Welcome back to Higher Law, our weekly briefing on all things cannabis. I'm Cheryl Miller, reporting for Law.com from Sacramento. Happy new year. Will 2024 be the year of descheduling or rescheduling marijuana? Which figure will be higher: the number of Big Law firms launching cannabis practices or the number of states approving adult-use marijuana? Will we actually see a cannabis banking law emerge from Congress this year? Time to find out.

This week we're looking at:

  • A Q&A with NJ's chief cannabis counsel.
  • Reports and legal action in New York and Connecticut.
  • The Trulieve GC's Move to Dorsey & Whitney.
  • A decade of legalization in Colorado.

Thanks as always for reading. Got a story idea or feedback? You can send it all to me at [email protected]. You can also call me at 916.448.2935. Follow me on Twitter: @capitalaccounts

Credit: Aha-Soft/Adobe Stock

'Do Your Homework': New Jersey Cannabis Commission Counsel Christopher Riggs Offers Advice and Predictions 

As New Jersey approaches the third anniversary of adult-use cannabis legalization, Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer attorneys Michael Schaff and Jennie Miller spoke with Christopher Riggs, chief counsel to the state's Cannabis Regulatory Commission about the agency's work and the licensing process.

Here are a few snippets from their conversation. You can read the entire exchange at New Jersey Law Journal.