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Rescheduling marijuana would be a big tax break for legal cannabis businesses – and a quiet form of deregulation

Cecelia Tecu — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 18:50:52 +0000

Rescheduling marijuana would be a big tax break for legal cannabis businesses – and a quiet form of deregulation Cecelia Tecu Mon, 02/02/2026 - 11:50

Sloan Speck

This piece was published in in The Conversation on January 29, 2026. View the original article here.

Under the move, medical and recreational marijuana would still remain illegal at the federal level. At the state level, medical use is currently legal in 40 states and the District of Columbia, and recreational use is permitted in 24 states and Washington, D.C. While the administration touted the medical research benefits of rescheduling, the medical and recreational marijuana industry lauded it for an entirely different reason: income tax savings.

Indeed, one of rescheduling’s most significant – and most immediate – effects would be tax relief for all legal marijuana businesses in the states that host them.

But business taxes do more than raise revenue – they also create incentives that shape how companies organize and operate. For legal marijuana businesses – both medical and recreational dispensaries alike – rescheduling marijuana would relax these implicit restrictions, serving as a quiet form of deregulation that removes tax pressures that currently shape the industry’s financing, structure and compliance. From this perspective, rescheduling would cut taxes but also remove one of the federal government’s levers over an industry principally regulated by the states.

I study how tax rules shape what businesses do and the social effects of changing those rules. In my view, the tax implications of rescheduling marijuana alone are likely to have consequences that go far beyond the tax bill that businesses pay.

Why marijuana businesses are taxed differently

Under federal law, state-legal marijuana businesses face unique tax burdens.

Most businesses can deduct, or write off, ordinary and necessary expenses. For example, businesses generally can subtract the costs of rent and utilities from the income they earn. But that’s not the case for businesses that deal in Schedule I and II controlled substances, including marijuana.

In effect, legal marijuana businesses pay federal income tax on their gross income rather than their net income like other companies.

Imagine a business with US$100,000 of income before expenses and $80,000 of otherwise deductible expenses. Ordinarily, the business would pay $4,200 in tax on $20,000 of net income, assuming a 21% tax rate. The business’s cash profits would be $15,800 for the year – a healthy net profit margin.

If this hypothetical business legally sold marijuana, Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code would deny any income tax deductions for the business’s $80,000 in expenses. This rule applies even though the business’s expenses are real costs, and even though the business is legal under state law. In this scenario, the business would owe $21,000 in tax on $100,000 of gross income. This would put the business in the red for the year, with a negative cash flow of $1,000 and a negative net profit margin.

For many legal marijuana businesses, making the math work isn’t a hypothetical challenge. Indeed, some enterprises have reported real-world effective tax rates as high as 80% – more than twice the top statutory rate for individuals.

This state of affairs traces to two court decisions handed down more than five decades apart. In 1927, the Supreme Court held that income from illegal activities remained subject to tax – a decision later leveraged in mob boss Al Capone’s 1931 conviction on criminal tax evasion charges. Then, in 1981, the U.S. Tax Court affirmed that illegal activities were taxable on their net income after deductions, like legal businesses. Lawmakers objected, and Congress enacted Section 280E the following year in response.

Essentially, the move gave drug traffickers a Hobson’s choice: face civil or criminal penalties for failing to properly report their income, or pay punishingly high effective tax rates. Just as Treasury Department enforcers used tax law to combat organized crime during Prohibition, tax law’s dual disincentives expressly discouraged illicit drug sales.

Because Section 280E applies only to Schedule I and II substances, rescheduling to Schedule III would tax legal marijuana businesses like other businesses. According to advocates, this would better align federal tax law with widespread state-level legalization of marijuana. In effect, rescheduling could equate to a tax break of around $2.3 billion dollars for the marijuana industry, according to one estimate.

How the tax code quietly regulates marijuana

A cannabis store in New York City. Zamek/VIEWpress/Corbis via Getty Images

Despite these high effective tax rates, the state-legal marijuana industry has more than tripled in revenue over the past decade and supports more than 400,000 jobs. Tax law, however, has shaped how this industry operates.

In this way, tax law serves as a form of quiet regulation – not directly, by setting licensing standards or policing potency, but indirectly. If marijuana were rescheduled, the federal government would give up this mechanism for indirect regulation.

