone. Everyone accepts Tier I MRB revenues, knowingly or otherwise. This includes the federal government itself, which collects billions of dollars from these businesses annually through IRS payments.

It’s worth digressing to note here that individuals are also staked financially to the cannabis industry, knowingly or otherwise. Do you own a 401K or mutual fund? Perhaps you own a small sliver of Innovative Industrial Properties, a cannabis REIT which is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Or maybe you own a slice of Scott’s Miracle Gro, another NYSE company. Scott’s has one subsidiary that invests directly into the cannabis industry and another that has supplied hydroponics and gardening supplies directly to marijuana grows since 2015. In all, more than 145 million Americans now live in a state that has legalized marijuana. These individuals receive services funded with cannabis industry revenues– from schools to policing.

Legal cannabis sales in the U.S. are projected to top $30 billion this year. The cannabis industry is also the most prolific job creator in America, supporting more than 428,000 “legal” jobs. Given this entrenchment, vanishingly few businesses in America refuse to provide products or services to licensed cannabis businesses– with the prominent exception of banks. Even if a business wished to embargo MRB interactions, it would be very difficult to draw clean lines given how cannabis commerce is deeply woven into the fabric of the U.S. economy.

We all support MRBs and banking must be fixed

Financial institutions are banking MRBs knowingly or otherwise. When an industry gets this big, it’s simply unavoidable. The Tier III MRB designation should disappear, and in the bigger picture the need for banking reform is simply irrefutable. Maybe, just maybe, that will happen this year. The SAFE Banking Act is once again in the news this month, now bundled into larger legislation after clearing the House of Representatives five separate times. Until that happens, and maybe even after, banks, businesses and all of us will work with “MRBs.”

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South Dakota Lawmakers Advance Legalization Bill

A bill to legalize recreational pot for adults narrowly advanced in the South Dakota legislature last week, winning approval in the senate by just a single vote. The legislation would bring some redemption to advocates who have been in a tug-of-war battle with the state for the last two years to end prohibition and finally get legal sales in the state. 

In 2020, 54 percent of South Dakota voters approved Amendment A, which would have legalized recreational marijuana, in addition to hemp and medicinal cannabis, within the state. (That same year, an even larger majority of voters passed a separate ballot measure that legalized only medical marijuana.)

But it was doomed from that moment forward, with Republican Governor Kristi Noem mounting a legal challenge against the amendment.

In February of last year, a circuit court judge in South Dakota ruled in Noem’s favor, saying that Amendment A violated the state’s constitution and could not become law.  

Months later, on the day before Thanksgiving, the state’s Supreme Court upheld that lower court ruling on the grounds that the amendment ran afoul of the constitution’s “one subject” requirement.

Undeterred, advocates said in the fall that they intended to put another legalization proposal on the 2022 ballot, which was an impetus for the GOP-controlled state Senate to forge ahead with its own measure. 

“This is your opportunity to take control of the issue,” said one of the bill’s sponsors, Republican state Senator David Wheeler, as quoted by the Associated Press. “This bill is your opportunity to do what the people said they wanted in Amendment A.”

“The train on marijuana is only moving in one direction nationwide,” he added. “It is better for us to get ahead of it.”

The bill that passed the state Senate on Wednesday would allow adults age 21 and older to have up to an ounce of marijuana in their possession. Additionally on Wednesday, legislators in the chamber passed a number of bills “to set up retail licenses in the same way it licenses liquor establishments as well as automatically remove from background check records misdemeanors and petty offenses for pot ingestion or possession that are more than five years old,” according to the Associated Press.

Despite its passage in the state Senate, the bill still faces a long, difficult road to ultimate approval. 

Leaders in the state House of Representatives, where Republicans also have a big majority, have indicated that the legislation will face stiff opposition in their chamber.

“That hasn’t been very favorable in the House,” state House Majority Leader Kent Peterson said on Thursday, as quoted by local television station KELO. “I would assume that’s going to have a decently tough path going forward.”

And then there’s Noem, a potential 2024 GOP presidential candidate who has long been vocal in her opposition to recreational pot legalization. 

At a press conference on Wednesday, the governor didn’t say if she would veto the bill should it land on her desk, but reiterated that she is against recreational pot use.

“I haven’t seen anybody get smarter from smoking dope,” Noem said, as quoted by Dakota News Now.

A poll late last year found that a little more than half of South Dakota voters disapprove of Noem’s handling of cannabis legalization.

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4 Black Canadian cannabis change-makers you need to meet

Black history isn't just for February and celebrating Black excellence in cannabis is something we can, and should, do year-round.

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Cannabis Trademarks After Federal Legalization

What will happen with cannabis trademarks after federal legalization? This question comes up regularly, but unfortunately lacks a clear answer (or even an unclear answer). On the one hand, with cannabis no longer unlawful at the federal level, USPTO will be able to register trademarks for cannabis products. But beyond that, nothing is clear.

Whose use is it anyway?

The cornerstone of trademark law in the United States is use in commerce. A trademark cannot be registered if it is not used in commerce. In case of a dispute between two parties using the same mark, the prior user will win out, even if the later user registered the mark first.

However, use in commerce must be legal. This means that use of trademarks in connection with cannabis products does not constitute use in commerce for federal trademark registration purposes at this moment in time. But on the day federal legalization takes effect, such use will constitute use in commerce under federal trademark law.

As you can see, Legalization Day will be the first date of use in commerce for a lot of cannabis trademarks. For most brands, this will not be a problem: In fact, having Legalization Day on their trademark certificates seems like a pretty cool thing.

But what happens if a trademark is being used by two different brands? Can the brand that first used the mark claim a prior right?

Use in commerce before federal legalization may not count

The honest answer to this last question is, frustratingly, we do not know. However, a very relevant precedent suggests that prior users may not have a stronger claim. When examining applications for hemp trademarks, USPTO draws a distinction between use in commerce before the enactment of the 2018 Farm Bill and use in commerce after the bill became law. The fact that hemp is now legal does not “legalize” hemp-related activities pre-Farm Bill.

