A recent Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals opinion on vaping sheds light on why federal cannabis legalization must be accompanied by a sensible regulatory framework that is administered and enforced by the right agency.
The court’s opinion in Wages and White Lion Investment LLC v. Food and Drug Administration excoriates the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its handling of flavored e-cigarettes and underscores the dangers to the public and industry that result from ideological, rather than logical, regulation.
The threat of not plotting out a viable federal regulatory landscape—we know the feds already have their eye on this space—is worrisome for all cannabis businesses and consumers, and particularly the vape sector, which now makes up nearly 25 percent of the market. And the need to set the cannabis industry on a sensible federal regulatory path has only grown more urgent in light of the recent Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommendation to move marijuana to Schedule III, a move that increases the likelihood of new federal oversight.
Hellbound and Down 