As it currently stands, Section 280E has three important regulatory effects:

First, Section 280E limits businesses’ financing options. Like other enterprises, legal marijuana businesses need capital to grow. By constraining after-tax profits and cash flow, the status quo makes it harder for these marijuana businesses to finance growth internally using their own money from operations, known as “retained earnings.” This tax-induced capital scarcity may help explain mature legal marijuana industries’ relatively low rates of year-over-year growth. After taxes, there’s simply very little cash to reinvest.

This constraint pushes legal marijuana businesses to finance growth through external – and often unconventional – funding sources. Because marijuana businesses remain illegal under federal law, commercial banks and public capital markets may treat otherwise legal businesses as off-limits or high-risk. These businesses often turn to private capital for loans, specialized leasing arrangements and equity investments. Given the federal restrictions on marijuana, private investors tend to scrutinize these transactions closely, often insisting on protective covenants and operational restrictions.

Second, Section 280E encourages legal marijuana businesses to isolate activities that “don’t touch the plant” from marijuana production and sales. If the nonmarijuana activities are truly separate – legally, spatially and operationally – they may be able to claim business expense deductions that direct marijuana-related activities cannot.

Legal marijuana businesses have implemented these separate structures for activities from back-office support and real estate management to licensing for branding and merchandise. In addition to affecting tax burdens, these structures require ongoing operational oversight by outside parties – lawyers, accountants and other providers – and enforce the siloing of marijuana-touching activities away from other activities.

Finally, Section 280E raises the stakes of accurately accounting for the marijuana sold by these businesses. Courts have affirmed that legal marijuana businesses can reduce their gross income by the “cost of goods sold” – the direct production and acquisition costs of inventory. Even under Section 280E, these businesses can subtract the costs to grow, process and package marijuana from their sales revenue. As a result, these businesses meticulously monitor direct production costs throughout their supply chains.

This supply chain management offers another pathway for indirect regulation. Many state regulatory regimes already require inventory tracking. But Section 280E adds a financial reward for rigorous documentation, controls and auditing. Although some of this tax compliance work is mere paper-shuffling, public policy may favor multiple forms of regulation by multiple stakeholders – a diversity of oversight for an industry where lapses or inconsistencies can have serious social costs.

Federal tax rules for state-legal marijuana businesses operate as a form of indirect, or quiet, regulation: a national overlay that complements – and amplifies – state regulatory regimes. Rescheduling would remove this federal overlay by taking marijuana out of Section 280E’s reach.

From this perspective, the debate over rescheduling is about more than just tax normalization versus public health risks. Rescheduling raises bigger questions of institutional design: whether the federal government should yield one of its most practical points of leverage over the legal marijuana industry – and, if so, whether another regulatory mechanism should replace it.

In December 2025, the Trump administration accelerated the process of reclassifying marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act – a shift that would reduce restrictions and penalties associated with the drug. Indeed, one of rescheduling’s most significant – and most immediate – effects would be tax relief for all legal marijuana businesses in the states that host them.

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ICYMI: Faculty Publications, Media Mentions, and Faculty & Staff Activities

Cecelia Tecu — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 16:41:45 +0000

ICYMI: Faculty Publications, Media Mentions, and Faculty & Staff Activities Cecelia Tecu Mon, 02/02/2026 - 09:41

Widely recognized for its intellectual diversity and originality, the faculty at Colorado Law encompasses an array of prominent legal scholars who are widely cited, both in academia and throughout the national media landscape. We invite you to catch up on the latest faculty publications and media mentions with this weekly roundup.

Media Mentions

[Chris Winter, GWC], David Condos, These Words Started St. George's Decades-long Northern Corridor Highway Fight, KUER (Jan. 26, 2026).

Sloan Speck, Rescheduling Marijuana Would be a Big Tax Break for Legal Cannabis Businesses--and a Quiet Form of Deregulation, The Conversation (Jan. 29, 2026).

[Violeta Chapin], Angeline McCall, Federal Immigration Tactics in Minneapolis Criticized as 'Unprecedented and Chaotic", Denver 7 (Jan. 27, 2026).

