When we talk about policy changes regarding legalization of marijuana, there are always people that immediately go into “reefer-madness-code-red-alert!” mode out of concern for driver safety. Telling them to take a hit and calm down goes over like a lead balloon. So instead, let’s talk facts and be reasonable. Marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol and, like alcohol, the deterrent effect of a DUI arrest applies. In the first large-scale controlled study of drug and alcohol crash risk by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there is no significant increased crash risk associated... Read More

On Thursday, December 21, 2018, our president officially signed and passed the 2018 Farm Bill. This bill ends the prohibition of hemp in the United States, making it a historical day in our history. The passage of this bill will begin the regrowth of hemp as an agricultural crop in America. As important as this is, there is still much work to be done beginning at the state level to protect our rights and freedoms when it comes to growing, producing, and distributing hemp products that contain CBD. Last week we covered what the Farm Bill means for sports, and today we’re going to look at some... Read More

It was a monumental week for the cannabis industry as Congress approved the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, also referred to as the farm bill. The passing of this bill, once officially signed by the President, will legalize the production, processing, and sale of hemp. This will remove hemp from the Controlled Substances Act and make hemp just another commodity to be overseen by the US Department of Agriculture. This is a huge deal for hemp farmers interested in growing hemp at scale to be used for consumer goods like food, textiles, paper, plastics, and building materials, but what does the... Read More

I bet if you were asked what country was the first to legalize cannabis from production to consumption, you probably would not think, “duh, Uruguay!” But it’s true. Although recreational drug consumption has never been outlawed in this open minded, liberal country, the cultivation and sale of cannabis remained forbidden. This month, however, pot smokers in Uruguay became the first in the world to sign up to buy state-produced weed for recreational use. How the law works is somewhat fascinating. Legal marijuana will only be available at pharmacies. Those wanting to purchase legal cannabis... Read More

We have a cat fight, folks! Meow! Remember last week when Attorney General Jeff Sessions lowered a cloud of despair across the country with his revival of the War on Drugs? Well, a bipartisan, forward thinking group in Congress have introduced legislation to counteract Sessions. Let’s discuss. Our regressive Attorney General directed federal prosecutors to charge people with the most serious provable offenses to trigger mandatory minimum sentences. As we’ve discussed, these sentences provide for “one-size-fits-all” sentences of pre-determined lengths. They fail to consider the individual... Read More

As of this week, Vermont became the first state legislature to pass a bill to legalize recreational marijuana. That may be surprising to you, since eight other states currently have legal recreational weed. The difference? Those states passed public ballot initiatives. So, if signed by Republican Governor Phil Scott, Vermont will remove penalties for possessing one ounce of marijuana or less and allow adults to keep two mature plants. Ahhh, so nice to see a legislature opening its eyes to reasonable drug policy. Alas, in the same week of continued progress at the state level, “Debbie Downer”... Read More

Before I get too far with this blog entry, I want to clarify at the outset that I’m only discussing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Multiple states have additional laws in place to provide more encompassing employee protections. I am also not talking about people showing up to work stoned. With those caveats, let’s learn a little weed law. The ADA prohibits employers from discriminating against employees due to a disability. A disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.  Employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations... Read More

The countdown is on. Funding for the federal government runs out at midnight tonight. Will our broken Congress be able to agree on a new spending bill in time? Or, is Attorney General Jeff Sessions about to be green-lighted to get out his shotgun “Granny-style” on the doorsteps of medical marijuana shops? I see the confusion brewing. Let me explain why this spending bill has anything to do with legalized medical marijuana. In a nutshell, when the government’s funding ends, all non-essential government operations and agencies are suspended until a new budget is approved. By “non-essential”... Read More

To all our readers, happy 4/20! According to today’s CBS poll, 61% of America wants marijuana legalized. Happy 4/20, indeed. I’m excited to get back into another installment of Weed Law 101. As indicated in prior blogs, U.S. officials have been informed time and time again through scientific and objective studies that marijuana is not a “gateway drug”, does not cause violence, and does not induce addiction. Yet, federal policy has fluctuated greatly between being very strict to quite relaxed on cannabis. Why such inconsistency? The answer to that is not due to new revelations about the... Read More

BREAKING: This just in. The city of Dallas, Texas – yes, Texas – voted yesterday to relax penalties for marijuana possession. This “cite and release” ordinance provides that anyone caught with possession of less than four ounces of pot will receive a ticket but will not be arrested. Baby steps in the land of some seriously whack-a-doo right wingers. Big congrats to my home town! Now back to our regularly scheduled program: Weed Law 101, Part 2: Congressional Whiplash. As we learned in Part 1, the federal government used racial fear and prejudice to first criminalize marijuana in 1937.... Read More

Last week began a multi-part series explaining the United States’ colorful history with marijuana law. That endeavor will be continued next time, as I would be remiss not to mention that at the end of last week, a flurry of marijuana-related bills were introduced into Congress. If you have been following along, you know that in week two of this blog, I explained legislation was introduced into the House that would remove cannabis from the list of federally controlled substances.  Removing weed from federal criminal jurisdiction does not give the federal government a bite at revenue from the... Read More

Part 1: Blame It On Mexico Marijuana law and policy is complicated. As with all political issues, understanding where we have been historically is crucial to deciding where we should go. A little history helps put things in perspective and contributes to crafting reasonable drug laws. I present to you the first installment of Weed Law 101. This country’s on and off again love affair with cannabis started long before this nation was formed. Beginning as early as the 1600s, North American settlers encouraged hemp production for the manufacture of rope, sails, and clothing. (By hemp, I mean the... Read More

Welcome to “Habeas Cannabis: Lawyer Blows Smoke,” a blog where cannabis laws and related political issues will be discussed. For clarity’s sake, I disagree with any intrusion by the federal government into the legalization of marijuana at the state level. That said, there is nowhere to begin without first asking, what will be the Trump Administration’s federal policy regarding state legalized marijuana? Let’s start by unpacking what we know so far. Trump has ensured, without elaboration, that he is dedicated to bringing “law and order” to our inner cities. Meanwhile, Attorney General... Read More

When was the last time you sat down with your parents and had a serious conversation about cannabis?  Maybe never?  Do you wish they were more informed on the topic?  Well, here’s your chance.  You’re an adult now, it is time to have the conversation about cannabis and its effects with your parents. With 60% of Americans in favor of legalization, the highest approval in 47 years, there is no time like the present to express, educate, and evaluate how your parents may be feeling about marijuana.   Here are a few tips to get started: Find out what they already know.  Start with an open-ended... Read More

Boulder County Clerk Hilary Hall was given an order by CO Attorney General John Suthers to stop offering marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Boulder back in June 2014. Her refusal to heed this order instigated debate on the issue of same-sex marriage legalization in the state Supreme Court. The steadfast decision eventually led to victory for same-sex marriage rights in Colorado. In 2004, Utah voters cast their lots in favor of banning same-sex marriage. Similarly, Colorado voters approved a ban on same-sex marriage in 2006. But Utah’s ban was ruled unconstitutional on June 24, 2015.... Read More