PsychedeLinks is a curated selection of top news stories impacting business, research, and culture in the psychedelics ecosystem, crafted by Emerge Law Group’s groundbreaking Psychedelics Group.  Emerge’s Hot Take Psilocybin Center is Putting Albany on the Map Albany’s first psilocybin service center, Inner Guidance, opened at the end of June. Less than 3 months later, the owner’s office manager (also her daughter) is working to schedule a waitlist of over 100 people. While many of their clients thus far have been out of towners, the mother-daughter team hope to serve more loc ..read more

CannaBeat is a curated biweekly selection of top news stories impacting business, research, and culture in the cannabis industry, crafted by Emerge Law Group. Emerge’s Hot Take Unlocking Change: HHS Recommends Rescheduling Cannabis to Schedule III On August 29, 2023, Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) recommended the rescheduling of cannabis from its current Schedule I classification to Schedule III. To date, cannabis has been (mis)classified as a Schedule I substance, categorized as having “no currently accepted medical use in the United States, a lack of accepted safety for use ..read more

Author: Delia Rojas, Attorney In a landmark legislative move, the California State Senate granted final approval for Senate Bill 58, introduced by Senator Scott Wiener for a policy that he has supported and advocated for numerous years. If ratified into law by Governor Gavin Newsom, the bill will significantly alter California’s legal landscape concerning the non-commercial personal possession, cultivation, and use of specific naturally occurring psychedelics, including psilocybin/psilocyn (mushrooms), Mescaline, and DMT for adults aged 21 and older. The bill lists the “allowable amounts” of p ..read more

Author: Leticia Maskell, Emerge Law Clerk News broke last week that U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) sent a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recommending the reclassification of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III on the DEA’s list of controlled substances. Examples of drugs currently in Schedule III include ketamine, Tylenol with codeine, and anabolic steroids.  Whereas Schedule I covers drugs with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse, such as heroine. The Good The announcement sparked considerable excitement in the industry for good reason ..read more

PsychedeLinks is a curated selection of top news stories impacting business, research, and culture in the psychedelics ecosystem, crafted by Emerge Law Group’s groundbreaking Psychedelics Group.  Emerge’s Hot Take DEA Says Instead of Doing Drugs You Should Spend More Time on Instagram and Playing Video Games for a ‘Natural High’ The DEA has a few new suggestions for activities that teens should turn to as an alternative for drugs. In a post on its teen-focused “Just Think Twice” site, the DEA “[explores] 7 activities to get a natural high that doesn’t involve drugs.” Many of t ..read more

CannaBeat is a curated biweekly selection of top news stories impacting business, research, and culture in the cannabis industry, crafted by Emerge Law Group. Emerge’s Hot Take New York Judge Blocks Retail Licensing: A Major Setback to State’s Fledgling Program Launching a cannabis market has not been easy for any state, and New York is no exception. On August 18, 2023, New York Justice Bryant issued a Decision & Order granting in part a motion for a preliminary injunction to halt the Conditional Adult Use Retail Dispensary (“CAURD”) program. The CAURD program is available only to people w ..read more

PsychedeLinks is a curated selection of top news stories impacting business, research, and culture in the psychedelics ecosystem, crafted by Emerge Law Group’s groundbreaking Psychedelics Group.  Emerge’s Hot Take First-Ever Professional Guidelines for Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Practitioners Now Published by APPA and BrainFutures Earlier this month, the American Psychedelic Practitioners Association (APPA), in collaboration with BrainFutures, released the first set of professional practice guidelines for psychedelic-assisted therapy. The 12-point guidelines, laid out in a 4 ..read more

Authors: Jay Purcell, Shareholder; Kaci Hohmann, Attorney; Blake Marvis, Attorney; Leticia Maskell, Law Clerk Summary. On July 31, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) published a proposed rule ((88 FR § 49364, entitled “Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials”) (the “Proposed Rule”)) focusing on businesses that self-publish reviews of their own products and services. Many businesses include reviews on their own websites, use testimonials in advertisements, and host reviews of other companies’ products. The Proposed Rule  is aimed at advertisements and ..read more

CannaBeat is a curated biweekly selection of top news stories impacting business, research, and culture in the cannabis industry, crafted by Emerge Law Group. Emerge’s Hot Take Former FDA Regulator Predicts Cannabis Rescheduling This Year As Congress and stakeholders continue to debate and negotiate the language of the SAFE Banking Act (See Article HERE), the Biden Administration is working to understand the cannabis plant and industry a bit more (See October 6, 2022 Announcement HERE). Since the October 2022 request by the Administration, numerous states have submitted information about their ..read more

Author: Alex Berger, Attorney at Emerge Law Group On the heels of the new retailer tax compliance certificate requirement, OLCC has quietly added more cannabis license application requirements and resurrected some old ones.  Given the current moratorium on new license applications, the requirements apply only to change of ownership, location, and some alteration applications, as applicable.  See a rundown of items which OLCC now requires: Producer Water Use Form – Applicable for producers only, a completed version of this form must be provided to and approved by the applicant’s regi ..read more