If the same logic is applied, the clock for use in commerce will start ticking at the moment federal legalization begins-–and not a second earlier. This could well lead to situations where the date of first use is exactly the same for identical or similar marks.

It is possible that USPTO will anticipate these issues and formulate guidance. Yet, given the nature of the problem, it may not be possible for USPTO to come up with a comprehensive solution. Looking at which applicant used the mark first (even if it was not legal to do so at the time) would offer a practical approach, but has downsides from a public policy standpoint: If activity that was illegal at the time confers benefits on those who carried it out, it may incentivize ongoing and future illegality.

Will trademark registrations for non-cannabis products help after federal legalization?

Trademark rights are closely linked to specific goods and services. A common misconception is that brands “own” trademarks, but that is not quite right, certainly not to the extent it suggests a brand has exclusive rights over a particular word, phrase, or logo, no matter how it is used.

During a recent trip to New York City, I enjoyed a spectacular bagel at Zucker’s Bagel and Smoked Fish. If upon return to Seattle I decided to open a bagel shop called Zucker’s, I would be infringing on Zucker’s federal trademark rights (or more accurately those of BCN Provisions, LLC, the trademark registrant). But if I opened a furniture store called Zucker’s, that would almost certainly not constitute an infringement of the Zucker’s trademark.

By the same token, if a cannabis brand registers a trademark for their apparel merch, their trademark protection will not extend to other products. It follows that a cannabis brand’s trademark registration for non-cannabis products will not necessarily give them a leg up when USPTO opens its service window for trademark applications describing cannabis products.

This said, USPTO could end up considering registrations for other products if it finds itself before two competing applications for the same mark. If it does, it might also consider the relatedness between cannabis and those other products. There are also court precedents that could bring about similar results (or new precedents might be set).

Imagine a scenario in which two brands are using the same trademark. One registered the trademark for tote bags and baseball hats, while the other one registered the same trademark for hemp prerolls. We are not saying this will happen, but would it not make sense for USPTO or a court to give more weight to the second registration? In the end, though, we will just have to wait and see how this plays out.

Federal legalization of cannabis might not make all trademarking problems go away

In practice, cannabis brands face two major obstacles when it comes to registering their trademarks. One is the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), under which cannabis whose THC content exceeds 0.3% is prohibited (and categorized as marijuana). The second is the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), under which certain cannabis products are unlawful on safety grounds. If legalization encompasses only a lifting of the CSA prohibition, cannabis brands will still be unable to register trademarks that describe products that are unlawful under the FDCA, such as Hemp CBD foods and drinks.

So what to do?

Given the inherent uncertainty as to what will happen after federal legalization, there is no surefire formula to secure trademarks in anticipation. However, following certain trademarking fundamentals cannot hurt cannabis brands, and in fact could end up providing an important edge. When making branding decisions, brands should not assume that pre-legalization use in commerce will not count for anything (even though that might be the case). At a practical level, they should ensure they are documenting use in commerce.

Brands should also consider doubling down on expansions of their trademark protection scope through registrations for ancillary products such as merch, smoker’s articles, and training workshops. Such legal use in commerce could end up being an important factor in future treatment of cannabis trademark issues. Brands should also engage in some wargaming regarding possible approaches by USPTO and the courts. For instance, to the extent weight is given to registrations for non-cannabis products, the relatedness of these products to cannabis may come into play. Brands should not neglect these considerations when crafting their business plans.

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Use a Lawyer for Drafting Term Sheets

A lot of people want to save a buck during contract negotiations. These folks usually do not not use a lawyer for drafting term sheets or other initial matters. Sometimes, this can work out well. For bigger or more complicated deals, or for deals with a difficult opponent, this can be a bad idea. Let’s look at why.

What is the point of a term sheet?

A term sheet (also referred to as a letter of intent or LOI) is an outline of key deal points that the parties sign before negotiating a final contract. You won’t see them in all deals. They are used frequently in bigger, more complex deals like M&A or finance transactions. They can be binding but this is usually a very bad idea for reasons as I explained in the post linked above. Even a non-binding document is important though, as the parties will have a roadmap for the deal and will have hammered out key points before undertaking the expense of diligence and drafting.

Why do people try to draft term sheets without a lawyer?

Money is the #1 answer. Lawyers don’t work for free, and many folks think “what’s the point of paying my lawyer to draft a non-binding term sheet?” (I will answer this in the next subpart.) Another common concern is strategy. Getting the wrong lawyer involved could just lead to endless negotiations of a term sheer which could hurt a deal. The purpose of term sheets is to get something on paper quickly and not go back and forth 20 times. Good lawyers can avoid this issue, but we’ve seen plenty of cases where this isn’t the case.

Why people should use a lawyer to draft a term sheet

A good lawyer who has done a certain kind of deal many times will be able to spot many legal (and even non-legal) issues that many clients might miss. They may also be able to help the client clarify how things are written and defined. This can all save a TON of time and money in the long run. By flagging issues early on, a lawyer’s client can take those issues to the other side early on and see whether they are agreeable. Our corporate lawyers have seen deals fall apart over disagreements about what was in a term sheet. Another point that can be a huge time suck in a deal is where one party wants to add a key term that wasn’t in the term sheet. The other side may refuse to add it on the grounds that it was not in the term sheet. This too is another place where deals can easily fall apart. Even where a deal won’t fall apart, if the parties disagree about what a term sheet says, costs will skyrocket.

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Getting a lawyer involved in the term sheet process can be key. This is especially true on complicated or expensive deals, or where one party knows it has less leverage in a deal to request changes at a later date. It’s even more true where the other side or their lawyers are going to be tough negotiators. Stay tuned to the Canna Law Blog for more corporate cannabis law updates.

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Best Rated Dispensaries in Worcester 2022

These dispensaries are the very best the county of Worcester has to offer.

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Where does Biden’s Supreme Court nominee stand on marijuana legalization? Here’s what we found

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has real-world experience with America's drug laws.

