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 […]
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ruled that a nursing home violated an anti-discrimination provision of the state’s medical marijuana law when it rescinded an employee’s job offer.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 Department of Health Urges Caution to Avoid Reported Medical Marijuana Scams
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On April 20, 2017, the Orange County Medical Society (OCMS) Board of Directors was alerted to a scam involving medical marijuana. The scammers attempt to steal credit card information from patients. Patients are requested to provide their credit […]
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 […]
First Medical Marijuana Dispensary in Hawaii Gets Green Light From DOH
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On August 8, 2017, after waiting 17 years, Hawaii will begin dispensary sales of medical marijuana to patients. Maui Grown Therapies got the green light from the Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) to begin selling medical cannabis. I […]
How to Sign Up as a Prescribing Physician With the Compassionate Use Registry
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DEA Nixes Removing Marijuana From Its Highly Restricted Drug Classification
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On August 11, 2016, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) denied a petition to lessen federal restrictions on the use of marijuana for the fourth consecutive time. The DEA rejected petitions to remove marijuana from its most highly restricted […]
New Study Reveals Only One Long Term Effect From Smoking Marijuana
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law According to new research, long-term marijuana use may not be so bad for your health after all. A recent long-term study of nearly 1,000 New Zealanders from birth to age 38 has found that people who smoked marijuana […]
“Eight Big Things to Watch” for Marijuana Policy in 2015-From Brookings Institution
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by the Florida Bar in Health Law Marijuana policy has increasing developed through the years. Today, twenty-three states have legalized medical marijuana and four states have approved recreational marijuana, including DC. Below is a summary of The Brookings Institution article “Marijuana Policy in 2015: Eight […]
Credit Union in Colorado Granted Charter: Will Serve the Marijuana Industry
By: George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by the Florida Bar in Health Law and Shelby Root Marijuana businesses are flourishing in the four states that it is legal, including D.C., but are still finding it difficult to operate without access to a traditional banking system. In Denver, Colorado, that may all […]
After Backlash, Office of Compassionate Use Rewrites Florida’s Medical Marijuana Rules
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The devil is in the details. This is why state regulators went back to the drawing board to revamp the framework for Florida’s medical marijuana industry. On September 9, 2014, the Florida Department of Health (DOH) Office of […]
Don’t Get Burnt: Update Your Workplace Policies and Procedures to Include Medical Marijuana
This is the post excerpt.
Jeff Sessions Threatens Legalized Marijuana by Reversing Obama-Era Policy
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Legal Access to Marijuana Expands: California Legalizes Recreational Pot & Florida Legalizes Medical Marijuana
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law After looking at the red and blue map of America from the recent presidential election, it may be time to add some green. On November 9, 2016, the movement to legalize marijuana, which has been in the public […]
Florida’s First Green Bank Cuts Business Ties with Medical Marijuana Money
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Lake County, Florida Votes Unanimously to Ban Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
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Florida Harvests It’s First Legal Medical Marijuana Crop
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On July 18, 2016, Florida harvested it’s first legal marijuana crop. The new crop is being stored in multiple vacuum-packed, 441-gram bags in a freezer on the outskirts of Tallahassee. The harvest is the result of months of […]
Cancer Patients Must Provide DOH Approval for Seizures and Muscle Spasms, or May Be Unqualified for Low-THC Medical Marijuana
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