McDermott Will & Emery
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By McDermott Will & Emery on Apr 30, 2020
Posted In Uncategorized
We greatly appreciate our readers over the past year and are pleased to share that we were once again recognized for our food and beverage thought leadership in the 2020 JD Supra Readers’ Choice Awards, which acknowledge top authors and firms for their thought leadership in key topics during all of last year. Through our...
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USDA Gathers Stakeholder Input on Hemp Production
By McDermott Will & Emery on Mar 22, 2019
Posted In Cannabis
The Agricultural Act of 2018, better known as the 2018 Farm Bill, authorizes the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to approve plans submitted by states, territories and Native American tribes for the commercial production of hemp. Under the 2018 Farm Bill, “hemp” is the cannabis plant and any part of that plant, including the seeds...
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Bioengineered Food Disclosures
By McDermott Will & Emery on Nov 27, 2018
Posted In Food Safety and FDA, General Interest, Legislation
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposed a new regulation that would require food manufacturers to disclose information about bioengineered (BE) food and BE food ingredients. The proposed rule is the result of a 2016 law that required the USDA to establish a National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard for all food. For...
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DEA Schedules a FDA-Approved CBD Drug
By McDermott Will & Emery on Oct 5, 2018
Posted In Cannabis, Food Safety and FDA, General Interest
As beverage manufacturers mull the creation and distribution of cannabidiol (CBD)-infused products, the US Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) recent actions regarding an approved CBD drug merit exploration. CBD is one of many chemicals in the cannabis plant, and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stated that CBD does not produce the same euphoric...
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Alcohol, Cannabis and State Driving Laws
By McDermott Will & Emery on Aug 1, 2018
Posted In Cannabis, General Interest, Legislation
As more states legalize the recreational use of marijuana, beer servers will undoubtedly face situations in which a patron is too impaired to drive due to the consumption of both cannabis and alcohol. State laws do not provide a crosswalk of breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) limits and nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml) of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in...
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23rd Annual Wine, Beer & Spirits Law Conference
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jul 19, 2018
Posted In General Interest
On October 4-5, CLE International will host the 23rd Annual Wine, Beer & Spirits Law Conference in Chicago, Illinois. Those attending will include the alcohol beverage industry’s leading practitioners, including in-house counsel for producers, distributors and retailers, as well as industry attorneys, and federal and state regulators. Conference topics include: Updates on TTB developments and...
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President Trump Commits to Protect Colorado’s Legal Marijuana Industry
By Benjamin O. Kostrzewa and McDermott Will & Emery on Apr 17, 2018
Posted In Cannabis, General Interest, Legislation
On Friday, April 13th, Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) announced that President Trump assured him that the Department of Justice’s decision to rescind the Obama-era guidance on marijuana enforcement would not affect Colorado’s legal marijuana industry. President Trump also promised Senator Gardner that he would support a federal legislative fix that takes into account state decisions...
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FDA Releases Draft Guidance on Public Warnings and Notifications of Recalls
By McDermott Will & Emery and Christopher M. Lahiff on Jan 23, 2018
Posted In Distribution, Food Safety and FDA, General Interest
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a draft guidance on the agency’s voluntary recall process and announced the agency’s intention to notify the public faster when a product is recalled. The guidance aims to assist and provide recommendations to industry and FDA staff regarding the use, content and circumstances for issuance of public...
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Cannabis Chaos: Justice Department Revokes Obama-Era Guidance on Marijuana Enforcement
By McDermott Will & Emery and Benjamin O. Kostrzewa on Jan 4, 2018
Posted In Cannabis, General Interest, Legislation
Today, Attorney General Jefferson B. Sessions announced, in a memorandum to all US Attorneys, the immediate revocation of five Obama Administration policies on federal marijuana enforcement, including Guidance Regarding the Ogden Memo in Jurisdictions Seeking to Authorize Marijuana for Medical Use, Guidance Regarding Marijuana Enforcement and Guidance Regarding Marijuana Related Financial Crimes. These three Obama-era guidance...
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The Intersection of Spirits and Marijuana
By Marc Sorini and McDermott Will & Emery on Dec 15, 2017
Posted In Advertising and Marketing, Cannabis, Food Safety and FDA, General Interest, Legislation, TTB COLAs and Formulas
In the past three years, TTB has approved an increasing number of certificate of label approvals (“COLA”) for hemp-flavored vodka, from Mill Six’s hemp, white tea and ginger flavored vodka to Olde Imperial Mystic’s hemp infused vodka. Distillers have designed labels with green smoke-like images and psychedelic sixties-style lettering to hint at their cultural connection...
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