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European Commission Makes Two Big Steps on CBD Reform Front

Not all is doom and gloom on the cannabis front in Europe, no matter the frustrating red tape, delays, and inevitable lawsuits.

Indeed, this week the European Commission released news of two important developments that will certainly move the industry forward regionally. This is true even if further legal action is required in specific jurisdictions. With reform at an EU level, this creates the opportunity for policy and regulatory changes in individual countries like never before. One very good example of this is the Kanavape case in France, which was raised to an EU-level legal challenge, and which, in turn, spawned a similar lawsuit in Germany to allow imported hemp products.

The first announcement is absolutely going to impact hemp production. The second is going to move the needle on setting EU-wide standards on the cultivation front.

No matter how long and torturous the wait has been, including thanks to COVID delays, there is indeed light at the end of this canna-tunnel that ain’t just another train.

Validation of 5 Novel Food Applications

At least five companies in the EU have just received news that their Novel Food CBD cases have reached the final stages of the Novel Food process. These companies are located in the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Switzerland, France, and a British company. 

Novel Food regulation is much misunderstood outside of Europe — and even within its borders there is plenty of confusion. Essentially, this regulation states that if a plant has not been in wide circulation and widely consumed since 1997, it must go through a separate compliance process. When this is applied to cannabis it broadly means three things — the source of the seed, its cultivation, and how it is extracted.

The fact, however, that five of these applications have reached the final level of EU-wide approvals is good news for the entire industry. The entire conversation has been delayed for the last two years thanks not only to COVID, but also to EU-level discussions, as well as international ones on how to proceed with the entire legalization of cannabis.

EC Panel to Vote on THC Levels in Food

Perhaps the two-year delay on all things cannabis, even hemp related, is beginning to break through the legal and regulatory logjam at the EC. Maybe it is the end of COVID, or an understanding, even at this nosebleed level, that reform is not going to go away.

Regardless, the EC’s Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed is again scheduled to vote on a proposal that would raise the level of acceptable THC in marketable hemp foods in Europe. This is after having delayed the decision twice now.

Under the proposal, which will be considered next Monday, February 28, the level for hempseed derived oil will be set at 7.5 mg/kg while dry hemp foods like dehulled hemp seeds, flour, and protein powder will be limited to 3 mg/kg. Hemp seeds contain almost zero THC, but trace amounts are present in the hulls.

Toward a Consolidated, Common Sense Policy on the EU Front?

It is far too early to celebrate on any front, despite the fact that this month has seen the regulatory advance of two big issues of the hemp discussion at a regional level. However, perhaps it is not too optimistic to hope that the achingly slow advance is now coming to an end. Beyond this, the temperature toward cannabis reform generally has moved forward in the meantime, and in fairly large and meaningful ways.

These are, in fact, large decisions and steps to accomplish. For that reason, there is cause to cheer, even though the details are still often lost in the weeds.

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Maryland House Advances Cannabis Legalization Bills

The legalization of adult-use cannabis in Maryland took another step forward on Wednesday with the advancement of two bills in the state’s House of Delegates. 

The first measure, House Bill 837, would legalize possession of up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis for adults and create an equitable path to cannabis legalization, according to the sponsor of the legislation. The bill would also allow adults to cultivate up to two cannabis plants at home.

House Bill 837 was created as companion legislation for House Bill 1, a cannabis legalization ballot planned for the November election. Both bills were approved by the House on Wednesday after a second reading and a 90-minute debate.

The legislation is based on the findings of the House Cannabis Referendum and Legalization Workgroup, which began working on a legalization plan in September. The enactment of House Bill 837 is contingent on the passage of a cannabis legalization referendum planned for this year’s general election under House Bill 1.

The bills were introduced earlier this month by Democratic Delegate Luke Clippinger, a Baltimore Democrat and chair of the House Judiciary Committee. He also chaired the House Cannabis Referendum and Legalization Workgroup, which focused on the public health, criminal justice, regulatory, and business implementation aspects of cannabis legalization.

Several Amendments Defeated

Wednesday’s approval of the bills came after the defeat of several amendments proposed by Republican delegates. House Minority Leader Jason C. Buckel supported one proposal that would increase the proposed $50 fine for smoking cannabis in public.

“This isn’t a slap on the wrist, this is a tickle on the wrist,” Buckel said of the $50 fine. “I don’t know how many of you have gotten a speeding ticket where the fine is less than this. Doing 70 in a 55, you are going to pay more than $50.”

Democratic Delegate David Moon opposed a stiffer penalty than a fine, saying that the goal of cannabis legalization for many Democrats is to end incarceration for nonviolent offenses and reduce the racial disparity in the enforcement of cannabis prohibition. He also noted that a survey of adults in Maryland had found half of the respondents had smoked cannabis.

“Half of Maryland residents likely got away with a jailable offense when they did this,” he said. “The more disturbing part of this is that white Marylanders have been getting away with this jailable offense at much higher rates than all the rest of us.”

Another proposed amendment would have allowed local communities where a majority of voters opposed the referendum to opt out of cannabis legalization, a policy that has led to areas with no access to regulated cannabis in other states that have legalized cannabis. Buckel said that counties that do not approve legalization should not have “this crammed down their throat.”

“You don’t get to opt out, even when it’s based on the will of your voters, the will of your voters who expressed in a democratic referendum they don’t want this,” he said. “We’re gonna cram it down your throat. That’s not fair.”

Moon, however, argued that Buckel’s efforts would only serve to maintain prohibition.

“What the minority leader is proposing to do, both through his attempt to make this a local decision where people could keep perpetuating these inequities, and now in this attempt to re-criminalize, is the opposite of what we’re trying to do,” Moon said.

If the bills receive final approval in the House of Delegates, the legislation will head to the Maryland Senate, where lawmakers are also working on a more comprehensive cannabis legalization amendment proposal.

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Georgia Lawmakers Consider Bill to Expand Medical Pot Program

A bill proposed in Georgia would more than triple the number of medical cannabis licenses in the state, while also opening up the option of cannabis oil for patients.

