A settlement in NY’s most-watched lawsuit • In Australia, feedback rolls in on adult use bill • Spotted: USDA reminds employees that cannabis is illegal • & more …

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For months in this newsletter, we have been closely following a lawsuit that stalled the rollout of early retail licenses to justice-involved applicants, known as Conditional Adult Use Retail Dispensary, or CAURD, licensees. (For a quick catch-up on conversations in New York around this lawsuit, check out Cannabis Wire’s coverage here, here, and here.)

Now, after months of disruption, a resolution is in sight. 

The lawyer for the plaintiffs in the suit wrote to the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court yesterday: 

“I write on behalf of all parties to provide a status update. The parties have reached an agreement in principle to settle this matter and have so informed Supreme Court (which has not yet issued a decision on the pending summary judgment motions). Finalization of any settlement is contingent on the drafting and execution of a formal settlement agreement acceptable to all parties, approval of the settlement by the defendant-respondent New York Cannabis Control Board, and the settlement agreement being so ordered by Supreme Court.”

What, exactly, the settlement entails — in other words, what it means for CAURD licensees who have not yet been able to open their doors — remains to be seen.

Until early this month, the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee of Australia’s Parliament has been collecting public comment regarding the Legalising Cannabis Bill 2023.

With submissions now closed, a total of 25 comments came in, ranging from the Australian Medical Association (opposed) to the Department of Home Affairs (no position, but a list of three “concerns”).

You can check them out here. 

The Committee’s report on the bill is due by May 31, 2024.

Cannabis Wire recently spotted a notice published late last month out of the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, which went largely under the radar.

The notice “reminds all FSIS employees that, as Federal employees, they are required to follow all Federal laws regarding the use of illegal drugs, including cannabis, also commonly known as marijuana.”

Some of the language in the “background” portion of the notice is noteworthy.

“Over the last decade, societal perspectives have undergone significant changes with respect to the use of certain drugs, especially for cannabis and cannabis products,” it reads. 

It later continues: “As societal perspectives and state laws have changed, the number of products containing cannabis and their availability has expanded rapidly. FSIS employees may find themselves in social situations or attending celebrations where cannabis products are present.”

However, it warns that “using Cannabidiol (CBD) oils and cannabis-derived products comes with a risk of a positive urine drug test, even when product labels state that they contain no THC. In fact, there has been a noticeable uptick in cases of Federal employees failing drug tests throughout the United States.”