Legal History of Cannabis in the U.S

Speaker Mary Celeste. This presentation will discuss the legal history of cannabis in the United States from the early American hemp plantations and legal cannabis as a pharmaceutical, to the Marijuana Tax Act, to the Control Substances Act,  to the decriminalization and legalization of medical and recreational marijuana, to the DEA position on re-regulating marijuana and congressional bills, to the Farm Act and appellate cases challenging the classification of marijuana.

• The audience will identify how cannabis has been legally treated in the United States from Colonial times to the present.
• The audience will explore how the Farm Act legalized hemp and created confusion about the legalities of hemp derivatives
• The audience will analyze the legal challenges to the classification of marijuana

Video link: https://vimeo.com/821864887

Speaker Details

Full Name
Mary Celeste

Bio
Judge Mary A. Celeste (ret.) sat on the Denver County Court bench 2000-2015. She was the Presiding Judge 2009-10 and the co-founder of the Denver County Court Sobriety Court. She is currently a law school professor and university professor teaching Cannabis and the Law and is considered a national content expert on the topic of cannabis. She was a co-coordinator for the 2022 National Interdisciplinary Symposium which included judges, attorneys, law students, specialty court professionals HR, toxicologists/scientists, law enforcement and NORML. It also included cannabis commissioners and state legislative experts. She has written many articles on the topic of cannabis and is a national speaker and consultant on many topics related to cannabis including, marijuana and drug-impaired driving, specialty courts and cannabis, cannabis and juveniles, and other topics.