[Jonathon Booth], Micah Smith, Policing and Protests: Colorado Expert Weighs in on the Public Safety Roles Federal and Local Agencies Play, Denver 7 (Jan. 28, 2026).

Faculty and Staff Activities

Sloan Speck, TaxProf Blog posts available here.

Ann Lipton, Business Law Prof Blog posts available here.

Warner Brothers Discovery (Jan. 28, 2026), Shareholder Primacy (with Mike Levin, Apple podcasts link).

Marci Fulton & Gabrielle Daley (presenters), Making the Most of the Rest of Law School: 2L Year and Beyond, Mini Law School, Colorado Law (Feb. 4, 2026).

Paul Campos, Lawyers, Guns, & Money, blog posts available here.

Considerations for Assigned Water After Expiration of the 2007 Guidelines, Getches-Wilkinson Center (Jan. 26, 2026).

[American Indian Law Program], 2026 Coen Lecture: Indigenous Peoples' Rights in a Changing Global Landscape, Colorado Law (Jan. 28, 2026).

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2026 Coen Lecture: Indigenous Peoples' Rights in a Changing Global Landscape

Cecelia Tecu — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 18:12:38 +0000

2026 Coen Lecture: Indigenous Peoples' Rights in a Changing Global Landscape Cecelia Tecu Wed, 01/28/2026 - 11:12

USNR Dr. Albert Barume

Dr. Albert K. Barume will join the Colorado Law community on Feb. 26, 2026 to deliver the 66th annual John R. Coen Lecture. This lecture is sponsored by the �Թ�� of Colorado Law School and the American Indian Law Program, entitled “Indigenous People’s Rights in a Changing Global Landscape."

RSVP to attend, either remotely or in-person, here.

Dr. Barume has served as Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples since his appointment in December 2024. His experience working on Indigenous Peoples’ rights at national, regional and international levels spans over 25 years. Dr. Barume, a national of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was one of the first lawyers to work on Indigenous Peoples’ rights in the 1990s in Africa. To read more about his accomplishments, visit this page.

The event will take place from 5:30-6:30 pm in the Wittemyer Courtroom. A reception will follow for in-person attendees from 6:30-7:30 pm.

The Coen lectureship was established in 1955 in memory of John Coen, a distinguished member of the Colorado bar and an able public speaker. The lectureship seeks to bring a prominent and distinguished lawyer, jurist, or scholar of law to deliver an annual lecture to Colorado Law’s students, faculty, and alumni on a legal subject of interest and benefit to the profession, preferably with some public or political aspect.

Dr. Albert K. Barume will join the Colorado Law community on Feb. 26, 2026 to deliver the 66th annual John R. Coen Lecture.

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STUDENT ORG SPOTLIGHT - Public Defense Student Association

Cecelia Tecu — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 16:51:21 +0000

STUDENT ORG SPOTLIGHT - Public Defense Student Association Cecelia Tecu Mon, 01/26/2026 - 09:51

Cecelia Tecu

Colorado Law is home to nearly 50 active student organizations. These organizations empower law students to increase their knowledge, gain leadership experience, network, and collaborate with the legal community—all while building connections with classmates that will last throughout their careers and beyond.

President Evan Grossmann ’27 and Vice-President Linnea Lindeman ’27

In this series, we are highlighting extraordinary organizations run by Colorado Law students.

Meet the Public Defense Student Association (PDSA) at Colorado Law.

The association is run by President Evan Grossmann ’27, Vice-President Linnea Lindeman ’27, Treasurer Joshua Cary ’27, Events Chair Tessa Bailon Armendariz ’27, and Body-Worn Camera Organizer Jeff Caldwell ’27. Professor Jonathan Booth is the Faculty Advisor.

This current iteration of the PDSA was formed during the 2023-2024 school year. The club was operational in the past, but after a period of several years where the association did not run, the group was officially reformed.

The primary goal of PDSA is to create opportunities for students to express and discover their interest in public defense. Grossmann notes that this association seeks to help interested students gain valuable insight and knowledge about and to create a professional network of students and attorneys within the field.

