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US Officially Recognizes Medical Use and Safety of Cannabis: The Top 6 Things to Know About Schedule III and the Process Ahead

By Shawn Hauser
Aug 31, 2023

The federal government formally acknowledged the medical use and low potential of abuse for cannabis, with the US Department of Health and Human Services recommending that cannabis be rescheduled to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. While placement in Schedule III still criminalizes commercial cannabis activity at the federal level, it is a significant step on the path to ending prohibition. This rescheduling would eliminate the application of 280E tax penalties, reduce the level of criminal liability for cannabis-related activity, reduce barriers to research, legitimize the industry through gaining credibility and engagement by physicians and the medical community, and support a growing industry for the American economy.

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President Biden's Cannabis Scheduling Directive: Part 3

By Shane Pennington
Nov 9, 2022

What outcomes are possible from the impending administrative process to reconsider cannabis’s schedule I status? What are the implications of those various possible outcomes? And how should we all proceed in light of it all?

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President Biden's Cannabis Scheduling Directive: Part 2

By Shane Pennington
Oct 21, 2022

To appreciate the gravity of the President’s scheduling directive and what could happen next, you need to understand (1) how the administrative process the President has set in motion will actually work and (2) how the agencies in charge have used it to affirm and reaffirm cannabis’s schedule I1 status repeatedly throughout the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970’s (“CSA”) history. Those topics are covered in this article. 

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The Battle to Allow Smokable Hemp in Texas

By Shane Pennington
Sep 13, 2021

Texas has allowed hemp cultivation and state-based manufacturing, distribution, and retail sale of hemp and consumable hemp products since 2019—but only if the products weren’t intended for smoking. This prohibition on a product with such high value for hemp farmers—and soaring consumer demand—was sure to make waves.

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sxsw

Aug 25, 2021

Vote for the panel "Sue 'n the DEA: Breaking the 50-Year NIDA Monopoly," featuring Shane Pennington to be included in SXSW 2022!

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Psychedelics As Medicine: Right To Try Case Versus DEA

By Shane Pennington
Aug 9, 2021

In what could be a groundbreaking case for psychedelic medicine, VS counsel Shane Pennington is part of a team working on an exciting and very important Ninth Circuit challenge to the DEA's refusal to accommodate state and federal right to try laws.

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Litigation Funding for Cannabis and Hemp Businesses

By Jennifer Cabrera, David Kramer
Nov 30, 2020

As anyone who has been involved in a legal dispute knows, litigation can be very costly. Thankfully, litigation funding is an option and lenders are increasingly willing to lend to cannabis and hemp businesses.

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Cannabis Litigation vs. Arbitration

By Jennifer Cabrera
Nov 20, 2020

While it’s best to avoid litigation and arbitration in the first place, disputes happen and are occurring more frequently in the maturing cannabis sector. Here's a primer on both.

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