Florida Department of Health Claims Orchid Nursery Has No Constitutional Protection In Pot Licenses
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On August 27, 2020, the Florida Department of Health (DOH) argued to the United States Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals that a Florida nursery can’t claim the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects its right to marijuana […]
Florida DOH Issues Emergency Rules for Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Effective December 10, 2019, emergency rules for the regulation of medical marijuana treatment centers (MMTCs) were issued by the Florida Department of Health (DOH). Also issued were notices of proposed rules to provide further regulation for background screening […]
Judge Says New Mexico School Didn’t Discriminate by Prohibiting Medical Marijuana Treatment on Campus
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On August 9, 2019, a judge dismissed the claims of parents who said a New Mexico public school discriminated against their epileptic daughter by prohibiting her from using medical marijuana on school grounds. The judge granted a motion […]
Florida Appeals Court Says Medical Marijuana Statute Unconstitutional
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On July 9, 2019, a Florida appellate court ruled that the Florida Legislature’s approach to regulating medical marijuana is unconstitutional. If the ruling stands, it would require state health officials to begin registering medical-marijuana firms to do business […]
Florida House Passes Bill to End the Smoking Ban on Medical Marijuana
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On March 13, 2019, two days before Gov. DeSantis’ deadline to end Florida’s smoking ban on medical marijuana, the House finally passed the legislation. Florida lawmakers affirmed the right of patients to smoke medical marijuana. The vote was 101 to 11 […]
Court Says Walmart’s Firing Violated Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Law
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On March 22, 2019, the U.S. District Court in Arizona granted summary judgment on anti-discrimination claims in favor of the plaintiff former employee and against Walmart under Arizona’s medical marijuana statute. The plaintiff, a former employee of Walmart, […]
Florida Governor Officially Legalizes Smoking Medical Marijuana
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On March 18, 2019, Gov. Ron DeSantis officially signed a bill into law allowing the use of smokable medical marijuana by eligible patients. The governor’s signature on legislative bill SB 182, “Medical Use of Marijuana,” was the first […]
Florida House Passes Bill to Allow Smoking Medical Marijuana
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On March 13, 2019, two days before Gov. DeSantis’ deadline to pass a bill repealing Florida’s ban on smoking medical marijuana, the House finally passed the legislation. Florida lawmakers affirmed the right of patients to smoke medical marijuana. […]
Florida DOH Challenges Ruling to Eliminate Cap on Medical Pot Dispensaries
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On February 15, 2019, the Florida Department of Health (DOH) appealed a circuit judge’s ruling on a law that capped the number of medical marijuana licenses and dispensaries in the state. Attorneys for the DOH filed a notice […]
Federal Court in Connecticut Rules Workers Can’t Be Denied Jobs for Medical Marijuana Use
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On December 7, 2018, a federal judge in Connecticut ruled that a nursing home violated an anti-discrimination provision of the state’s medical marijuana law when it rescinded an employee’s job offer. It’s the latest in a series of […]
Florida Governor: Crush Out Pot Smoking Ban
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On January 17, 2019, new Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that the Florida State Legislature should end its losing efforts to keep in place a ban on smoking medical pot or he will end the state’s defense of […]
Colorado Jury Rules in Favor of Marijuana Grow Business in Federal RICO Lawsuit
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On November 14, 2018, a federal jury in Denver rejected claims involving the odor that was allegedly coming from a pot farm. This was a case that was being closely watched by the marijuana industry. The marijuana business […]
Colorado Federal Lawsuit Could Have Far Reaching Effects on US Marijuana Industry
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On October 30, 2018, a federal trial in Colorado could have far-reaching effects on the United States’ marijuana industry if a jury sides with a couple who say having a cannabis business as a neighbor hurts their property’s […]
Florida’s Medical Marijuana Once Again Threatened by Unnecessary Legal Setbacks
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The resignation of Florida’s medical marijuana chief on August 17, 2018, and a series of recent court losses, has once again threatened the state’s efforts for controlled legalization of marijuana. On August 2, 2018, a Tallahassee judge struck […]
Florida Appeals Court Rules Smoking Medical Marijuana Not Allowed During the Legal Process
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On July 3, 2018, the First District Court of Appeal reinstated an automatic stay on the lower court’s decision that an existing medical marijuana smoking ban is unconstitutional. The lower court ruled that smoking marijuana is an acceptable […]
Failed Medical Marijuana Applicant’s Appeal Goes Up in Smoke Thanks to Pennsylvania Court
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On April 20, 2018, a Pennsylvania court agreed that a company that lost out on a potentially profitable cannabis dispensary permit needed to exhaust administrative remedies before it could file suit. The suit would challenge the constitutionality of […]
Florida’s First Green Bank Cuts Business Ties with Medical Marijuana Money
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What You Should Know Before Dabbing Into the Risks of Marijuana-Related Mergers and Acquisitions
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law As public support grows for the legalization of marijuana in the U.S. and Canada, mergers and acquisitions lawyers should be studying up now on the ins and outs of cannabis compliance. In the U.S., there are 29 states, […]
Federal Judge Dismisses Former NFL Player’s Marijuana Decriminalization Suit
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On February 26, 2018, a New York federal judge dismissed a former NFL star’s suit demanding decriminalization of medical marijuana. U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein said the Second Circuit has already determined that Congress had a rational […]
Denver Coffee Shop May Become First Business to Allow Social Marijuana Use
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On December 12, 2017, the first application to allow social marijuana use in a business has landed in Colorado. This first application seeks to allow vaping and use of edibles southwest of downtown. Denver is the first in […]
Jeff Sessions Threatens Legalized Marijuana by Reversing Obama-Era Policy
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