Industrial hemp has a long and rich history throughout the world. This is largely because hemp is dynamic and can evolve into products such as clothing, animal feed, building materials, bio plastics, biofuels, paper, fiber and food. Hemp seeds, or grains, are smooth and about one-eighth to one-fourth of an…
Spring 2019 has been a busy season for New Jersey’s Cannabis Industry. On May 23, 2019 the New Jersey Assembly approved proposed revisions to the Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act that would effectively expand the state’s existing Medicinal Marijuana Program. The following week the Senate passed the bill…
In May 2019 Employee Benefits Shareholder Elizabeth Manzo spoke at the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans’ Heatlhcare Management Conference on the topic of medical marijuana and how changes in state laws will impact employers and benefit funds. Kenneth Corbin wrote an overview of Elizabeth’s presentation for Employee Benefit News…
Despite the rapid growth of the cannabis industry, banks have been reluctant to provide financial services to cannabis-related businesses. Banks and other financial institutions fear that providing financial services to those in the cannabis industry could violate federal criminal laws and financial regulations such as “The Bank Secrecy Act” (“BSA”)…
UPDATE: “The much-anticipated vote, tentatively scheduled for Monday afternoon in both the General Assembly and the state Senate, was called off when it became clear there were not enough votes in the Senate to pass it.” Read full coverage at ROI-NJ.com Governor Phil Murphy, Senate President Steve Sweeney, Assembly Speaker…
Marijuana comes from plants that have hundreds of chemicals known as cannabinoids. The two most notable cannabinoids are the psychoactive Tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”) and the non-psychoactive Cannabidiol (“CBD”). Hemp, while also derived from the cannabis family, has virtually no THC present thereby causing no psychoactive effect. The Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”)…
On November 26, 2018 a Joint Committee of New Jersey lawmakers advanced a bill that would legalize recreational marijuana use in the state. Although the bill had widespread support, including from Gov. Murphy, disagreements among Senate Democrats over the percentage of state taxes on marijuana stymied the vote on the…
Under New Jersey’s Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act enacted in 2010, registered physicians may prescribe medical marijuana to qualified individuals for the treatment of certain conditions. As designed and implemented under prior state administrations, it was often hard for medical marijuana patients to qualify and difficult for cultivators to operate.…