Welcome back to Higher Law, our weekly briefing on all things cannabis. I'm Cheryl Miller, reporting for Law.com from Sacramento, where the CBD stocking stuffer pitches are already hitting my inbox. Stop. It's not even Thanksgiving.

This week we're looking at:

• The marijuana-and-the-workplace lawsuit targeting Amazon • Marijuana politics surrounding a deputy's death in rural California • Reed Smith's cannabis contract work for Drake • Potential earlier-than-expected recreational sales in Michigan • Nov. 19: ALM webinar: Cannabis in the workplace

Thanks as always for reading. What's keeping you busy these days? Have any tips or feedback? Drop me a line at [email protected]. Or call me at 916.448.2935. Follow me on Twitter @capitalaccounts.

Amazon Faces Medical Marijuana Suit

The conundrum that is medical marijuana in the workplace has surfaced–again–in New Jersey.

A former warehouse worker has sued Amazon, alleging that the retail giant illegally fired him after he tested positive for marijuana, my colleague Charles Toutant reports. The plaintiff, identified in court filings only as D.J.C., said a doctor had prescribed him medical marijuana to treat anxiety and a panic disorder.

D.J.C.'s suit was moved late last week from state court to the U.S. District Court for New Jersey, where he is alleging both state and federal claims, including violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Amazon is represented by Morgan, Lewis & Bockius partner August Heckman III, who did not respond to a New Jersey Law Journal call seeking comment.

New Jersey legislation signed into law in July prohibits employers from firing workers solely because they are medical marijuana users.

"For any employer to have a blanket prohibition on their employees using medical cannabis, I think that is going to be flatly illegal, based on the statute," said D.J.C.'s attorney, Walter Dana Venneman of Gill & Chamas.

Meanwhile, the New Jersey Supreme Court is poised to hear a similar medical marijuana case, Wild v. Carriage Funeral Holdings. Former funeral home employee Justin Wild alleges that he was improperly fired after testing positive for medical marijuana he used at home. The funeral home says Wild violated company policy requiring employees to alert their supervisors about medication that may impact their job duties.

New Jersey is one of a dozen states that offer some workplace protections for medical marijuana users. Staying in compliance with those varying laws while at the same time dealing with federal regulations and the realities of employers who need to find workers is keeping employment lawyers busy.

"As states continue to legalize marijuana use, what type of facts or evidence constitutes proof of marijuana impairment will be a key concern and ripe for litigation," Seyfarth Shaw's Rhandi Anderson and Frederick Smith wrote in August. "For many companies, regardless of the ultimate outcome, the prospect of litigating such issues (and retaining expensive experts) is a "loss."

>> I'll be co-hosting an ALM webinar—with Patricia Harman, editor in chief of ALM's Claims magazine and a contributing editor to PropertyCasualty360.com—on some of these issues next week. "Cannabis in the Workplace: Workers' Comp and Employee Use" will feature Sedgwick senior medical officer Dr. Teresa Bartlett and Alex Malyshev, co-chair of Carter Ledyard & Milburn's cannabis, hemp & CBD industry group. Check it out, if you can.

 SPONSORED BY ALM

Thought Leader in Emergent Opportunities Added to Legalweek Keynote Lineup

With a gift of clearly explaining complex—and confusing—technologies, Blockchain researcher Bettina Warburg (Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Warburg Serres Investments and Animal Ventures) joins the keynote line up at Legalweek New York. READ MORE

Legalization a 'Guise' for Illegal Grows, Sacramento U.S. Attorney Contends

A Northern California sheriff's deputy was shot and killed Oct. 23 after responding to a call about marijuana theft at a private grow site in rural El Dorado County. Four men have been arrested and charged in connection with the shooting of Deputy Brian Ishmael, who left behind a wife and three children.

Last Friday, McGregor Scott (above), the U.S. attorney for California's Eastern District announced that a grand jury had indicted the four men on additional charges of marijuana cultivation. The grow was illegal, although the initial 911 call to authorities did not specify that.

Scott told reporters at a press conference that after California voters approved recreational-use marijuana with Proposition 64 in 2016, illegal growers are increasingly moving from hidden sites in the mountains to more open farms, where they claim to be legal operators or at least don't draw the suspicion they may have in the past.

"Under the guise of legalization, they've figured out that they don't have to worry about [hiding] anymore," Scott said.

I later asked the US. attorney if he would have prosecuted the El Dorado County growers if they were licensed by the state. He declined to answer, citing a policy against addressing hypothetical situations.

The case is a microcosm of all the issues surrounding legalized marijuana in California, and probably many other places. Proposition 64 passed overwhelmingly, but many conservative parts of the state rejected it. In El Dorado County, the measure lost by 123 votes.