“Personally, PDSA has given me the opportunity to create a large network of individuals with whom I share career goals, life experiences, and more. I have also been fortunate enough to work with a wonderful group of colleagues on the PDSA executive board that have helped me engage more with the greater law school community,” added Grossmann.

PDSA hosts numerous events both on and off campus every semester for students to meet and engage with public defenders and public defender-adjacent individuals. PDSA predominantly hosts informative lunch meetings during the school year. At these events, students have the opportunity to hear from panelists, who share their insight and expertise in the field of public defense.

Additionally, PDSA hosts social outings in the community to give students an opportunity to meet public defenders and network in a more informal setting. Through these events, we hope students are able to have their questions answered and ultimately be inspired to pursue a career in public defense.

To get involved with PDSA, students can email PDSA@colorado.edu.

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ICYMI: Faculty Publications, Media Mentions, and Faculty & Staff Activities

Cecelia Tecu — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 16:33:51 +0000

ICYMI: Faculty Publications, Media Mentions, and Faculty & Staff Activities Cecelia Tecu Mon, 01/26/2026 - 09:33

Faculty Publications

Rabea Benhalim, Free Exercise and the Fertilized Egg, SSRN (forthcoming U.C. L. J.)

Media Mentions

[Chris Winter, GWC], Caroline Llanes, Feds Want States to Weigh in on Colorado River Plans Before its Too Late, Rocky Mountain Community Radio (Jan. 12, 2026).

[Govind Persad], Understanding GLP-1 Drugs: Cost, Safety, and Access in Context, National Academy of Medicine News & Insights (Jan. 20, 2026).

[Ann Lipton], Drew Hutchinson & Jennifer Kay, Delaware High Court Rulings Seen as Staving Off Corporate Exits, Bloomberg Law (Jan. 23, 2026).

[Rebecca Ciota & Dean Inniss], Sandy Battluga, Who Were CU Law's First Black Students? A Librarian is on a Quest to Find Out, CPR (Jan. 19, 2026).

Faculty and Staff Activities

Harry Surden (moderator), Blake Reid (panelist), Vivek Krishnamurthy (moderator), Margot Kaminski (moderator), To Have and Have Not: Growing Asymmetries in Communications Technology, Silicon Flatirons Center Annual Flagship Conference (upcoming, Feb. 1-2, 2026). Register here.

Doug Spencer, Scott Skinner-Thompson, Margot Kaminski, & Deep Gulasekaram, 2026 Supreme Court Preview, Byron White Center (upcoming, Feb. 5, 2026). Register in advance here.

Sloan Speck, TaxProf Blog posts available here.

Ann Lipton, Business Law Prof Blog posts available here.

Emily Horowitz (presenter), Thriving, Not Just Surviving, in 1L: Building resilience and Self-Awareness, Mini Law School, Colorado Law (Jan. 14, 2026).

Paul Campos, Lawyers, Guns, & Money, blog posts available here.

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ICYMI: Faculty Publications, Media Mentions, and Faculty & Staff Activities

Cecelia Tecu — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 16:40:06 +0000

ICYMI: Faculty Publications, Media Mentions, and Faculty & Staff Activities Cecelia Tecu Wed, 01/21/2026 - 09:40

Faculty Publications

Jonathan Skinner-Thompson, Enforcing Environmental Penalties (Matthew Bender, 2026).

J. Paul Kelleher, Govind Persad, & Carrie Thiessen, Exploring Non-Utilitarian Justifications of Allocation Out of Sequence, 26 Am. J. Bioethics 90 (2026).

Media Mentions

[Chris Winter, GWC], Bobby Magill, Ruling Shows Court's Eagerness to Scrutinize Trump Logging Plans, Bloomberg Law (Jan. 15, 2026).

[Scott Skinner-Thompson], Sam Levin, How the US Supreme Court Case on Trans Athletes Could Unravel LGBTQ+ Rights, The Guardian (Jan. 12, 2026).

[Blake Reid], Hayden Field, What Apple and Google's Gemini Deal Means for Both Companies, The Verge (Jan. 13, 2026).

[Margot Kaminski & Colorado Law adjunct faculty Julia Martinez & Thomas Ward], AI Guidance: CU Law Profs Named to New State Supreme Court Panel, BizWest (Jan. 16, 2026)(appointed to the Colorado Supreme Court’s newly established Legal Technology Advisory Committee.)

