Controlled Substances and Regulatory Law

The Firm filed a pro-bono amicus curiae brief in the United States Supreme Court in the matter of Washington v. Barr, on behalf of several non-profit organizations representing former national and international professional athletes in support of a constitutional challenge to the federal government’s continued refusal to remove marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, even though millions of Americans use marijuana on a regular basis to manage debilitating health conditions in accordance with State, territorial, and local laws. Unfortunately, with the passing of Justice Ginsberg, petitioners were unable to secure the four votes necessary to secure review.

In recent years, efforts to decriminalize and legalize the use of psilocybin (colloquially known as “hallucinogenic mushrooms”) for medical, recreational, and scientific purposes has been advancing rapidly. In the State of New Jersey, the potential passage of the “Psilocybin Behavioral Health Access and Services Act” (the “Psilocybin Behavioral Act”), introduced by Senate President, Nick Scutari in June of 2022 would see such legalization and sale of hallucinogenic mushrooms in New Jersey businesses and medical facilities, similar to the State’s recent success in recreational cannabis facilities.  If passed, the Psilocybin Behavioral Act would authorize the production of psilocybin for therapeutic use under a controlled environment, and decriminalize and expunge past convictions for certain psilocybin related conduct, including possession.

Although the Psilocybin Behavioral Act posits itself as mental health, rather than revenue generation for the State, it does take some inspiration from the current Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization (“CREAMM”) Act. Specifically, applicants will be eligible to pursue four different types of licenses, including, a psilocybin product manufacturer, psilocybin service center operator, psilocybin testing laboratory, and psilocybin service facilitator, as well as a psilocybin worker permit.

Further supporting that effort, Firm attorneys served as the principal authors of a pro-bono amicus curiae brief filed on behalf of NORML in support of Petitioners in Dr. Sunil Aggarwal, MD, PhD; Advanced Integrative Medical Science Institute, PLLC v. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; Anne Milgram in Her Official Capacity as Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; and Merrick Garland in His Official Capacity as Attorney General, No. 22-178, in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  The brief cautions the federal government against allowing history to repeat itself, providing an historical account of NORML’s efforts to decriminalize cannabis for medicinal purposes for the past half-century and the never-ending efforts of the federal government to delay, resist, and obstruct the progress of science and medicine.  While the federal government is unlikely to learn any lessons from the past, NORML hopes that this Court will acknowledge and heed the legal and procedural lessons learned from those past administrative petition litigations so that innocent dying patients – who are the true victims of the government’s misbehavior – are not denied readily available medicine.

The firm also has been covered by numerous media outlets and published regularly on the topic.

Publications:

• SCOTUS Confronted With Racist and Discriminatory History of Cannabis Criminalization
• Easy Route Available for Resolving Medical Marijuana Facility Delays
• Attorneys Joshua S. Bauchner and Rahool Patel discuss workplace drug testing in IndustryWeek.
• Staying Ahead of New Cannabis Laws
• Managing Medical Marijuana in the Workplace
• Despite possible legalization in N.J., medical marijuana should be expanded, protected
• Where the Gibson Taxpayers Went Wrong – Law360
• With the Election of Gov. Murphy, NJ is on the Path to Legalization – Freedom Leaf Magazine
• Client Alert: New Jersey accepting applications for up to six new, vertically integrated, medical marijuana facilities.
• Client Alert: New Jersey Introduces two new cannabis bills
• How NY And NJ Medical Cannabis Regulations Are Evolving – Law360
• New York’s Proposed Expansion Of Medical Marijuana Regulations – MJNews
• Trump and Sessions Need to Take a Deep Breath (and Perhaps Inhale) When It Comes to Pot Regulations – High Times
• Colorado Indicates Cannabis is no Substitute for Alcohol – High Times
• Cannabis Regulation in Nevada: A Guide for Potential Entrants into the Marketplace – High Times