California's black market continues to thrive. Law enforcement agencies this year have seized almost one million illegally grown plants. Legalization supporters say that points to the need for more licensed cultivation and retail sites, even though cities and counties across the state are rejecting them.

Scott, who ultimately has the authority to pursue marijuana charges under federal law, says the booming underground market puts the lie to advocates' promises of a robust regulatory scheme in California.

Who Got the Work

• As you may have heard, Drake is the latest celebrity to jump into the cannabis business. The singer, actor and Toronto Raptors mega-fan inked a deal with Canopy Growth Corp. to launch the cannabis-producing More Life Growth Co. Drake, aka Toronto-native Aubrey Drake Graham, holds a 60 percent ownership stake in More Life Growth. Reed Smith represented Drake in the transaction. Cassels Brock & Blackwell acted as legal counsel for Canopy Growth.

• Kelly Spicher, a veteran attorney at Foley & Lardner's San Diego office, has joined Innovative Industrial Properties as senior real estate counsel. Spicher has worked as outside counsel for IIP for three years. The company owns and leases out properties for cannabis operations.

• Toronto-based Borden Ladner Gervais is advising Westleaf Inc. in its merger with indoor cannabis producer We Grow BC Ltd. We Grow stock owners will receive 4.264 Westleaf shares for every We Grow share they own. No valuation was assigned to the transaction. McCarthy Tétrault is advising We Grow

In the Weeds…

>> Neil Young says his pot use may block him from becoming an American. The Canadian-born songwriter (above) says his citizenship application is being held up because he truthfully answered questions about using marijuana. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services wouldn't comment on Young's case but guidance issued by the agency in April said a naturalization applicant who violates federal drug laws could be found to lack the required "good moral character." [CNN]

>> Cannabis stocks are falling. "Investors in cannabis companies are finding their money is going up in smoke this week after a round of disappointing earnings reports," The Wall Street Journal reported today. [WSJ]

>> Michigan adult-use sales could start sooner than expected. The state's Marijuana Regulatory Agency told medical marijuana businesses that they can transfer 50 percent of their inventory to the recreational market beginning Dec. 1 as long as they've obtained a recreational license. The inventory shift only applies to products that have been on the shelf for 30 days or more, a requirement meant to keep an adequate supply for medical sales. Forty-one medical marijuana businesses have been pre-qualified to receive recreational licenses, [Detroit Free Press]

>> Tiny Rhode Island is drawing big-name marijuana investors. Thomas Ryan, the former CEO of CVS Health, is one. Former gubernatorial candidate James Benett is another. They and others are part of an investment group affiliated with the THC-extraction company Can Well. "The people we brought together are Rhode Island people," said investor Stephen Harrington. They understand this is a growth industry and they are committed to a best-practices approach." [Providence Journal]

>> Could marijuana legalization highlight a lame-duck session in New Jersey? A bill to legalize pot in the Garden State was pulled in March when it failed to garner enough support in the state Senate. Political watchers now suggest the legislature may vote to decriminalize possessing small amounts of marijuana in the upcoming session while letting voters in November 2020 decide whether to legalize. [The Philadelphia Inquirer]

>> Chicago's Housing Authority says no to legal marijuana. Though recreational use marijuana is about to become legal in Illinois, the housing authority told public housing residents this week that smoking or possessing pot on its federally funded properties could be grounds for eviction. The reason? The federal government still classifies marijuana as an illegal drug. [NPR]

Calendar Things: Save the Dates

Nov. 15-16: The State of Cannabis conference takes place in Long Beach, California. Scheduled speakers include Cat Packer, executive director of the city of Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulation; Lori Ajax (above), chief of the California Bureau of Cannabis Control; and Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer.

Nov. 18: Public comments are due on the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment's potential listing of THC and marijuana smoke as developmental and reproductive toxins under the state's Proposition 65 rules.

Nov. 19: ALM hosts the webinar "Cannabis in the Workplace: Workers' Comp and Employee Use." Scheduled speakers include Sedgewick senior medical officer Dr. Teresa Bartlett and Alex Malyshev, co-chair of Carter Ledyard's Cannabis, Hemp & CBD Industry Group

Nov. 20 - Sheppard Mullin partners Jim Gatto and Andrea Cataneo present the webinar "Blockchain and Cannabis."

Nov. 20 - Best Best & Krieger hosts the webinar "Clearing the Smoke: 3 Years of Legal Cannabis in California." Partner Lauren Langer and Associate Henry Castillo will lead the presentation.

Nov. 21-22 The Cannabis Industry Showcase takes place in Kansas City, Missouri. Scheduled speakers include Lyndall Fraker, director of marijuana for the state of Missouri; Sarah Swain-Falls of The Swain Law Office and Erika Gee of Wright Lindsey Jennings Law.