Cannabis Guide for the USA & Canada January 2021 Cannabis Guide for the USA & Canada TABLE OF CONTENTS Message from the Steering Committee .............................................................................. 3 About Meritas ........................................................................................................................... 4 USA United States (Federal) Overview .........5 Minnesota................................................ 71 American Indian and Missouri .................................................... 73 Alaska Native Tribes ................................7 Nevada .................................................... 77 Arizona ..................................................... 12 New Hampshire ..................................... 82 Arkansas .................................................. 17 New Jersey .............................................. 85 California ................................................. 20 New Mexico ............................................ 90 Colorado ................................................. 23 New York ................................................. 94 Delaware ................................................. 27 North Carolina ........................................ 99 Washington, D.C. ................................... 32 Oklahoma.............................................. 103 Florida ...................................................... 34 Oregon ................................................... 109 Georgia ................................................... 37 Pennsylvania ......................................... 113 Illinois ....................................................... 40 Rhode Island ........................................ 117 Indiana ..................................................... 47 South Carolina ...................................... 120 Iowa .......................................................... 49 South Dakota ........................................ 123 Kansas ...................................................... 52 Tennessee.............................................. 127 Kentucky ................................................... 55 Texas ...................................................... 130 Maryland ................................................. 58 Vermont .................................................. 134 Massachusetts ........................................ 62 Washington ........................................... 139 Michigan .................................................. 66 Canada Canada Overview ............................... 145 Nova Scotia ........................................... 163 Alberta ................................................... 149 Nunavut .................................................. 165 British Columbia ................................... 152 Ontario ................................................... 167 Manitoba ............................................... 154 Prince Edward Island .......................... 169 New Brunswick ..................................... 157 Quebec .................................................. 171 Newfoundland & Labrador ................ 159 Saskatchewan ....................................... 174 Northwest Territories ........................... 161 Yukon ...................................................... 177 CANNABIS GUIDE 3 Message from the Steering Committee The Meritas U.S. & Canada Cannabis Guide is a comprehensive overview of Cannabis national, local, and tribal laws affecting the cannabis, hemp, and CBD industries in the United States and Canada. It represents the hard work of dozens of experienced Guide for attorneys in the Meritas network, many of whom practice in the cannabis field on a the USA regular basis. The U.S. & Canada Cannabis Steering Committee would like to thank them for their work and invaluable input. & Canada Because the cannabis landscape is quickly changing, this guide represents a snapshot in time: unless otherwise noted, the laws are current as of January 1, 2021. The guide will be updated on a regular basis to reflect this. In the United States, cannabis remains a Schedule I drug, and therefore illegal on the federal level. However, most U.S. states have some form of medical or adult use cannabis law in place, and with a new administration we expect to see changes in the months and years to come. In Canada, the third anniversary of cannabis legalization this fall will see the start of a legislative review of the Cannabis Act and its impact on public health. This review could lead to significant policy and legislative changes to Canada’s cannabis framework. Industry participants are also watching closely to see the results of recent consultations conducted by the federal government on issues such as new pathways to market for cannabis health products. Trina Fraser Alex Malyshev Co-chair, Canada Co-chair, U.S. Brazeau Seller Law Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP Ottawa, ON, CANADA New York, NY, USA [email protected] [email protected] STEERING Glenn Burhans Jr. Michael J Gallagher Mélissa Picher Stearns Weaver Miller Luper Neidenthal & Logan BCF LLP COMMITTEE Tallahassee, FL, USA Columbus, OH, USA Québec City, QC, CANADA [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Nathan S Cross Laura Jacobsen Gil B Selinger Doerner, Saunders, Daniel & McDonald Carano LLP Fairfield and Woods, P.C. Anderson, L.L.P. Reno, NV, USA Denver, CO, USA Tulsa, OK, USA [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Guy P. Lander Jess W Vilsack Bradley M Davis Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP Nyemaster Goode Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C. New York, NY, USA Des Moines, IA, USA Chattanooga, TN, USA [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Corey B Larson Matthew F Winter Judith M Dworkin Waterfall, Economidis, Caldwell, Sacks Tierney Sacks Tierney Hanshaw & Villamana P.C. Scottsdale, AZ, USA Scottsdale, AZ, USA Tucson, AZ, USA [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] J. David Zehntbauer Lauren S Ellison Sean P O'Neill Dunn Carney LLP Tydings & Rosenberg LLP Boughton Law Corporation Portland, OR, USA Baltimore, MD, USA Vancouver, BC, CANADA [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] CANNABIS GUIDE 4 Meritas’ global alliance of independent, market-leading law firms provides About legal services to companies looking to effectively capture opportunities and Meritas solve issues anywhere in the world. Companies benefit from local knowledge, collective strength and new efficiencies when they work with Meritas law firms. The personal attention and care they experience is part of Meritas’ industry-first commitment to the utmost in quality of service and putting client priorities above all else. Founded in 1990, Meritas has member firms in 258 markets worldwide with more than 7,500 dedicated, collaborative lawyers. To locate a Meritas resource for a specific need or in a certain market, visit http://www.meritas.org or call +1-612 339-8680. CANNABIS GUIDE / USA 5 United States (Federal) Overview The United States is a party to the United Nations’ (a) Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961), (b) Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971), and (c) Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances (1988). Its obligations under the treaties are implemented through the Federal Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) of 1970,1 21 U.S.C.A. § 812(b)(1), which lists cannabis (or marihuana as it is known in the statute) on Schedule I. Therefore, the official stance of the U.S. Federal government is that the cultivation and sale of cannabis is illegal. A Schedule I controlled substance (the most restrictive category) is a drug which (a) has a high potential for abuse, (b) has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and (c) lacks safety in use under medical supervision. Thus, notwithstanding any current consensus in the medical community, as far as U.S. federal law is concerned, cannabis is no different than heroin, LSD, GHB or MDMA (but not cocaine, which has an accepted medical use, and is therefore listed on Schedule II). There is a long list of federal (and some state) penalties, including significant jail time, that attach to the cultivation, manufacture, sale, and possession of Schedule I substances and their derivatives (as well as the aiding and abetting thereof). Those penalties, as well as the limited protections afforded to cannabis due to the choice of most states to allow its medical and recreational use, are beyond the scope of this summary. Attorneys in the United States can, subject to their respective jurisdictions’ ethics rules, generally advise clients about the existence of these laws, but may not in any way assist their clients in circumventing them Traditionally, the U.S. federal government did not distinguish between low-THC “hemp” and other high-THC strains of cannabis, and therefore most products containing hemp, and all products containing CBD, were presumptively illegal under U.S. law. This began to change in 2014, with the passage of the Agricultural Act of 2014, which carved hemp out from the general definition of cannabis based on THC content, and allowed for its lawful cultivation in connection with industrial research programs. The process was completed on 1 Federal law did contain certain exceptions for categories of hemp-derived products, which is why things like hulled hemp seeds