Welcome back to Higher Law, our weekly briefing on all things cannabis. I'm Cheryl Miller, reporting for Law.com from Sacramento.

This week we're looking at: An appeal to SCOTUS on overtime in the marijuana industry • Paul Weiss' work on a CBD company acquisition • A legal fight over medical pot and probation • Recreational pot stores reopening in Massachusetts

Thanks as always for reading. I'm eager to hear your socially distanced feedback and story ideas. Send them to me at [email protected]. You can call me, too, at 916.448.2935. Follow me on Twitter @capitalaccounts.

Should Marijuana Workers Get Overtime? SCOTUS Is Asked to Take the Case

A Colorado company that provides armed security to the state-legal marijuana industry has asked the U.S. Supreme Court for the OK to not pay its workers overtime.

Attorneys for Helix TCS Inc. say the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit got it wrong in September when a panel held that security worker Robert Kenney can proceed with Fair Labor Standards Act claims against Helix for unpaid overtime wages. The court wrote that employers have a duty to comply with federal laws even if their business practices are federally prohibited.

"Although arising out of Colorado's recreational marijuana industry, the Tenth Circuit's decision confers the same rights on a mule trafficking methamphetamine for a cartel in Oklahoma as it does on a driver ferrying marijuana through the streets of Denver," Helix attorney Jordan Factor of Allen Vellone Wolf Helfrich & Factor wrote in the company's cert petition.

The case is must-follow litigation for state-licensed operators looking for both guidance as employers and legitimacy in a quasi-legal business environment.

Helix's attorneys wrote that the petition gives the high court a chance to weigh in on the state and federal conflict over marijuana, one that "has confounded federal judges, those in the marijuana industry, legal scholars, and state regulators."

"The Tenth Circuit's decision deepens the confusion, conflict, and lack of uniformity between state and federal law regarding federal rights and protections accorded to those participating in the marijuana industry," Factor wrote. "In the absence of congressional action, which is not anticipated any time soon, this Court should rule that an individual perpetrating a federal drug crime is not entitled to federally mandated compensation for their efforts."

Kenney's response brief is due next month. Kenney was represented by attorney Lindsay Itkin of Josephson Dunlap at the Tenth Circuit.

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Who Got the Work

>> Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison advised Aurora Cannabis Inc. in its $40 million all-stock acquisition of CBD brand Reliva.. The deal could include additional payouts of up to $45 million in Aurora stock if Reliva meets certain financial targets over the next two years. Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP acted as legal counsel to Reliva.

>> Genevieve York-Erwin and Tiffany Miao of Baker & Hostetler have entered appearances for Tilray Inc., a global cannabis supplier, and other defendants in a pending securities lawsuit. The case was filed March 6 in New York Eastern District Court by Pomerantz LLP and Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman on behalf of Chad Ganovsky. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Sandra Feuerstein. York-Erwin and Douglas Greene are also representing Tilray in a pending shareholder lawsuit filed April 10 in New York's Eastern District by Gainey & McKenna. That case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Allyne Ross.

>> Attorneys at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius removed a cannabis-related employment lawsuit against Altice Technical Services to New Jersey District Court. The suit was filed by The Mark Law Firm on behalf of Scott Nahama, who claims he was unlawfully terminated as a result of medical-marijuana use.

>> Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti hit cannabis company iAnthus Capital Holdings and other defendants with a shareholder lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for New York's Southern District. The court action was filed on behalf of Hi-Med LLC. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants.

>> The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Applied BioSciences Corp. in New York Southern District Court over alleged violations of federal securities laws amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The suit alleges that the company, which focuses on cannabinoid therapies, falsely announced that it would be offering a COVID-19 home test kit to the general public. Thomas E. Puzzo of Law Offices of Thomas E. Puzzo, PLLC is counsel to Applied BioSciences.

In the Weeds

>> The plaintiffs' securities bar has Its sights set on cannabis. That's the conclusion of DLA Piper attorneys Chris Gismondi and Wendy Micchael, who looked at similarities among a dozen securities lawsuits targeting publicly traded cannabis companies. "To date, in nearly all of these cases, plaintiffs have attempted to meet the requirement of pleading scienter through allegations that company executives had access by virtue of their positions to the 'truth,' but intentionally or recklessly failed to disclose this information to shareholders." [New York Law Journal]

>> ACLU: Legalize medical pot for all Pennsylvania probationers. Attorney Sara Rose told Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices that Lebanon County's policy barring residents on probation from using medical marijuana policy violates the Medical Marijuana Act. The county policy allows probationers to petition a court for permission to use medical marijuana, which is a reasonable requirement, attorney Robert Krandel of the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts argued. The May 19 oral arguments were the first ever live-streamed. [The Legal Intelligencer]

>> Florida + CBD + Home TV Shopping = Securities Lawsuit. In a complaint filed in South Florida federal court, Aaron Silberman and his investment company, AMJ Misil AB, allege, among other things, that Premier Beauty and Health and Jorge and Florencia Hane falsely claimed that they had secured exclusive rights to sell CBD products on broadcast shopping networks. [Daily Business Review]

>> Massachusetts' recreational pot hits the curb on Monday. After hearing pleas from shuttered recreational companies, Gov. Charlie Baker announced that the outlets can start offering curbside delivery sales on May 25. Recreational shops were ordered closed on March 24 due to the pandemic. Baker has said that he thought allowing the stores to stay open would attract out-of-state buyers and potentially increase infection rates. [MassLive]

>> Growing greens at home for more than just salads. Stuck at home, consumers are adding something more than squash and tomatoes to their victory gardens. "We joked when all this started—not that it's a joking matter, but you've got to find levity where you can … What were people going to do when quarantine hit the whole country? They're going to sit at home and smoke pot and garden," Hawthorne Gardening head Chris Hagedorn said during a recent earnings call. "And I think, in all seriousness, there's a lot of truth in that statement." [Quartz]

Mark Your Calendar: May Things

May 22 - Public comments are due on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's proposed rule that would, among other things, make the agency the effective middle-man between research marijuana growers and researchers.

May 26 - The Los Angeles County Bar Association offers the webinar "Getting In The Weeds With Cannabis Litigation: Claims, Strategies, Challenges, Finding Resolution." Scheduled speakers are Griffen Thorne of Harris Bricken; Michael Mancini of Mancini Shenk; Nicole Phillis of Davis Wright Tremaine; Lexi Myer of JAMS and Joshua Mandell of Akerman.

May 28 - Foley Hoag hosts the webinar "Dealing with Financial Stress for Cannabis Companies." Speakers include firm partners William Gray Jr., Kenneth Leonetti, and Erica Rice.

May 28 - Harris Bricken presents the webinar "California Cannabis Q&A." The panel will include attorney Griffen Thorne and Alison Malsbury and will be moderated by Hilary Bricken.