Recent Posts in Marijuana Law in Pennsylvania Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 4-Jan-2018 The Inquirer Discusses Marijuana-Gun Laws, Interviews Attorney Sacks An overarching concept behind gun control is blocking the Constitutional right to bear arms for people who have been deemed a danger to the public, such as violent convicts. However, there is a controversial gray area where Pennsylvania’s gun ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 19-Oct-2017 Pennsylvania Cannabis Coalition Fights Halt of PA Medical Marijuana Program The Pennsylvania Cannabis Coalition (PCC) has collected a team of powerful legal minds from all around the state in order to keep the Pennsylvania medical marijuana program afloat. Andrew Sacks of Sacks Weston Diamond is joined by Cliff Levine of ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 29-Aug-2017 Medical Marijuana & Positive Effects on Crohn's Disease There are a number of chronic and debilitating illnesses that may be treated effectively with medical marijuana. In Pennsylvania, there are 17 conditions that can qualify a patient for medical marijuana use, including Crohn’s disease. These ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 21-Aug-2017 DEA Challenged to Reschedule Hemp Under current Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) regulation, marijuana-extract products, such as hemp, are considered a separate Schedule I drug from Marijuana. Schedule I drugs, including marijuana are federally outlawed, though several states ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 16-Aug-2017 Obtaining a Medical Marijuana Card in Pennsylvania In 2016, Pennsylvania passed a law that allowed patients to get a signed recommendation from their doctors that medical marijuana may mitigate the patient’s debilitating medical symptoms. Qualified patients with their physician’s ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 25-Jul-2017 Protection for Medical Marijuana Trademarks In a July 2016 decision, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office refused to register a trademarked name for a retails store that sold marijuana. The TTAB cited the reason that a trademark can be registered ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 5-Jul-2017 Sacks Weston Diamond LLC, Philadelphia. The Interview Originally published on the Cannabis Law Report. Earlier this week we spoke with Andrew Sacks of Sacks Weston Diamond LLC of Pennsylvania and asked him about the firm’s approach to the cannabis sector and some of the aims of their practice. ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 15-Jun-2017 The Importance of Compliance for Medical Marijuana Organizations As Pennsylvania is preparing to distribute permits and allow distributors and growers to begin selling their products, many applicants are preparing their applications carefully and hoping to be among those businesses that are granted licenses to ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 7-Jun-2017 PA DOH Updates Clinical Registrant Requirements in Med-Marijuana Law The Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) has recently discussed an attempt to clarify the clauses within an arguably unclear chapter about hospitals and clinical registrants in the state that can sell or dispense medical marijuana. However, this ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 29-May-2017 Does Trump's Presidency Affect Medical Marijuana? When Trump was sworn into office, many people in the marijuana industry wondered what would happen under the new administration. The marijuana industry is on track to be a $21 billion business by 2021, and a crackdown on the industry could cost the ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 4-May-2017 Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment & State Legalization of Marijuana Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment is a rider on the federal spending bill that would prohibit the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) from using congressionally allocated funds to stop the states from legalizing the possession, distribution, or cultivation of ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 11-Apr-2017 Medical Marijuana & Hemp Law Committee Meeting Dear Medical Marijuana & Hemp Law Committee Members, The committee’s first meeting will be held next Tuesday, April 18 th, from 10:00 a.m. to Noon in Philadelphia at the PBI Facility located at 100 E. Penn Square. Our meeting will be held ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 9-Mar-2017 Medical Marijuana and Hemp Committee Meeting From the Philadelphia Bar Association: Please join the committee for our first meeting. We will focus on identifying and addressing the immediate needs of the committee, establishing a calendar of events for the year, and also discussing the current ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 2-Mar-2017 Bar Associations Throughout Pennsylvania Expand with Cannabis Business Attorney Andrew Sacks of Sacks Weston Diamond, Attorney William Roark of Hamburg, Rubin, Mullin, Maxwell & Lupin, many more legal professionals, and organizations like