The legislation, as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution put it, is an effort to “jump-start the state’s stalled medical marijuana program, which is mired in prolonged disputes among companies competing for licenses to manufacture and sell the drug to patients.”

The bill came under consideration by a state House committee. If it were to become a law, the measure would up the number of medical cannabis licenses in the state from six to 22. Those licenses “would go to six companies that received tentative approval from a state board last year, along with 16 companies protesting that decision,” according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and those licenses “would be granted to companies by June 30, and then they’d have one year to begin operations.”

“Those companies would then be able to sell, grow, and manufacture medical marijuana oil, which can have no more than 5 percent THC, the compound that gives marijuana users a high,” the newspaper explained. “With the approval of a doctor, patients would be able to buy cannabis oil to treat conditions including seizures, terminal cancers, and Parkinson’s disease. Over 20,000 people have registered with the state so far, but they remain unable to buy the oil they’re allowed to consume.”

Georgia lawmakers legalized medical cannabis in 2015 with the passage of Haleigh’s Hope Act, which specifically made legal cannabis oil containing no more than five percent THC. But the rollout of the program has been sluggish to say the least. 

As the Journal-Constitution put it this week: “For seven years, state law has allowed registered patients in Georgia to use medical marijuana oil, but they still have no legal way to buy it here.”

There are around 15,000 patients registered in Georgia’s medical cannabis program, but they have been forced to acquire their products out of state (if not the illicit market).

In late 2019, the state still hadn’t appointed anyone to the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission, a seven-person panel charged with regulating the program and authorizing which companies can cultivate and sell medical cannabis. 

The commission was established by a bill that passed and was signed into law by Republican Governor Brian Kemp back in the spring of 2019. That law also established mechanisms by which cannabis oil could finally be grown and distributed in the Peach State. 

“Over the years, I’ve met with children who are battling chronic, debilitating diseases. I’ve heard from parents who are struggling with access and losing hope,” Kemp said when he signed the bill. “This compromise legislation is carefully crafted to provide access to medical cannabis oil to those in need. This is simply the right thing to do.”

By the end of 2020, the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission began accepting applications for producers interested in manufacturing cannabis in the state, but the six licenses weren’t issued until last summer.

As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported at the time, the commission “voted unanimously to select the six companies from 69 that had applied for licenses” with “[e]ach licensee … authorized to open five dispensaries.”

In July, those six companies were given “one year to begin operations after contracts are signed following potential protests from losing bidders, providing for patients suffering from conditions including seizures, terminal cancers, and Parkinson’s disease,” the Journal-Constitution reported, with two companies winning licenses “to cultivate medical marijuana oil on 100,000 square feet of indoor growing space” and four others chosen to “operate smaller production facilities with 50,000 square feet of growing room.”

Last May, Kemp signed a bill that will allow around 30 licensed medical cannabis dispensaries in Georgia to also sell CBD with a low THC count.

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Nebraska Medical Cannabis Bill Fizzles in Committee

The legislation was dealt a sequence of setbacks that dimmed its prospects: its sponsor, Republican state Senator Mike Groene, resigned abruptly on Monday, and at a hearing held at the capital of Lincoln on Wednesday, “No one spoke in favor of it,” according to local television station WOWT.

“The only reason it got a hearing at all is because State Senator Anna Wishart of Lincoln, one of the most vocal medical marijuana supports [sic] in the Legislature, picked up the bill—not that she likes it, but because she wanted to give people who had circled this date to still have a chance at addressing the Judiciary Committee,” the station reported.

Now, according to WOWT, the bill is “dead on arrival.”

The outcome does not come as a great surprise. It was only a week ago when Groene, prior to his sudden resignation, said that the legislation was “just a shell bill” that he intended to replace with a more comprehensive proposal.

“I did it two hours prior to the deadline to drop a bill. It’s not gonna be the final product,” Groene told the station at the time. 

“Our bill will treat it like medicine. It will respect it. And we added inhalers, pills and inhalers. That’s what medicine is. I don’t know of another medicine you smoke,” he added.

The failed legislation comes amid a separate effort to get a medical cannabis proposal on the Nebraska ballot this year.

In September, the group Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana announced that it “recently filed drafts of the measures with the Nebraska Secretary of State and expects to begin circulating petitions later this month.”

The group’s aim is to “qualify a pair of initiatives ahead of the November election next year by gathering roughly 250,000 signatures across the state before the July 7, 2022 deadline.” One initiative would “require the Legislature to enact new statutes protecting doctors who recommend and patients who possess or use medical cannabis from criminal penalty,” according to the Lincoln Star, while the other would require legislators to “to pass legislation creating a regulatory framework that protects private entities that produce and supply medical cannabis.”

The group was spearheaded by Crista Eggers, the mother of a 6-year-old son named Colton who has severe intractable epilepsy.

“We’ve received so much encouragement from individuals all across the state, who support the many patients like our son Colton, who desperately need access to this medicine. No matter what your political background is, we should all agree that criminalizing a medicine that has the potential to alleviate suffering, is both cruel and inhumane,” Eggers said in a press release.

“The current policy doesn’t reflect our family values here in Nebraska, and we’re going to change that. We need everyone who believes in compassion for suffering individuals like my son to be part of this movement and help us win in 2022.”

WOWT reported that Eggers brought Colton to the hearing on Wednesday in Lincoln.

The station said that Eggers and other supporters who are pushing to legalize medical cannabis in the state “chastised those who brought up a bill about medical cannabis when it doesn’t include any way to grow it,” arguing that the “point was to be a distraction to the petition drive underway to put medical marijuana on the November ballot.”

“His most recent EEG showed that he experienced 27 seizures in just 45 minutes. That means while I’ve been in the room, Colton has seized at least 50 times,” Crista Eggers said, as quoted by the station. “A bill like this is a slap in the face—dangling something in the faces of those suffering.”

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Annual Leafly Report Shows US Cannabis Industry Supports 428,059 Jobs

The 2022 job report from Leafly explores the newest data on cannabis jobs, which provides an in-depth look at the cannabis industry’s most recent data, as well as predictions for the future.

