Biden: U.S. To ‘Pursue Every Possible Avenue’ To Bring Griner Home

President Joe Biden has called on Moscow to release Brittney Griner and said the United States will continue to secure the freedom of the WNBA star, who was sentenced to nine years in prison by a Russian judge last week.

“It’s unacceptable, and I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates,” Biden said in a statement on Thursday.

Earlier that day, Griner was found guilty on drug charges stemming from her February arrest in a Moscow airport. The prosecutor in the case asked the court to sentence Griner to nine-and-a-half years; the judge gave her nine.

“Today, American citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney,” Biden said in his statement following the guilty verdict.

Griner was arrested on February 17 while traveling back to compete for the Russian women’s basketball team UMMC Ekaterinburg, for whom she has played since 2014 during the WNBA’s offseason. Officials at the airport found cannabis oil in Griner’s luggage, leading to the drug charges.

Her detention has created a diplomatic standoff between the U.S. and Russia, with the two sides negotiating a potential prisoner exchange in recent days. Late last month, the Biden administration proposed the release of Griner and Paul Whelan, a U.S. citizen who has been imprisoned on espionage charges in Russia since 2018, in exchange for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer currently serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States.

Russia reportedly rejected that offer.

In his statement last week, Biden pledged to secure the release of both Griner and Whelan.

“My administration will continue to work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue to bring Brittney and Paul Whelan home safely as soon as possible,” the president said.

Appearing in court hours before she was sentenced on Thursday, Griner, a star for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, apologized for the incident in February. She previously pleaded guilty to the charges, but said she did not intend to break the law.

“I want to apologize to my teammates, my club, my fans and the city of (Yekaterinburg) for my mistake that I made and the embarrassment that I brought on them,” Griner said, as quoted by the Associated Press. “I want to also apologize to my parents, my siblings, the Phoenix Mercury organization back at home, the amazing women of the WNBA, and my amazing spouse back at home.”

Griner also spoke of her experience playing professionally in Russia.

“I had no idea that the team, the cities, the fans, my teammates would make such a great impression on me over the 6 1/2 years that I spent here,” she said, according to the Associated Press. “I remember vividly coming out of the gym and all the little girls that were in the stands there waiting on me, and that’s what kept making me come back here.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned Griner’s conviction last week.

“It puts a spotlight on our very significant turn with Russia’s legal system and the Russian government’s use of wrongful detentions to advance its own agenda using individuals as political pawns,” Blinken said Friday, as quoted by ESPN.

Blinken’s counterpart, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, alluded to the discussions of a prisoner swap with the U.S., saying that Russia was prepared to negotiate.

“We are ready to discuss this topic, but within the framework of the channel that was agreed upon by presidents Putin and Biden,” Lavrov said, as quoted by ESPN. “If the Americans decide to once again resort to public diplomacy … that is their business and I would even say that it is their problem.”

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Wisconsin Governor Pardons Several for Cannabis Offenses

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers issued another round of pardons last week, including 11 for individuals previously convicted of cannabis-related offenses.

Clemency has been a defining part of Evers’ gubernatorial tenure.

In May, Evers issued dozens to bring his total number of pardons to 498, with his office saying at the time that he had “granted more pardons during his first three years in office than any other governor in contemporary history.”

The first-term Democrat, who is up for re-election this year, granted another 49 pardons on Friday to bring his total up to 603.

“It is one of the most rewarding parts of my job as governor to have the opportunity to grant a fresh start to folks who’ve made efforts to learn and grow from their past mistakes,” said Evers. “Forgiveness is an important value I know we all share as Wisconsinites, and I’m grateful for the Pardon Advisory Board for continuing to prioritize this work, giving folks second chances so they can continue their work giving back.”  

As was the case in May, a number of last week’s pardon recipients had been previously busted on pot-related charges. The governor’s office provided brief descriptions of each of those individuals, and details of their offenses:

• “Cynthia Cook was 31 when she participated in selling marijuana to a confidential informant. A mother and caretaker, she now resides in Oconto Falls.”

• “Candace Davis was 40 when she sold a controlled substance to an informant and was subsequently found in possession of marijuana and controlled substances. Now 28 years later, she has maintained steady employment in Beloit, where she resides with her family.”

• “Deontae Hodges was 24 when he was found in possession of marijuana during a traffic stop. He resides in Milwaukee where he has maintained steady employment. The Court supports his pardon.”

• “Matthew Kasel was 20 when he purchased marijuana from an undercover officer. Now nearly two decades later, he owns an HVAC business and resides in Kaukauna with his family.”

• “Gerald Love was 27 when he was found in possession of marijuana. Since, he has earned his GED and CDL. He now resides in Milwaukee with his family.”

• “Leonard Maland was 25 when police caught him selling marijuana. Now, nearly three decades later, he drives trucks and owns a small mobile restaurant with his spouse in Eau Claire, where he now resides.”