the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp ( ATACH ) have come a ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 28-Feb-2017 PBA Medical Marijuana and Hemp Law Committee This email is being sent on behalf of the leadership of the PBA Medical Marijuana and Hemp Law Committee: Dear Medical Marijuana & Hemp Law Committee Members, Welcome! We are excited to launch this new committee and look forward to working with ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 21-Feb-2017 HB 715 Aims to De-Schedule Cannibidiol, Brought to Capitol Hill Representatives Morgan Griffith and Earl Blumenauer, of Virginia and Oregon respectively, recently brought HB 715 back before Capitol Hill. Known as the Compassionate Access Act (CAA) in most contexts, HB 715 was written in an attempt to de-schedule ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 3-Feb-2017 New Medical Marijuana and Hemp Committee to Form in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania is still writing, updating, and issuing regulations and legal statutes surrounding the medical marijuana and hemp industries. This has left lawyers throughout the state wondering what is permitted and what is considered ethically ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 15-Dec-2016 The Department of Agriculture Refuses to Allow for Hemp CBD Production On the first of December, the Department of Agriculture released guidelines for the state’s industrial hemp research program, approved just four months prior. The current guidelines stipulate that only programs that produce or use hemp fiber or ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 28-Oct-2016 PA Supreme Court Allows Lawyers to Handle Medical Marijuana Client Cases For the longest time, attorneys in Pennsylvania ran a huge risk whenever they represented a medical marijuana industry client due to legalities that could take away their license. Attorney Andrew Sacks of Sacks Weston Diamond LLC saw the ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 28-Oct-2016 Attorney Weston to Host CLE Course on Changing PA Medical Marijuana Law The approval of the Medical Marijuana Act has caused waves in Pennsylvania, prompting the Department of Health to create temporary regulations until permanent measures are implemented. Many people in the medical marijuana industry, and the lawyers ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 24-Oct-2016 Pennsylvania Doctors May Shy Away from Medical Marijuana Prescriptions Thanks to the continued efforts of groups like the American Trade Association of Cannabis and Hemp ( ATACH ), a legislator like Governor Tom Wolf, the Pennsylvania Department of Health has finally agreed to create legal medical marijuana programs to ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 7-Sep-2016 California Ruling Could Impact Pennsylvania Marijuana Law Medical marijuana legalization in Pennsylvania has taken great strides in recent months. Following a plan set forth by Governor Wolf, cultivators and dispensaries should begin legally operating within the state towards the end of 2017 or early 2018. ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 2-Sep-2016 Feds Can't Prosecute Medical Marijuana Users Who Follow State Law, Court Rules View the original article on Vice News Though medical marijuana is now legal in 25 states and Washington, DC, the drug still remains strictly banned under federal law, a contradiction that has long made even the most compliant patients, growers, and ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 29-Aug-2016 American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp's Response to Pennsylvania Department of Health's Request for Public Comment Special thanks to legal service providers for advice for ATACH’s regulatory review process: Special thanks to the following participants in the ATACH review process: § 1141.21. _ Definitions. Batch: As currently defined, ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 15-Aug-2016 Sacks Weston Diamond LLC Joins Forces with Dilworth Paxson LLP on Medical Marijuana Issues in Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA – Sacks Weston Diamond LLC has announced that it has partnered with the law firm of Dilworth Paxson LLP to help provide counsel to hospitals, medical schools and universities throughout Pennsylvania as they explore ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 28-Jul-2016 Governor Wolf Signs New Pennsylvania Hemp Law Medical marijuana has only recently been legalized in Pennsylvania, but Governor Tom Wolf is not yet finished with revising the state’s cannabis laws. In late July 2016, he signed a bill that will change Pennsylvania hemp law, allowing more ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 21-Jul-2016 MPP & DPA/ATACH to Host Receptions Attorney Andrew Sacks of Sacks Weston Diamond LLC and the Billion Dollar Lawyers Association will have an event-filled week after receiving invitations to receptions hosted by the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) and the American Trade Association for ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 16-Jun-2016 ATACH Regulatory Response Submitted What requirements