On Tuesday, June 22, Rhode Island took a major step towards legalization of marijuana. Although House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi still says legalization won’t be decided until after the budget process ends (perhaps even during a special session later this year), the Senate Judiciary Committee, by a 6-2 vote, sent a cannabis legalization bill to...

Massachusetts consumers finally have a new way to obtain recreational marijuana. In recent weeks, marijuana delivery services have started to operate in the Bay State. But customers are quickly learning that the process is not quite as easy as ordering products from Amazon or the local grocery store. According to the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission...

A Rhode Island Superior Court judge recently cited the trend of decriminalizing and legalizing marijuana in granting a motion to suppress evidence that was obtained during a 2019 search of a vehicle after a traffic stop. Judge David Procaccini found that a ‘slight’ smell of marijuana, coupled with a driver’s nervousness and the fact that...

This month, two congressional Republican lawmakers introduced a bill to legalize marijuana at the federal level, as well as to protect banks that service state-legal cannabis businesses and to ensure that military veterans treated by the Veterans’ Administration (“VA”) are allowed to be treated with medical marijuana in compliance with state law. The “Common Sense...

It appears that political support for legalizing recreational cannabis in Rhode Island may finally be reaching a critical mass. The details of how Rhode Island might go about legalizing recreational cannabis—and not whether to do it — are now the subject of legislative hearings and maneuvering at the Rhode Island State House. There are two bills under discussion. Both...

Should medical marijuana be given to animals? A bill is pending in the Rhode Island General Assembly that would make Rhode Island the first state in the country to permit veterinarians to prescribe medical marijuana to a domestic pet with a debilitating medical condition. The proposed bill, introduced by Representatives Patricia Serpa, William O’Brien, and Charlene Lima,...

A renewed effort to give the cannabis industry safe access to financial institutions and services returned to Washington last week, as the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act was reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill would protect banks offering services to state-legal cannabis operations and ancillary businesses. The SAFE Banking Act...

A few weeks ago, we wrote that “political support for legalizing recreational cannabis in Rhode Island may finally be reaching a critical mass.” It seems our prediction was premature and it is becoming more likely that the General Assembly may not pass a bill before the close of its legislative session around the end of...

In the past few months, sales of Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as “Delta-8 THC” or “weed light,” have grown tremendously. So, it’s popular. But is it legal? At the federal level, the answer is hazy. And in Rhode Island, Delta-8 THC is still illegal. What exactly is Delta-8 THC? Delta-8 THC is a psychoactive cannabinoid...

One of the most frustrating issues facing the US’s burgeoning cannabis industry has been the inequitable tax treatment that cannabis businesses face as compared to other industries. The IRS’s guidance for one section of the tax code – Section 280E – has particularly frustrated the cannabis industry. Section 280E generally bars businesses “trafficking” in controlled...