In conjunction with Whitney Economics, Leafly released its annual Jobs Report 2022 on February 23. The report states that approximately 428,059 full-time jobs have been supported by the legal cannabis industry (as of January 2022) over the past year. This covers a wide variety of cannabis-related roles, from “plant-touching” jobs such as cultivation and retail sales, to ancillary jobs such as accounting, legal affairs, security, or construction. The most recent job number is a large increase compared to previous years, which reflected 321,000 jobs in 2021; 243,700 jobs in 2020; 211,000 in 2019; 149,300 in 2018; and 122,800 in 2017 (the first year that the job report was released).

“In the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, America’s cannabis industry sold nearly $25 billion in products and created more than 107,000 new jobs—enough to fill the Rose Bowl and then some,” the report states in its introduction. “That’s a 33 percent increase in jobs in a single year. And it marks the fifth year in a row of annual job growth greater than 27 percent. No other industry in America can match that. Last year, America’s legal cannabis industry created more than 280 new jobs every day. In 2021, someone was hired for a cannabis-supported job about every two minutes of the work day.” The report also provides other means of comparison to put things into perspective, including how there are three times as many cannabis workers as there are dentists in the U.S. and that there are more people working in cannabis than there are a combined total of hair stylists, barbers, and cosmetologists.

It also breaks down the top 10 cannabis markets for jobs, including California, Colorado, Michigan, Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania (medical only), Florida (medical only), Arizona, Washington, and Oregon. However, the report also recommends that if you’re looking to relocate for a cannabis job, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, and New York are full of possibilities for various listed reasons, such as the potential of specific markets that are new or beginning soon, or mature markets with a competing illegal market.

Report authors estimate that these numbers will only continue to rise in the coming years, but there is a lot of opportunity for growth. “In the eight years since the nation’s first adult-use cannabis stores opened, the industry has created hundreds of thousands of new American jobs. And there are still plenty yet to be created. Whitney Economics calculates that the 2021 total cannabis sales figure—just under $25 billion—represents only about 25 percent of the total potential US cannabis market,” the report states. It continues by saying that 75 percent of the cannabis industry’s demand is being satisfied by illegal cultivation and sales, and it is estimated that by 2025, the cannabis industry could be worth up to $45 billion.

This data continues to be an important milestone to track the industry’s growth, even amidst the historical job loss that occurred during the pandemic. According to NORML Political Director Morgan Fox, the future looks promising. “At a time when the rest of the economy is struggling and people are leaving their jobs in droves, the legal cannabis industry is blooming, showing exponential employment growth, and attracting talented and driven individuals from across the workforce,” said Fox. “Yet, outdated federal laws define these same people as criminals and as a result, they are frequently denied access to banking services, housing, education, international travel, and citizenship. It is long past time for Congress to end prohibition and start treating this robust regulated market like any other industry.”

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New Citizen Petition Filed by CBD Company

On February 21, the Natural Product Association (NPA) filed a citizen petition with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on specific cannabidiol (CBD) relief in which it requests enforcement discretion for the premarket approval of CBD products.

In its petition, the NPA is asking the FDA to do one of three things:

1. Determine that CBD is not excluded from the definition of dietary supplement under Section 21 U.S.C. § 321(ff)(3) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA)
   If you keep a pulse on this issue, you know that for the past three years, the FDA has held the position that CBD cannot be marketed as a dietary ingredient because it was first studied and approved as a drug ingredient in GW Pharmaceuticals’ Epidiolex (Drug Exclusion Rule). According to NPA’s petition, the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP), which sets standards for medicines, food ingredients and supplements, first documented the use of hemp-derived products in 1850. This means that CBD should be treated as an “old dietary supplement” under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), and therefore, not excluded from the definition of a dietary supplement (i.e., the Drug Exclusion Rule does not apply to CBD).
2. Exercise enforcement discretion review the safety data of a CBD dietary supplement consistent with the premarket safety review of a new dietary ingredient notification.
   If the FDA won’t grant NPA’s first requested relief, the organization is asking that the FDA scientifically review its product’s safety data and provide a substantive response. Although NPA’s comprehensive petition is mostly redacted – to protect its confidential data not knowing for a fact whether the FDA will set aside the Drug Exclusion Rule and complete a full scientific review of the data – NPA is confident it can show that the ingredients found in its CBD product meet all applicable safety standards under DSHEA.
   
3. Issue notice-and-comment rulemaking to establish that CBD is lawful under the FDCA.
   Since the enactment of the 2018 Farm Bill, which tasked the FDA with the authority to regulate CBD products, the agency has been dragging its feet to fulfill its regulatory responsibilities, claiming, in part, insufficient reliable scientific data needed to assess the safety of CBD-infused products.

While the NPA is the third company to have submitted a petition in the past four years, the FDA has yet to provide substantive responses to prior petitioners, which include Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) and Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN). Instead, the federal agency has informed these petitioners through “interim” responses, which you can find here and here, that it needed more time to review the petitions due to the “complexity of issues” raised in them.

Meanwhile, more than thirty states have managed to establish regulatory standards for the human consumption of CBD and other hemp-derived cannabinoids. This wide range of often conflicting state regulations, combined with the lack of any formal federal legal pathway for the sale and marketing of hemp CBD products, has made it nearly impossible for the industry to meet compliance standards, subjecting it to greater risk of enforcement actions.

In filing this citizen petition, NPA is further pursing the industry’s efforts to pressure the FDA with reviewing and submitting a safety determination on CBD products. In addition, this new petition also aims to rectify the regulatory uncertainties that have hindered the industry’s economic opportunities and that have failed consumers in gaining access to safe products.

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Cannabis buyer’s guide to outstanding outdoor flower of 2021

The world’s best outdoor of the 2021 season needs you to smoke it.