should exist relating to the form and characteristics of grower/processor facilities? Grower/processor facilities should be subject to regulations that address facility security, restricted access to the licensed premises, sanitary ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 7-Jun-2016 PA Readies First Temporary Regulation for Medical Marijuana The Pennsylvania Department of Health is gearing up to release its first of a series of temporary regulations pertaining to the state’s new medical marijuana program. Secretary of Health Karen Murphy announced on June 1 st, 2016 that the first ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 2-Jun-2016 Rules Clarified for Medical Marijuana Attorneys in PA As previously covered on our blog (for example here and here ), Andrew Sacks has been working for months with the Philadelphia Bar Association to clarify the rules for lawyers in light of the recent legalization of medical marijuana in Pennsylvania. ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 1-Jun-2016 The Lupus Foundation of America Supports Research for Medical Marijuana After months of effort, The Lupus Foundation of America will now support further reseach on the use of medical marijuana for treating and relieving symptoms caused by lupus. Attorney Andrew Sacks, of Sacks Weston Diamond, LLC campaigned for this ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 3-May-2016 Disciplinary Board Suggests Changes to PA Rule of Professional Conduct The Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is considering recommending to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that it amend the Pennsylvania Rule of Professional Conduct (PA RPC) regarding the ethics of providing legal counsel for ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 17-Apr-2016 Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Bill Signed into Law We are pleased to announce that Governor Tom Wolf today signed Pennsylvania's medical marijuana bill into law, making cannabis available for medicinal use in the Keystone State! Andrew Sacks with Governor Tom Wolf at today's signing ceremony ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 13-Apr-2016 Medical Marijuana Bill Passed by Pennsylvania Senate, Moves to House On April 12 th, 2016, the Pennsylvania Senate passed medical marijuana legislation in a landslide vote of 42 to 7. The bill, which has seen numerous revisions and opposition from high-ranking Republican officials since its inception, has recently ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 16-Mar-2016 PA House of Representatives Passes Medical Marijuana Bill The Pennsylvania House of Representatives recently passed Senate Bill 3, to legalize medical marijuana, with a vote of 149-43, approving the bill with amendments introduced by Senator Daylin Leach. To read the full text of the bill, with Senator ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 28-Jan-2016 Pennsylvania Medical Society Comments on Cannabis Research The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has decided to relax government regulations and requirements on cannabis-related research, which should permit more groups to conduct even more studies and experiments on the controversial medicinal ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 18-Nov-2015 Explore the Impact the Proposed Medical Cannabis Act Could Have on Pennsylvania Earlier this year the Pennsylvania Senate passed the Medical Cannabis Act. Today, that legislation remains in the House of Representatives where the specifics continue to be debated and negotiated. With a final vote on the Bill possible in the coming ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 16-Oct-2015 Pennsylvania Bar Recommendation & Report on Working with Medical Marijuana Industry Earlier this year, Andrew Sacks requested an advisory opinion from the Philadelphia Bar Association concerning the ethics of working with businesses in the medical marijuana industry, as covered earlier on our blog. The bar has released their ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 5-Oct-2015 Bipartisan Workgroup Addressed Medical Marijuana Legislation The issues surrounding Pennsylvania State’s stance on medical marijuana law have been growing for quite some time now. In an attempt to better understand what is going and what needs to be done next, a bipartisan workgroup has been assembled. ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 14-Sep-2015 Andrew Sacks: A Leader in Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Law *This post was first published in 2015 and is continuously updated. In September of 2015, the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp (ATACH) made an announcement concerning their efforts to persuade the legislature in Pennsylvania to update ... Continue Reading Posted By Sacks Weston Diamond LLC 21-Jul-2015 Overview of Pennsylvania's Marijuana Laws The State of Pennsylvania is currently juggling whether or not medical marijuana should be allowed to treat patients suffering from chronic medical conditions. The new bills that are under scrutiny could potentially allow dispensaries to both grow ... Continue Reading