• “Anthony Naber was not yet 20 when he sold marijuana to a confidential informant two decades ago. Residing in Wisconsin with his family, he has since obtained two associate degrees and volunteers in his community. The district attorney’s office supports his pardon.”

• “Matthew Raap was 18 years old when he sold marijuana and controlled substances to undercover officers. Now years later, he resides in Richfield where he has built a successful career in the cybersecurity field and volunteers to help incarcerated individuals receive their college degree. He received resounding community support for his pardon, including from both the Court and district attorney’s office.”

• “Jim Swanson was 25 when he sold marijuana to an undercover officer 28 years ago. He now resides in Ellsworth where he cares for his mother.”

• “Errick Weiser had marijuana growing on his property. He earned his bachelor’s degree and volunteers with his county’s fair board and the Wisconsin Parasite Museum. The district attorney’s office supports his pardon.”

• “Peter Wussow was in his 30s when he was mailed a package of marijuana, which he intended to sell with others. He has since built a career in welding and now resides in Oshkosh with his family.”

In addition to exercising his pardon power, Evers has also been a vocal champion of cannabis reform in the Badger State, repeatedly calling on lawmakers there to end the prohibition on pot.

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Are Penis Envy mushrooms actually 2-3x more potent than other strains?

These notorious shrooms can pack high amounts of psilocybin and psilocin. But experts note that doesn't necessarily translate into an intense trip.

The post Are Penis Envy mushrooms actually 2-3x more potent than other strains? appeared first on Leafly.

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Inside New Jersey’s largest legal weed factory

Meet the cultivators behind the world's biggest cannabis company. They care for 56,000 plants at a time while pumping out 8,000 carts and 72,000 gummies a day.

The post Inside New Jersey’s largest legal weed factory appeared first on Leafly.

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Deceptive Matter and Canna Brands

Deceptive matter is yet another pitfall faced by canna brands as they take steps to protect their intellectual property. According to the U.S. Trademark Act (commonly known as the Lanham Act), such matter may not be registered as a trademark (15 U.S.C. § 1052(a)). While to some extent this is a commonsense rule that seeks to protect the public, in practice its application can be surprisingly expansive. Cannabis brands should avoid using trademarks that could in any way be considered deceptive matter.

When determining if a trademark consists of deceptive matter, USPTO applies a three-part test:

(1) Is the term misdescriptive of the character, quality, function, composition or use of the goods?

(2) If so, are prospective purchasers likely to believe that the misdescription actually describes the goods?

(3) If so, is the misdescription likely to affect a significant portion of the relevant consumers’ decision to purchase?

In some cases, it’s not hard to conclude that USPTO will likely consider a trademark to consist of deceptive matter. Taking a hypothetical example, imagine a vodka called CannaVodka, which does not in fact contain cannabis. The term “Canna”, as used in this imaginary trademark, is clearly misdescriptive of the composition of the vodka. Given the proliferation of canna drinks in the market, it is reasonable to expect that prospective purchases will believe the vodka contains cannabis. And by the same token, the presence of cannabis is likely to be a selling point for consumers.

As we said earlier, though, USPTO can sometimes reach surprising conclusions when it comes to the Lanham Act’s bar on registering deceptive matter as trademarks. This blogger generally takes any brand’s claim of environmental friendliness with a grain of salt, on par with health insurance companies’ assurance that I will “love” their service.

Evidently, though, USPTO is less jaded. Recently, the agency has required brands making such claims to amend their applications, to clarify that their goods are in fact ecofriendly. Otherwise, the agency contends, the mark may be deceptive, insofar as it may be used in connection with goods that are in fact terrible for the planet.

When choosing trademarks, brands need to consider whether they could in any way be considered deceptive matter. This analysis is made by focusing on how the brand relates to the character, quality, function, composition or use of the products. Brands seeking trademark protection overseas need to be extra careful, as other trademark offices might not offer the same procedural off-ramps that the USPTO typically does.

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New York CAURD Locations: The Update

We recently got on our soap box about the importance of hiring a New York cannabis attorney. The catalyst for that post was the question of whether applicants for New York’s Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) license can select their own real estate. We have an answer: no.

A brief refresher of the drama. Section 116.7(b)(6) of the CAURD regulations made it a condition of licensure that the licensee “[accept] a dispensary location identified by the fund or office[.]” The Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) published supplemental licensing materials that contained conflicting guidance.

The OCM’s CAURD FAQ contained the following question and answer:

31. Can I choose where my CAURD licensed retail dispensary will be located?

Applicants who are selected will be assigned a retail dispensary location in one of the fourteen (14) geographic regions of NYS. When applying you will be asked to indicate which region(s) of the State you would prefer to be assigned a license in. You will be able to rank your top five (5) preferred regions. You will not be able to choose the specific street address or neighborhood for this dispensary. Provisional licensees will be able to share their preferences among the available locations in the region for which they have been selected.

If you would like to select your own site for a retail dispensary, the CAURD license may not be the right fit for you. Future adult-use retail dispensary licenses (and those for on-site consumption sites) will have more flexibility in allowing licensees to choose their own location.”

