2 ms·

pretty interesting. Would cannabis fed chicken be legal in the US?

by gwill 4y ago

eyelidlessness 4y ago
IANAL but I did work in the legal cannabis industry for several years. Emphatically “no”, or at least “you don’t want to find out.” Federal law on cannabis is clear that it’s illegal, the basis for its jurisdiction is interstate commerce. The Obama administration issued the Cole memo which deferred to states with plausible reporting of intra-state tracking seed to sale: essentially saying, states legalizing cannabis can proceed without federal intervention provided they show they’re not overtly allowing or ignoring trade of the product across state lines. The Trump administration under AG Sessions rescinded that memo, but never went further than that. (My own speculation: that wasn’t ever intended to change any outcomes, it was just virtue signaling at the federal government level.) Effectively enforcement has been about the same since then. So why not introduce cannabis to farming in the US? Chicken crosses state lines with far less scrutiny, because its regulatory default is the FDA. There’s nowhere else for disputes to go, other than court. If you introduce cannabis as a potential factor in that, you’re going to spring every legal state into legislative action just to prepare for jurisdiction questions and dispute. That’s more than half of the states, in one form or another. Most of which aren’t very enthusiastic about legalization in the first place, and already have poor track records for prioritizing sensible regulation or vendor acquisition. Make it a farming problem with this jurisdictional split, they’ll just sit on their hands or sabotage it directly. I want people to benefit from legalization of cannabis, significantly more than I ever want to consume it myself. It’s a clear win for justice and health. But my take being familiar with the landscape is… I hope no one tries to make cannabis-fed chicken happen in the US before federal laws are relaxed.

pretty interesting. Would cannabis fed chicken be legal in the US?

by gwill 4y ago

pretty interesting. Would cannabis fed chicken be legal in the US?

IANAL but I did work in the legal cannabis industry for several years. Emphatically “no”, or at least “you don’t want to find out.” Federal law on cannabis is clear that it’s illegal, the basis for its jurisdiction is interstate commerce. The Obama administration issued the Cole memo which deferred to states with plausible reporting of intra-state tracking seed to sale: essentially saying, states legalizing cannabis can proceed without federal intervention provided they show they’re not overtly allowing or ignoring trade of the product across state lines. The Trump administration under AG Sessions rescinded that memo, but never went further than that. (My own speculation: that wasn’t ever intended to change any outcomes, it was just virtue signaling at the federal government level.) Effectively enforcement has been about the same since then. So why not introduce cannabis to farming in the US? Chicken crosses state lines with far less scrutiny, because its regulatory default is the FDA. There’s nowhere else for disputes to go, other than court. If you introduce cannabis as a potential factor in that, you’re going to spring every legal state into legislative action just to prepare for jurisdiction questions and dispute. That’s more than half of the states, in one form or another. Most of which aren’t very enthusiastic about legalization in the first place, and already have poor track records for prioritizing sensible regulation or vendor acquisition. Make it a farming problem with this jurisdictional split, they’ll just sit on their hands or sabotage it directly. I want people to benefit from legalization of cannabis, significantly more than I ever want to consume it myself. It’s a clear win for justice and health. But my take being familiar with the landscape is… I hope no one tries to make cannabis-fed chicken happen in the US before federal laws are relaxed.