Cannabis Business Legal News

Cannabis, or “marihuana” as it is referred to in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), has been federally illegal in the United States since 1937. Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced that he will make legislation ending the federal prohibition of cannabis a top priority. In the recent press conference, Senator Schumer introduced a draft of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (the “CAOA”), which would lift the federal prohibition on cannabis and, critically, allow state-compliant cannabis businesses to have access to ...

After months and months of controversy around how Illinois managed the scoring and award of the first round of adult-use recreational cannabis retail licenses, Governor J.B. Pritzker has signed a new bill that not only expands the number of licenses to be awarded, but shakes up and expedites how the licenses will be issued. The new legislation expands the number of adult use cannabis retail licenses in Illinois from the originally allotted seventy-five, to one hundred and seventy-five. This bill (HB1443) is a critical step forward in what has been a tumultuous roll out of the state’s ...