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In a win for much of the booming hemp products industry, on October 6, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB-45 into law.  AB-45 is comprehensive legislation that regulates and legitimizes many industrial hemp products. The law excludes from the list of permissible products inhalable hemp products. The law takes effect immediately and supersedes the California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) 2018 “FAQ” guidance on hemp-derived CBD in food, beverages, dietary supplements, and pet food. The new law allows for the inclusion of hemp and cannabinoids (e.g., CBD), extracts, or derivatives of hemp in food and beverages, dietary supplements, cosmetics, and pet food.
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Continue Reading AB-45: California Finally Welcomes Hemp Products To The Marketplace

California’s comparable-to-organic “OCal” certification program for cannabis and nonmanufactured cannabis products officially went into effect on July 14, 2021.  The OCal program represents a new branch of state cannabis regulation, but remains firmly rooted in existing state and federal organics standards and procedures.  Its goal is to “assure consumers” that certified OCal products “meet a consistent standard comparable to standards met by products sold, labeled, or represented as organic.”
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Continue Reading California Breaks New Ground With OCal: Answers to Key Questions About “Comparable-to-Organic” Cannabis

This article is the second part of a two-part article which provides an overview of Texas cannabis-related legislation and regulations affecting Texas cannabis operators and consumers.  Part I[1] covered the State’s regulations for limited medical cannabis use and consumption. In this article, we will discuss the State’s hemp program for both consumable and non-consumable products.…
Continue Reading Hemp Revisited: Beyond Medical Use, Texas Cautiously Legalizes Consumable and Non-Consumable Hemp Products

*This post originally appeared as an article in the August 2020 edition of Happi Magazine.

Beauty companies, including those using CBD or hemp-derived components, face an uptick in alleged false-labeling class actions. Whether the actions are justified or vexatious, one thing is certain: they are expensive to defend. By keeping the following labeling-related litigation trends in mind when considering and reviewing product labels and marketing, beauty companies can, hopefully, avoid becoming a litigation target.…
Continue Reading No Reason to Blush

This post originally appeared as an article in Cannabis Business Executive on December 5, 2019.

A cannabis product business is no simple venture. Cannabusinesses have to innovate to remain…
Continue Reading Intellectual Property in the Cannabis Industry – Protecting Innovations And Products, Part I (Trade Secrets)

As we have long expected, the plaintiff’s bar has focused its attention on the growing CBD product sector. A series of recently filed lawsuits signal that it is more important than ever for participants in the CBD market to know where their product is coming from and to document their testing and labeling methodologies.…
Continue Reading CBD Unfair Competition and False Advertising Lawsuits Are On The Rise

Last week, in what may be the first of its kind, a putative class of Massachusetts consumers filed a false labeling class action complaint against Global Widget LLC, d/b/a Hemp Bombs (“Hemp Bombs”) (Ahumada v. Global Widget LLC, D. Mass. Case No. 1:19-cv-12005), challenging the labeling of numerous Hemp Bombs products, including gummies, lollipops, capsules, syrup, vape and pet products.…
Continue Reading CBD Industry Beware: The False Labeling Class Action Has Arrived

While the legal landscape continues to evolve in the cannabis industry, making entry into the space a potentially risky proposition,  the passage of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (the “Farm Bill”) can be a real game changer in attracting mainstream companies to the industry.…
Continue Reading The Farm Bill’s Impact on Hemp and CBD – and How Some States are Reacting