The OCM also published comments and responses to the CAURD regulations, which included this language regarding whether applicants could select their own real estate:

“The proposed regulations do not insist upon applicants to use New York Social Equity Cannabis Investment Fund locations and provide for the allowance of an applicant to provide their own location that complies with the proposed regulations.”

The conflicting position and potential change in course has had the New York cannabis industry up in arms. For good reason: whether applicants will be placed in retail dispensary locations is likely a determining factor for potential applicants.

And then, without any sort of public announcement, the OCM published revised comments and responses to the OCM’s website (also here), removing the contradictory language. The comment and response now reads:

“COMMENT: Commenters requested clarification from the Office on the nature of agreements which applicants would be required to enter into as described in section 116.7(c)(6) of the proposed rules. Commenters requested clarification on what support would be offered by the New York Social Equity Cannabis Investment Fund and the specifics of that support, such as disbursement schedule, repayment rate, acceptable expenses, and tax repercussions of accepting support. Commenters noted that “financing with favorable terms” is difficult for cannabis businesses to secure and expressed a desire to obtain support from the Fund for costs beyond build-out of the dispensary. Commenters stated it was unclear what level of control the state would have over their business as a result of accepting this support. Commenters were concerned that the terms of agreements with the Fund would be unfavorable and that licensees would be trapped in predatory arrangements. Commenters expressed a desire to apply for licensure without receiving location assistance from the Fund. Commenters suggested that, before approving any agreements between licensees and the fund, the Board consult with the Chief Equity Officer and Cannabis Advisory Board to ensure the terms and conditions of the agreements promote equity.

RESPONSE: The proposed rules only require licensees to enter into agreements which have been approved by the Board and been made available by the Office. The Office is working with the Fund to ensure that the location assignments are a benefit to all applicants to ensure their success. No changes have been made to the proposed regulations as a result of this comment.”

Of course, as reported by Cannabis Insider, the OCM has not yet confirmed that the conflicting language that is contained in the New York State Register (based on the original filing) is inaccurate. But pending that last bit of confirmation from the OCM, the CAURD location kerfuffle appears to have reached its resolution.

Bottom line: If you apply for a CAURD license and succeed, you’ll need to be prepared to accept a state-leased dispensary location. Reach out to one of our New York cannabis real estate attorneys if you think we can help.

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New York CAURD: License Application Scoring – Part 1

We’ve been writing about eligibility criteria for licensure for the New York Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (“CAURD”) (here and here). In addition to the Office of Cannabis Management’s (the “OCM”) handy FAQ, it also recently published a scoring criterion to score eligible applicants after they have met the minimum requirements for each type of eligible applicant: 1) the business criteria applicant and 2) the nonprofit criteria applicant.

Here’s the long and short of it: once an applicant has met the minimum requirements, applicants with complete and verified applications are eligible to be scored and selected for a provisional CAURD license.

Within each region and based upon each eligibility criteria, applicants will be ranked by scores as calculated in accordance with the Scoring Criteria outlined below. The top scoring applicants who rank that region as their first preference, up to the number of allocated or available licenses in that region, will be selected for a provisional license in that region. It appears that the only way an applicant can guarantee their preferred region for a provisional CAURD license is to score the highest.

The scoring criteria

Applicants will be scored differently, based upon whether they slot into business criteria or nonprofit criteria. Although the OCM has not put specific number metrics to each of the below factors, they noted that the following factors will be weighted more heavily in the application scoring process.

For business criteria applicants, the most heavily weighted factors for the scoring process include:

1. If the marijuana-related conviction was on the justice-involved owner with sole control themselves or a parent, legal guardian, child, spouse, or dependent;
2. If the relevant arrest occurred in an area that has been negatively impacted by over policing and mass incarceration, or has historically low median household incomes;
3. If the qualifying business has similar characteristics to a cannabis dispensary, such as the sale of retail goods, inventory management, a physical store, and paid employees; and
4. The strength of the applicant’s qualifying business experience, as judged by length of time in operation, size of the business, net revenue, and compliance with state and local laws, rules and regulations.

For nonprofit criteria applicants, the most heavily weighted factors for the scoring process include:

1. The demonstrated history of working with justice involved individuals, including length of time working with this population, having justice involved individuals on the Board, the proportion of program expenses that serve this population, and the location of the social enterprise;
2. If the qualifying nonprofit has demonstrated good governance principles, as shown by audited financials and the ratio of overhead and programming costs;
3. If the social enterprise has similar characteristics to a retail cannabis dispensary, such as the sale of retail goods, inventory management, a physical store, and paid employees; and
4. The strength of the applicant’s social enterprise experience, as judged by the length of time in operation and size of the business.

Importantly the nonprofit criteria applicants will be scored and selected separately from other applicants, ensuring that all applicants are given fair chance at selection.

Stay tuned for Part 2, where we discuss the selection process for qualified CAURD license applicants.

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