[Deep Gulasekaram], Bob Egelko, Can ICE Arrest You? What the Law Says �Թ�� Agents' Actions and Protester Rights, San Francisco Chronicle (Jan. 11, 2026).

Faculty and Staff Activities

Doug Spencer (presenter), Inside the 1L Year: Why it Looks the Way it Does and a (Real) Sample Class Experience, Mini Law School, Colorado Law (upcoming, Jan. 21, 2026).

Sloan Speck, TaxProf Blog posts available here.

[Andrew Schwartz], �Թ�� of Colorado Law's Andrew A. Schwartz Elected to American Law Institute, Colorado Law (Jan. 16, 2026).

Alan Schieve (presenter), Getting to 1L: What Really Prepares You for Law School, and What Do 1Ls Wish They Knew Beforehand?, Mini Law School, Colorado Law (Jan. 14, 2026).

Amanda Parsons, The Anarchist Currency With a Government Sponsor, LPE Project Blog (Dec. 16, 2026).

Ann Lipton, Business Law Prof Blog, blog posts available here.

What to Read in 2026 (Jan. 14, 2025) Shareholder Primacy (with Mike Levin, Apple podcasts link).

Paul Campos, Lawyers, Guns, & Money, blog posts available here.

Amy Bauer (presenter), Getting to 1L: What Really Prepares You for Law School, and What Do 1Ls Wish They Knew Beforehand?, Mini Law School, Colorado Law (Jan. 14, 2026).

[American Indian Law Program], Colorado Law to Host National NALSA Writing Competition, Colorado Law (Jan. 14, 2026).

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�Թ�� of Colorado Law’s Andrew A. Schwartz Elected to American Law Institute

Emily Battaglia — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 20:11:44 +0000

�Թ�� of Colorado Law’s Andrew A. Schwartz Elected to American Law Institute Emily Battaglia Thu, 01/15/2026 - 13:11

�Թ�� of Colorado Law School Professor Andrew A. Schwartz has been elected to the American Law Institute (ALI). Schwartz, the Laurence W. DeMuth Chair of Business Law, is one of 45 legal scholars and practitioners who were chosen to join ALI in December of 2025. The 102-year-old organization is dedicated to producing scholarship that clarifies, modernizes, and improves the law. Membership is highly selective, and Schwartz’s election recognizes his cutting-edge scholarship, noteworthy professional achievement, and commitment to improving the law.

ALI drafts, discusses, revises, and publishes Restatements of the Law, Model Codes, and Principles of Law that are widely influential in the legal academy, legislatures, and courts. Its membership is limited to approximately 3,000 judges, lawyers, and law professors from across the United States and around the world.

“Professor Schwartz’s election is an extremely well-deserved honor and a reflection of the rigor and impact of his scholarship,” said Colorado Law Dean Lolita Buckner Inniss. “Our community is incredibly proud to see him recognized at the national level, and I have every confidence that his contributions to ALI will be as valuable and influential as his teaching and research here at the law school.”

Schwartz, who joined the faculty in 2008, teaches and publishes on corporate, securities and contract law, and has become an internationally recognized expert on investment crowdfunding.

“This is a tremendous honor, and I’m grateful to my colleagues at Colorado Law for their support and mentorship over the years,” remarked Schwartz. “I’ve long admired the ALI’s contributions to American jurisprudence, and I look forward to helping advance its mission of clarifying and improving the law.”

Schwartz is the author of one book, Investment Crowdfunding, published by Oxford �Թ�� Press, as well as more than forty scholarly publications. His major articles have appeared in leading flagship law reviews including the UCLA Law Review, Minnesota Law Review, and Notre Dame Law Review, top specialty journals such as the Yale Journal on Regulation and Harvard Business Law Review, and peer-reviewed journals like the New Zealand Law Review.