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Higher Profile: Doug Fine, Hemp Farmer and Goat Herder

Doug Fine wants to save the planet by teaching humans about a regenerative and sustainable lifestyle. A lofty goal for a hemp farmer and solar-powered goat herder, but Fine persists. That’s the thing about saving the planet, it takes tenacity. It takes Evangelizing in the Biblical sense, from our mouths to their ears. They may not want or be able to walk the talk, but they will hear you.

Author of six books to date, Fine’s first effort, Not Really an Alaskan Mountain Man, was published in 2004, reflecting his introduction to nature as a guy who grew up in the suburbs of New York. Another published in 2008, Farewell My Subaru, details his life living “green off the grid,” demonstrating how to drastically reduce the use of fossil fuel in order to live sustainably. This was followed in 2012 by Too High To Fail, with a focus on the regenerative side of the emerging cannabis industry at the time, and the green economic revolution—that’s now in full swing ten years later.

In 2013, he appeared on TEDx Talks in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where his farm, the Funky Butte Ranch, is located in a remote area hours from the nearest city. The talk, tilted “Why we need goat herding in the digital age,” is a call to arms, with the intent of luring humans back to the garden to save their soul—and health.

Fine introduced himself: “I stand before you today, a neo-rugged individualist, solar-powered goat herder.” Thus begins his humorous-yet-informative talk on how and why he supports his family by tending goats off the grid.

In 2014, he published Hemp Bound: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Next Agricultural Revolution, wherein he shares his life on his farm, expounding on the many uses of hemp—and how it can help save the planet.

His latest effort was published in 2020, American Hemp Farmer, Adventures and Misadventures of the Cannabis Trade, wherein David Bronner, CEO of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap, exuded, “A fantastic piece of Americana that shows the way to a sustainable future.”

American Hemp Farmer has been developed into a TV series, with a pilot and episodes in the can, and more in production now, seeking distribution.

The series includes visits to the Rosebud Sioux tribal lands, with Fine advising on its organic hemp cultivation. Other visits within the show include George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate, with Fine manually harvesting, wearing a full outfit of Colonial-style clothes made of hemp, of course.

Doug Fine: Evangelizing a Sustainable LIfe

As detailed within his TEDx Talk, his first experience with nature was moving to rural Alaska in 2003, where learned about sustenance fishing, catching salmon in the wild. 

He enjoyed the thought of sourcing food from the backyard, so to speak. This, he said, got him in touch with what he calls the Indigenous Gene, or I-gene, calling humans back to our Paleolithic roots from living off the land as hunters and gatherers.

“Despite all our digital age accouterments, as humans, we are still the same hunter-gathers that we’ve been for tens of thousands of years,” he said. “I feel at my absolute best self and more relaxed when I’m out milking a goat at first light of day, with the local owls returning from date night. For me, it’s this feeling of living as one is intended to live.”

The experience in Alaska reawakened a vital part of himself that he’s been cultivating ever since, moving to New Mexico two years later, establishing his Funky Butte Ranch, to nourish his soul, with the end result of giving him a sense of contentment. Balance, he said, between the digital age and our indigineous selves.

And then there’s Climate Change, for those who understand the ramifications.

“We’re at the bottom of the ninth with two outs when it comes to tackling climate change, and we’ve got a game plan,” he advised. “Teaching that to everyone is my day job.”

And teach he does, with courses offered from his website, as well as hundreds of speaking engagements around the world under his belt.

To date, the most high profile talk given was a plea to the United Nations, in association with The European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies (ENCOD), an organization working for better drug policies, globally. In this nearly five minute talk he urged change within the failed War on Drugs.

On February 27, he’ll be the Keynote speaker at SXSW’s Eco-Ag Conference in Montana for its 50th Anniversary, with the event airing on C-SPAN.

His “Johnny Hempseed” journey teaching the citizens of Earth how to help heal the planet is seemingly endless, as he presents himself clad head to toe in hemp—including hemp boxers made by his longtime companion.

Doug Fine on his Funky Butte Ranch, New Mexico. Courtesy of Doug Fine.

Hemp can Heal the Planet

The stats on how sustainable industrial hemp is are remarkable, when one thinks of all the trees felled over the years—not to mention the amount of plastics now littering the earth that could have been made with hemp and other plants.

“The prohibition of cannabis, and subsequently industrial hemp, was a terrible mistake that a great country made,” he explained from the ranch. “In my talks, I bring with me a little plastic goat made of hemp, created using a 3-D printer. We don’t need to use petroleum byproducts—we never did.”

The benefits of industrial hemp are many, able to be used for everything from fuel to building materials, to pulling toxins from the ground after contamination—demonstrated at what is now Ukraine, at the site of the Chernobyl nuclear melt-down, where thousands of hemp plants have been planted.

Fine’s own hemp seeds from his farm are being used in an experiment to clean contaminated soil in a New Mexico University study, with initial reports of great success in pulling uranium.

“I can confidently write that hemp cleans up radioactive soil,” he wrote within a blog at Vote Hemp. “Not, I heard it does, or I wish it did, or even someone told me they used it at Chernobyl. It actually does, according to this study.”

As explained in an article published by the Global Hemp Associations, the process is called Phytotech, wherein plants can actually decontaminate soil by pulling toxins—with hemp being exceptionally good at the process, decontaminating at a very high rate, eating up chromium, lead, copper, nickel, and more.

Cleaning air quality and soil is nothing new for plants, but our understanding of how they work is. 

“When you look at how many trees it takes to make anything, and how many years it took for those trees to grow big enough to use, it’s stunningly ignorant of us to ignore these facts,” he explained. “Before we began synthesizing petroleum byproducts, everything we made and used came from the earth—and it was all regenerative and sustainable. There’s absolutely no reason why we can’t turn this around.”

To give one example, as noted by the European Industrial Hemp Association, hemp contains upwards of 65 to 70 percent cellulose, whereas wood measures in at around 40 percent. The Ministry of Hemp informs that one acre of hemp can produce as much paper as four to 10 acres of trees over a 20 year cycle. Hemp stalks grow in four months, whereas trees take 20 to 80 years, depending on the species.

