As any farmer knows, planting season waits for no one. Washington state lawmakers are showing they understand this as well.
While other states have moved more aggressively to encourage commercial hemp, Washington’s total hemp crop in 2018 was less than 150 acres, all grown by the Confederated Colville tribes northwest of Spokane. Lawmakers in Olympia…
While the 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s regulatory oversight, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to oversee foods, drugs or cosmetics that contain hemp or hemp products, the most popular of which is currently CBD. Meanwhile, states, farmers and other interested parties are clamoring for guidance on hemp commercialization,…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which was given federal regulatory authority over hemp by the 2018 Farm Bill, announced last week that it won’t be finalizing its hemp rules in time for the 2019 growing season, and instead is targeting the 2020 season. But many states are driving hard to develop their own regulatory…
The United States has a long history with hemp, legally distinguished from marijuana, but genetically identical as the plant cannabis sativa (L.) — now, hemp is set to reemerge in U.S. agriculture as an important crop following passage of the 2018 Farm Bill expected sometime this week. There had been a lot of speculation, and…
Headspace v. Podworks: Good News (With Warnings) for Marijuana Trademark Licensors
In January 2017, Headspace International, LLC, a California-based cannabis company, sued Podworks Corp., a Washington-state-based cannabis company, for trademark infringement. Headspace sells a product called “The Clear” and claimed Podworks’ “Top Shelf Clear” product infringed on its trademark. Podworks defended itself by claiming that…
South Korea is currently garnering a lot of attention in the cannabis industry following its legalization of some cannabis derivatives for medical purposes. The legalization comes as a surprise for many in the international community, particularly because South Korea has aggressively opposed cannabis — most notably by criminalizing the consumption of cannabis by South Koreans…
Thank you MJBizCon for another great hit last week in Las Vegas! Previous conferences have consistently provided both valuable and relevant content for attendees. This year was no exception — high quality speakers covering a timely array of topics that ranged from recent developments in production and packaging to strategic considerations for potential partnerships with…
It comes as no surprise that several Canadian cannabis company employees and investors will be traveling to the United States this week to attend the largest cannabis industry conference in the world, MJBizCon, in Las Vegas. The conference lists several Canadian companies among its speakers and will cover a variety of topics including investment,…
The cannabis industry is celebrating a lot of good news this week — support for legalization continues to grow while opposition dwindles steadily. Voters in three more states passed marijuana measures to increase the legal availability of cannabis both medically and recreationally. Two highly visible cannabis opponents, House Representative Pete Sessions and Attorney General Jeff…
We are proud to support Seattle University’s 6th Annual Northwest Marijuana Law Conference taking place on Friday, November 16. Josh Ashby and Sativa Rasmussen are the program’s Co-Chairs and will lead the conversation, bringing together experts from the law and the industry to provide critical focus and frameworks.
Ben Pirie will present on “Updates on…