In 2017, Schwartz served as a Fulbright Research Scholar at the �Թ�� of Auckland Law School in New Zealand. He has won numerous national awards for his scholarship, including the AALS Scholarly Paper Competition and the Federalist Society Young Legal Scholars Paper Competition. At Colorado Law, he has received the Provost's Award for Faculty Achievement, the Gilbert Goldstein Faculty Fellowship, the Sandgrund Award, and the Outstanding New Faculty Award. His research is frequently cited and relied upon by courts and commentators across the country and around the world, including numerous citations by the Delaware Court of Chancery, the nation's leading venue for corporate law.

Schwartz earned his Sc.B. in Civil Engineering from Brown �Թ�� and a J.D. from Columbia �Թ��, where he served on the Columbia Law Review and was named a James Kent Scholar (top honors) all three years. Before entering academia, he clerked for Judge William A. Fletcher of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Following his clerkships, Schwartz practiced corporate law in New York at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.

Professor Schwartz joins several other current and retired �Թ�� of Colorado Law School professors who are elected members of the ALI:

S. James Anaya
Kristen A. Carpenter
Ted James Fiflis
Lolita Buckner Inniss
Mark J. Loewenstein
Christopher B. Mueller
Daría Roithmayr
Wadie Edward Said
Marianne Wesson

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Colorado Law To Host National NALSA Writing Competition

Cecelia Tecu — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 19:35:15 +0000

Colorado Law To Host National NALSA Writing Competition Cecelia Tecu Wed, 01/14/2026 - 12:35

Brittany Rogers ’28

The �Թ�� of Colorado Law School is proud to announce that the Colorado Law Review (CLR) and Native American Law Students Association (NALSA) have been selected to host the 2026 National NALSA Writing Competition. Held annually, this competition aims to increase awareness and involvement in National NALSA (NNALSA) and related legal interests that impact Native and Indigenous communitie worldwide.

“This competition reflects a shared commitment to fostering inclusivity and expanding access to legal publication for underrepresented voices,” said Sam Hawkinson ’26, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Editor for CLR. “Through the �Թ�� of Colorado Law Review Forum, we are excited to showcase diverse and impactful student scholarship while supporting meaningful representation in the legal academy.”

Brittany Rogers ’28, a representative of Colorado Law’s NALSA chapter, will serve as the Writing Competition Administrator. Applications for the NNALSA Writing Competition are expected to open on January 19, and the deadline for submission will be Monday, March 23, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. (MT).

Hosting this event is an incredible honor for both Colorado Law’s NALSA chapter and CLR, further demonstrating their commitment to amplifying and promoting Indigenous voices in the legal profession. Both host organizations are working with the full support of the American Indian Law Program (AILP).

"It has truly been a wonderful experience working with the faculty and students involved with making this happen, especially Professor Kristen Carpenter and Hannah Ahders ’25 with the American Indian Law Program, and Professor Vanessa Racehorse who is currently publishing with CLR in Volume 97,” said McKenzie Porter, Editor in Chief of CLR. “The support of NALSA, particularly Malorie Stick '26 and Chantal Raguin '27, has been so instrumental. CLR is excited to continue partnering with them."

Colorado Law remains committed to education and advocacy in Indigenous Peoples’ Law. The AILP, CU NALSA, and CLR aim to elevate scholarship and dialogue surrounding American Indian and Indigenous People’s Law. We are proud of these organizations’ efforts for their work in achieving this honor as they prepare to take on the responsibility of hosting this event.

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ICYMI: Faculty Publications, Media Mentions, and Faculty & Staff Activities

Cecelia Tecu — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 18:24:22 +0000

ICYMI: Faculty Publications, Media Mentions, and Faculty & Staff Activities Cecelia Tecu Mon, 01/12/2026 - 11:24

Faculty Publications

Ann Lipton, The Legitimation of Shareholder Primacy, 51 J. Corp. L. 83 (2025).

Jennifer Hendricks, Being Pregnant in Someone Else's Body, 20 FIU L. Rev. 598 (2025).

T. Markus Funk (Colorado Law adjunct), Freedom vs. Dignity: What U.S. and German Defamation Law Protect (and What They Sacrifice), SSRN.com (Dec. 8, 2025).

Media Mentions

[Chris Winter, GWC], Bobby Magill, Interior to Spend Holidays Studying Refuges for Possible Closure, Bloomberg Law (Dec. 22, 2025).

