What Cannabis Employers and Employees Need to Know About New York’s Mandatory Retirement Savings Now in Effect
By Cecilia Oyediran, Esq. 1. What is the New York Secure Choice Savings Program? The New York Secure Choice Savings Program is a state-sponsored retirement savings program that requires certain employers to automatically enroll employees in a Roth IRA if they do not offer a qualified retirement plan. The program is overseen by the State […]
What Does Federal Rescheduling Mean for New York’s Cannabis Industry?
By Cecilia Oyediran, Esq. Last Updated: May 2026This information is educational only and subject to change. It is not legal advice. On April 28, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) officially moved certain state-licensed medical cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA). This has created many questions […]
The Cannabis Genome
By Dr. Daniela Vergara Cannabis sativa has a diploid genome, which means it has two sets of chromosomes, for a total of 20. One set of the chromosomes comes from the mother and the other set from the father. Eighteen of those chromosomes, which are not related to sex, are called autosomes, and the last […]
Hashishene
By Dr. Daniela Vergara As we’ve discussed before in multiple other posts, our favorite plant, Cannabis sativa, produces multiple compounds, and these compounds can further turn into other compounds. Remember when we discussed that CBN is a breakdown product that accumulates as THC ages? After THCA (Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid) is decarboxylated into THC (Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), it can […]
Do Cloned Cannabis sativa Plants change over time?
By Dr. Daniela Vergara Cloning Cannabis sativa plants through cuttings is common in the industry to maintain consistency. Now tissue culture is also becoming commonly used. But over time, growers have noticed that cloned plants may lose quality. The aroma, strength, and even the size of the plants can change. Why does this happen? According […]
New NYC Leave Requirement: Expansion of the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA)
By Cecilia Oyediran, Esq. New York City has amended the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) to expand access to protected leave. The update requires employers to provide additional unpaid sick and safe time to employees, in addition to the paid leave already required under the law. The goal is to ensure workers can […]
Evolution: Changes over time
By Dr. Daniela Vergara Evolution means change over time. In biology, evolution is about how living things—like animals, plants, or even bacteria—slowly change from one generation to the next. These changes happen in traits (like color, size, smell, or disease resistance) that are passed from parents to offspring through genes. In previous posts we talked […]
Healthy Soil
By Dr. Daniela Vergara Soil is more than a surface for growing plants. It is a living, dynamic ecosystem that supports life across the planet. In one handful of soil, there are billions of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms that drive the biological interactions essential for ecosystems, agriculture, and climate stability. What Is Soil? Soil […]
Flavonoids: The Colorful Compounds in Cannabis sativa
By Dr. Daniela Vergara Have you ever wondered why some Cannabis sativa buds are bright red or purple? Today we will continue our discussion on flavonoids which are the compounds that help give the plant its bold colors. Please read our previous post on purple C. sativa Besides the well-known cannabinoids like THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and […]
Why Is Some Marijuana Purple?
By Dr. Daniela Vergara Not much research has been done on why Cannabis sativa turns purple, but there have been studies on other plants. That helps us understand what might be going on in C. sativa too. What Makes Marijuana Purple? Purple flowers in marijuana are usually caused by pigments called anthocyanins. These are the […]