By: Fabiola Jimenez, Strategic Legal Counsel at Cultiva Law The 420 Bills, introduced in Congress by two Senators from Oregon, seeks to overcome one of the greatest uphill battles faced by the cannabis community: the stigma that sometimes attaches to the plant. Despite the fact that the legal marijuana industry has engendered billions of dollars…
By: Sam Mendez, Strategic Legal Counsel at Cultiva Law Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced his Marijuana Justice Initiative last Friday at the Cannabis Alliance‘s annual Cannabis Summit. The Initiative will provide for an expedited clemency process for people with a marijuana misdemeanor conviction and no other convictions, which the Governor said should affect approximately 3,500 individuals. The…
Photo credit: Matthew T. Nichols for the Department of Justice By: Sam Mendez, Strategic Legal Counsel at Cultiva Law Attorney General Jeff Sessions was forced to resign today, capping the already big news from yesterday’s midterm elections in which Michigan voted to legalize cannabis for recreational use and Utah and Missouri legalized medical marijuana. President Trump quickly appointed Jeff…
By: Sam Mendez, Strategic Legal Counsel at Cultiva Law Canada’s legalized marijuana stores opened today for the first time. Canada is now the first and only nation in the developed world to legalize cannabis, joining only Uruguay which legalized in 2013. The Canadian Senate voted to legalize marijuana back in June. Canadians above the legal age of…
By: Sam Mendez, Strategic Legal Counsel at Cultiva Law On Tuesday, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) held its regularly-scheduled board meeting where they dropped a bombshell: a large quantity of marijuana infused edibles that have already been approved for production and sale in Washington will no longer be approved. When this new policy is implemented––it…
By: Sam Mendez and Heidi Urness, Strategic Legal Counsel at Cultiva Law The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced last Friday that certain Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs that contain cannabidiol (CBD) are properly rescheduled as Schedule V drugs under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). While this move is far from categorically rescheduling CBD – as…
By: Heidi Urness, Strategic Legal Counsel at Cultiva Law (@MaryJaneEsquire) I. Background Recently, we reported on the current state of hemp and CBD laws in the United States following the Ninth Circuit’s April 2018 decision in HIA v. DEA (Case No. 17-70162), the proposed Hemp Farming Act of 2018 (S. 2667), and reading through to…
By: Sam Mendez, Strategic Legal Counsel at Cultiva Law As you may be aware, Cultiva Law is committed to advancing social justice issues as well as representing the cannabis industry, and one of Cultiva Law’s primary issues of focus from a policy standpoint is easing the process by which people can vacate qualifying criminal records, particularly for cannabis…
Cultiva’s own Aaron Pelley was recently featured in the Spokesman-Review for his selection as a Featured Speaker at this year’s upcoming Seattle Hempfest. Mr. Pelley will be featured at Hempfest’s 27th annual “protestival” held in Myrtle Edwards Park and Elliot Bay Park on August 17, 18, and 19, 2018. Originally called the Washington Hemp Expo in 1991, the…
By: Sam Mendez, Strategic Legal Counsel at Cultiva Law Canada made headlines last week when the Canadian Senate voted 52-29 to pass Bill C-45, permitting personal use and commercial production of cannabis. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made clear he would legalize cannabis should he be elected Prime Minister during his campaign platform while running for the position in…