Caroline Llanes, Drought Conditions on the Colorado River are Getting Worse Because of Climate Change. How Will Leaders Respond in 2026?, KUNC (Dec. 31, 2025).

Caroline Llanes, 2025 Brought Big Changes for Public Lands and Environmental Regulations. Could 2026 Bring More?, KUNC (Jan. 4, 2026).

Bobby Magill, Alaska Seeks Control of Waters on Federally Protected Lands, Bloomberg Law (Jan. 6, 2026).

Mark Squillace & Cody Perry, Cmmon Waters: Inside the Fight for Stream Access in Colorado, Center for Western Priorities's the Landscape podcast (Dec. 18, 2025).

Shanna Lewis, The Search is on For Valuable Minerals in Southern Colorado, Here's What Happens if they are Found Under Your Land, Colorado Public Radio (Dec. 29, 2025).

[Govind Persad], 2025 Greenwall Foundation Year in Review, Greenwall Foundation (Dec. 2025).

Hannah Albarazi, Drugmakers Fight Multifront Legal Battles over GLP-1s, Law360 (Jan. 6, 2026)(access through Lexis here).

[Ann Lipton], Maria Aspan, How President Trump Reshaped Capitalism in 2025, NPR (Dec. 22, 2025).

Jeff Feeley, Sabrina Willmer, & Jennifer Kay, Musk 2018 Pay Plan Reinstated After 7-Year Legal Fight, Bloomberg News (Dec. 19, 2025).

Jennifer Kay, Delaware Looks to Future Without Musk as Blue Bell Trial Looms, Bloomberg Law (Dec. 24, 2025).

Jeff Montgomery, Top Delaware Chancery Cases and Trends to Watch in 2026, Law360 (Jan. 2, 2026).

Martina Barash & Gillian R. Brassil, Investor Arbitration, Class Status, AI, Shake Up Securities Bar, Bloomberg Law (Jan. 2, 2026).

Professor Ann Lipton on the State of Corporate Governance, Bloomberg's ESG Currents (Jan. 7, 2026).

Gillian R. Brassil, Zillow Investor Class Rehearing Denial Spurs High Court Question, Bloomberg Law (Jan. 7, 2026).

[Doug Kenney, GWC], Alan Gionet, New Report Paints Grim Picture of Water Use Problems with the Colorado River, CBS News (Dec. 21, 2025).

Caroline Llanes, Drought Conditions on the Colorado River are Getting Worse Because of Climate Change. How Will Leaders Respond in 2026?, KUNC (Dec. 31, 2025).

[Deep Gulasekaram], Hamed Aleaziz, Stephen Miller Cites Children of Immigrants as a Problem, NY Times (Dec. 23, 2025).

[Rebecca Ciota], Ryan Warner, Jan. 7, 2026: History of CU's First Black Law Students, Colorado Public Radio (Jan. 7, 2026)(from 10:53 through 19:54).

[Violeta Chapin], Angeline McCall, Trump Administration Halts Green Card Process for 19 Countries, Issuing Additional Vetting, 9 News Denver (Dec. 22, 2025).

[Kristen Carpenter], Tom Hamburger, Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Native American Senator, Dies at 92, Washington Post (Dec. 30, 2025).

[Paul Campos], Michael Hiltzik, Here's How Trump Gets Away With Using Questionable Numbers, LA Times (Dec. 19, 2025).

[�Թ�� of Colorado Law's Criminal Defense Clinic], Dan Slepian & Mike Hixenbaugh, How Rob and Michele Reiner Formed a Remarkable Bond with a Texas Man Once Sentenced to Death, NBC News (Jan. 5, 2026).

Faculty and Staff Activities

Sloan Speck, TaxProf Blog posts available here.

Andrew Schwartz, How Elon Musk Won Back His Tesla Competition, Columbia Law School's Blue Sky Blog (Dec. 22, 2025).

[Scott Skinner Thompson], Top Contributor Essays of 2025, The Regulatory Review (Dec. 29, 2025)(Skinner-Thompson's Correcting the Common Sense of "Biological Sex").

Govind Persad (panelist), Innovation vs. Access? The Legal, Ethical, and Economic Dimensions of U.S. Drug Pricing, Silicon Flatirons, the Daniels Fund, & Davis Graham (upcoming Jan. 15, 2025).

