VS Attorneys Will Present CLEs at INCBA Cannabis Law Institute
May 23, 2022
Each year, the International Cannabis Bar Association hosts the Cannabis law Institutesm, where the leading minds in law convene for a multi-day, immersive educational and networking event. Among the Association’s 80+ expert speakers, David Joyce (R-OH) and Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) are keynoting the conference. Offering CLE credit in the US and select other jurisdictions, CLI covers a multitude of topics in educational sessions interspersed with networking luncheons, off-site events, receptions, and committee and leadership meetings to inform your legal practice.
VS is pleased that the 5th annual CLI, to be held at GWLaw in Washington, DC, will feature VS attorneys Shawn Hauser and Shane Pennington. See info below for session details.
June 10, 2022 | 10:50 a.m.
Moot Court: Sisley v. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; Featuring Shane Pennington as session lead
In 2020, from a cell in a California state prison, Steven Zyszkiewicz wrote a letter to DEA to request removal of marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. His reason was simple: “the current situation of cannabis in Schedule I [is] completely untenable” because “[h]alf the states allow for medical use.” He was (and still is) right. But when DEA responded just months later, it concluded otherwise and denied Zyszkiewicz’s petition. According to DEA, evidence gathered in response to a different petition submitted nearly a decade earlier proved that, per its five-part test, marijuana today has no “currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.” Days later—and completely by chance—counsel for Dr. Sue Sisley of Scottsdale Research Institute learned of DEA’s then-secret denial of Mr. Zyszkiewicz’s petition. Together with several veterans and veterans-rights organizations, Dr. Sisley sued DEA in federal court challenging the five-part test the agency has used to keep marijuana in Schedule I for decades. That petition is being played out at CLI's first ever Moot Court!
Our distinguished panel of judges will hear argument from both sides—petitioners and the government—and make a decision regarding the legality of marijuana’s continued classification as a Schedule I substance. Come see the exciting hearing unfold! Shane Pennington and Matt Zorn, counsel for Dr. Sisley in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will present the case—Dr. Sisley’s arguments as well as the government’s before our distinguished panel of judges: Alan Morrison, Dean of Public Interest GW Law, Michael S. Hiller, Managing Partner of Hiller, PC, and Jay Wexler, Professor of Law, Boston University.
June 11, 2022 | 10:40 a.m.
Emerging Cannabinoids: Unique Legal and Regulatory Issues; Featuring Shawn Hauser
This panel will cover the rapidly expanding market for cannabinoids other than CBD, including intoxicating cannabinoids from hemp. We will discus the cannabinoids most likely to emerge on the market and describe how they are produced, marketed, and their effects on humans. Panelists will review the unique legal and regulatory issues that emerging cannabinoids present to lawyers and strategies for addressing them. Throughout this presentation, the experts will engage substantively with each other about differences in opinions in an effort to tease out nuanced, often overlooked, and unsettled areas of law.
View the full agenda and register here. Use code VSLaw for 20% off your registration fee!