One can see why the “Plant for the Planet” movement was founded, encouraging humans to plant as many trees as they can—with the goal of one trillion trees planted globally by 2030.

“It’s such a no-brainer,” Fine lamented. “Hemp paper is more durable than paper made from trees, because it doesn’t break down over time. Building materials made from hemp are also mold and fire resistant. Not to mention the devastating effect deforestation has on the climate and health of the planet.”

Climate Change at the Door

Several years ago, a massive, 130,000-acre wildfire hit the Funky Butte Ranch, devastating years of hard work on the farm.

“This is not a dress rehearsal, it’s really happening now, and it’s at the door” Fine said of climate change and the forever fires, super storms, and flooding around the world, predicted years ago.

Fine said he watched a bear flee the wildfire, then attacked all but one of his goats, as he tells the story to show the collateral damage from the devastation. 

“The destruction affects everything,” he continued. “Fires, floods, and water levels rising due to melting glaciers. All of this compels me to keep talking, keep teaching, and keep growing regenerative hemp. The good news is we have two new baby goats on the farm now, blessings abound!”

The ever-hopeful Fine explained that we don’t all have to become farmers, but we can begin to understand the process by growing a little patch of something—even if it’s a bunch of basil in a pot on a city balcony.

He does believe that farmers can lead the way, while being supported by the masses by small changes made to the way we live everyday.

“Supporting small, local farmers by buying locally-sourced products, getting produce from community-supported co-ops or farmer’s markets—or even working in community gardens, are all valuable contributions,” he surmised. “Who knows, you may find, like me, that farming or gardening and growing your own food is the most fun you’ll have outside the bedroom!”

For more information on Doug Fine visit, dougfine.com.

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Setbacks In Germany Due to Delays on Forward Reform

There was much excitement in Germany last September in the German cannabis industry, in particular, when the new “Traffic Light Coalition” announced that they would finally tackle the particulars of full recreational cannabis legalization.

As spring begins to think about arriving, however, excitement has begun to fade in Germany with the repeated statements from government officials of late that there were more pressing priorities (from COVID to presumably the Russian-Ukraine crisis). 

In the meantime, the significant problems on the ground for both the industry and patients continue.

This is why, according to Kai-Friedrich Niermann, an industry specialist lawyer now pursuing a legal case against the German government on behalf of his clients to clarify rules on the importing of hemp: “The case for full and final reform is made every day, right now. In the courts, at the regulatory agencies, in the marketplace. There are many issues that will only be addressed by normalization of this market.”

Industry Setbacks

No matter that Cansativa in Frankfurt, the firm that won the BfArM issued (monopoly) contract to distribute German grown medical cannabis is suddenly proclaiming their excitement about the advent of the recreational market (particularly after their recent cash injection from Snoop Dogg) the reality is that recreational pot is still a few miles away yet. Beyond this, the medical industry is suffering from several big issues, starting with the expense of cannabinoid treatments, not to mention the government and health insurers’ reluctance to pay for them. 

In a case decided in Karlsruhe on Monday that is no doubt going to generate challenges rather than set case law, the Social Court ruled, unconvincingly and actually just repeating the 2017 statute, that patients may only receive such medicines in exceptional cases and under strict conditions. This is also discounting the fact that presumably the justices know how much danger and risk still exists for doctors.

Ärzte, as they are called in Germany, face footing the bill for the drug they prescribe to their patients in a situation of non-coverage by the insurers and government agency behind them. One presumes that any doctor taking that risk would be well-versed in the “last option” discussion already.

The plaintiff filed suit against the Medizinische Dienst Krankensicherung or MDK (the state-by-state arm of the public/private coalition that ultimately decides on medical cannabis approvals) and the patient’s health insurance company after he was denied compensation for an oral cannabis spray. 

The doctor wrote that his 27-year-old patient suffered from chronic pain syndrome (the most common reason medical cannabis is prescribed and approved in Germany). He also wrote that the patient could not alleviate the pain in his back and legs with other treatments. This is supposedly the test that is used in such cases, at least according to the 2017 law.

However, the court ruled that other treatments should also be tried.

The response from the cannabis industry here has been swift. “There are several things that need a dire update,” said Lisa Haag. Haag is a Berlin-based consultant, patient advocate, and CEO of of MJUniverse GmbH, which organizes educational events around cannabis and helps pharmaceutical companies understand the plant better. 

“These are awfully high if not contradictory barriers,” said Haag. “Why can’t the other suggested treatments happen in combo with cannabis? Beyond this, the direction is contradictory. As suggested by the court, they make you stop cannabis treatment. This is ridiculous. The expensive bureaucratic processes are still prohibiting access.” 

Haag also noted that this is just one court ruling, and others have put emphasis on the therapy responsibility of the doctor. It is widely expected that the patient will appeal to the tongue-twisting Landessozialgericht in Baden-Wurttemberg.

In addition to this decision on the medical discussion, there has been another setback for the industry—this time on the industrial hemp side. A German energy company, Leag, just announced this week that it was putting its two year experiment with hemp cultivation on open cast mining areas on hold. Leag was conducting the cultivation experiment to determine if new lines of business could be derived from cultivation of the plant, including products that might be made of industrial hemp.

The company also stated that it would revisit its decision if there was a “changed framework conditions or new developments that make the new line of business attractive and economically profitable again.”

“It is precisely these kinds of problems we report to the government, as it needs to know about them and begin to prioritize the passing of the law,” said Kai-Friedrich Niermann. “I won’t have as much litigation work of this kind, but for that I will not be sorry.”

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National Expungement Works Releases 2021 Impact Report

The National Expungement Works (N.E.W.) organization released its 2021 Impact Report on February 22, which examines the victories from last year to help those who have been affected by the criminal justice system for a variety of reasons, including cannabis-related convictions.