Melanie Kay (moderator), Innovation vs. Access? The Legal, Ethical, and Economic Dimensions of U.S. Drug Pricing, Silicon Flatirons, the Daniels Fund, & Davis Graham (upcoming Jan. 15, 2025).

Ann Lipton, Business Law Prof Blog, blog posts available here.

What Activists are Doing Right Now, (Dec. 10, 2025), & Tesla, Activist Board Nominees (Jan. 7, 2025) Shareholder Primacy (with Mike Levin, Apple podcasts link).

[Laura Dolbow], Top Contributor Essays of 2025, The Regulatory Review (Dec. 29, 2025)(Dolbow's Recent E-Cigarette Decision Leaves Unanswered Questions).

Paul Campos, Lawyers, Guns, & Money, blog posts available here.

[Getches-Wilkinson Center's Water Law Fellow Daniel Anderson], Colorado River Continues to Bring Unlikely Parties Together at CRWUA, Colorado Law (Dec. 29, 2025).

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ICYMI: Media Mentions and Faculty & Staff Activities

Emily Battaglia — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 15:45:23 +0000

ICYMI: Media Mentions and Faculty & Staff Activities Emily Battaglia Tue, 01/06/2026 - 08:45

Media Mentions

[Ann Lipton], 'A Whole Sequence of Attacks': White House Increases Heat on Proxy Advisors with New Executive Order, Law.com (Dec. 12, 2025)(Lexis login required).

T. Markus Funk [Colorado Adjunct] and Hope Anderson, Courts Navigating AI Defamation Opens Legal Risks for Companies (Bloomberg Law, Dec. 17, 2025).

[Violeta Chapin]. Elizabeth Hernandez, Kids Left Without Representation in Colorado Immigration Court After Federal Funding Cuts, Denver Post (Dec. 15, 2025).

[GWC's Colorado River Research Group], Jasmine Laws, Lake Mead Warnings Issued by Multiple Experts, Newsweek (Dec. 15, 2025).

Faculty and Staff Activities

Sloan Speck, TaxProf Blog posts available here.

[Pierre Schlag], Yussef Al Tamimi & Kerttuli Lingenfelter, International Law's Problem of Evil, EJIL Talk! Blog of the European J. Int'l L. (Dec. 16, 2025).

Ann Lipton, Business Law Prof Blog, blog posts available here.

2026 Predictions with Matt Moscardi & Damion Rallis of the Proxy Countdown Podcast, Shareholder Primacy (Dec. 17, 2025)(with Mike Levin, Apple podcasts link).

Paul Campos, Lawyers, Guns, & Money, blog posts available here.

[Dan Anderson, Water Law Fellow], The Shoshone Instream Flow Acquisition: Public Process Carves a Path Forward, GWC (Dec. 15, 2025).

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homepage news

Rescheduling marijuana would be a big tax break for legal cannabis businesses – and a quiet form of deregulation

Why marijuana businesses are taxed differently

How the tax code quietly regulates marijuana

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ICYMI: Faculty Publications, Media Mentions, and Faculty & Staff Activities

Media Mentions

Faculty and Staff Activities

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2026 Coen Lecture: Indigenous Peoples' Rights in a Changing Global Landscape

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STUDENT ORG SPOTLIGHT - Public Defense Student Association

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ICYMI: Faculty Publications, Media Mentions, and Faculty & Staff Activities

Faculty Publications

Media Mentions

Faculty and Staff Activities

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ICYMI: Faculty Publications, Media Mentions, and Faculty & Staff Activities

Faculty Publications

Media Mentions

Faculty and Staff Activities

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�Թ��� of Colorado Law’s Andrew A. Schwartz Elected to American Law Institute

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Colorado Law To Host National NALSA Writing Competition

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ICYMI: Faculty Publications, Media Mentions, and Faculty & Staff Activities

Faculty Publications

Media Mentions

Faculty and Staff Activities

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ICYMI: Media Mentions and Faculty & Staff Activities

Media Mentions

Faculty and Staff Activities

Off

�Թ�� of Colorado Law’s Andrew A. Schwartz Elected to American Law Institute