N.E.W. Founder LaTorie Marshall shared in a statement that 2021 was a challenging but monumental year for the organization. “Staying true to the mission, 2021 was about tapping into our organizers because I know they do this healing work 24/7, with or without N.E.W. I challenged myself to get better with my actions with, for, and beside them,” Marshall said in a press release. “2022 is the year we can kick our five-year wealth plan up a notch with our fellowship program. From learning how to lobby in your community to becoming a building owner, we are the ones that heal and keep each other safe as we continue forward in our process for reforming systems that were built against us. It’s my belief that if there is a presence of N.E.W. in your community, and you have been systemically impacted or affected, and you need a safe haven to release; come talk it out with us, it’s on us.”

N.E.W. is also sponsored by Canopy Growth Corporation, who stated that it is the cannabis industry’s duty to work with organizations to help people and communities in need. “As we evolve our social impact strategy with the support of our community partners, we continue to learn about the injustices faced by equity-deserving communities,” said Canopy Growth Corporation Chief Advocacy Officer Hilary Black. “This includes the difficulties faced by people impacted by the criminal justice system—including the potential for the accumulation of additional progressive charges.  The comprehensive, wrap-around services, such as N.E.W.’s Brake Light Clinics, are a direct response to the barriers and experiences of justice-impacted communities.”

N.E.W. partnered with CFA to help The Social Impact Center and Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón to identify approximately 66,000 cannabis convictions that were dismissed in Los Angeles County last year. “The combined efforts of such powerful forces, along with the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, helped to shine a light on the importance of automatic expungement, as those who qualify may not even know that they are eligible,” according to the 2021 Impact Report. The path was paved for the cannabis-related expungements by the original prop 47 which lowers specific non-violent property and drug crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, and will account for thousands of future automatic record expungements.

N.E.W. was founded in October 2018 and is currently operated by 632 volunteers, as well as organizations and individuals, who are working to help Americans whose lives have been affected by the War on Drugs. According to the 2021 Impact Report, its many accomplishments include hosting numerous events such as the Week of Action & Awareness, which comprised of 21 virtual and in-person gatherings in 10 different cities, and having assisted over 65,000 people expunge or seal their records through services such as “legal relief, employment workshops, food and produce giveaways, health screenings and voter registration.” Those seeking expungement or record sealing opportunities can fill out a form on N.E.W.’s website to determine the specific state laws and necessities for eligibility.

More recently, N.E.W. will be holding 2022 “Brake Light Clinics” on February 27 in Maryland, with many more plans for 2022 to be announced later. Other expungement efforts for cannabis convictions have continued growing annually as well. At the end of January 2022, California legislators filed a bill to speed up expungement for over 34,000 people who are still waiting for relief. Advocates in New Jersey recently held a free expungement clinic for low-level cannabis convictions in September 2021.

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California Bill Would Protect Cannabis Users From Employment Discrimination

California employers would be barred from discriminating against employees for cannabis use while off the job under legislation introduced last week. The measure, AB 2188, was introduced in the California Assembly by Democratic Assembly Member Bill Quirk on February 15.

If passed, AB 2188 would end discrimination based on drug testing for cannabis metabolites, which are non-psychoactive substances that can be detected in a person’s bodily fluids for up to several weeks after they have consumed cannabis. 

“The bill would make it unlawful for California employers to penalize or discriminate against a person when making decisions about hiring, termination, or other aspect of employment if the discrimination is based on the person’s off-duty cannabis use or the presence of non-psychoactive cannabis metabolites revealed in an employer-mandated drug screening,” Lauren Mendelsohn, an attorney with Omar Figueroa Law in Sebastol, California, explained in an email to High Times.

The legislation, however, has several limitations. Employers who are required to follow federal drug-testing mandates are exempt. AB 2188 does not require employers to permit employees to be high while working.

“The bill does not authorize employees to use or be impaired by cannabis while on the job, nor does it prohibit employers from administering impairment or chemical tests to determine whether an employee is impaired or has an active presence of THC in their system,” Mendelsohn noted. “Employers who are required to conduct screening tests for non-psychoactive cannabis metabolites, or who would lose federal benefits if they did not, may do so.”

Quirk’s bill is supported by the California chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (Cal NORML). In a statement, the cannabis policy reform advocacy group said that “testing or threatening to test bodily fluids for cannabis metabolites is the most common way that employers harass and discriminate against employees who lawfully use cannabis in the privacy of their own homes.” Cal NORML noted that a survey being conducted online shows that 33 percent of respondents have been denied  employment due to testing positive for marijuana, while 60 percent have stopped using cannabis because of drug testing by their employer or doctor.

Protecting the Rights of Cannabis Users

Attorney S. Edward Wicker of Wicker Law in San Diego believes that AB 2188 is necessary to protect the rights afforded Californians by cannabis legalization and noted that positive drug tests for cannabis use are not an effective method of determining if an employee is impaired on the job.

“This legislation is needed to bring fairness and science-based legal protection for California workers. Current California law allows adults to consume and possess cannabis,” Wicker, who is also the director of San Diego NORML, wrote in an email. “This liberty is at risk when employers use a non-scientific test to discriminate against workers for cannabis use. Cannabis law is evolving from prohibition as what still exists at the federal level to a policy of legalization supported by a majority of Americans. Policies based on prohibition rely on inertia and non-scientific data.”

Cal NORML noted that studies have shown that off-the-job cannabis use is not associated with an increase in work-related injuries or accidents and that jurisdictions with liberalized marijuana laws are associated with greater workforce participation, higher wages, lower rates of employee absenteeism, and declines in workers’ compensation claims.

“Testing bodily fluids for cannabis metabolites is another example of a non-scientific approach to cannabis policy,” Wicker continued. “The presence of cannabis metabolites is not indicative of whether a person is under the influence of cannabis. A person can test positive for cannabis metabolites days to weeks after any cannabis use. This is no indication of any impairment for any work-related purpose except for arbitrary discrimination.”

Five states including New York and New Jersey have passed laws to protect the employment rights of recreational cannabis users and similar legislation was introduced in the Colorado legislature earlier this month. Legislation to protect medical marijuana patients has been passed in 21 states.

“It’s high time California protected its workers’ rights also,” said Dale Gieringer, the director of California NORML.

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