Woke up from a long New England winter (kind of - it’s still cold out!) and now I’m moving to Florida next month. This year was a drawn out holding pattern made infinitely better by my students. Still can’t believe I get to be a law professor!

A thread with some of my initial reactions and questions. My TLDR is that I don’t expect there to be resources to enforce the fed regulation on state medical licensees so then not sure how much it matters. Most curious about a 280E hierarchy between med/adult use & challenge for hybrid operators.

Just read through this order signed by the interim AG moving FDA approved mj products and state licensed med mj products to Schedule 3 and want to share some of my initial reactions and questions. (Possibly because I’ll write something more robust on this later tbd). www.justice.gov/opa/media/14...

www.justice.gov/opa/media/14... the order in case anyone else is confused and wants to read it

I’ve been seeing lots of news about an order signed by the interim AG that would make state med mj products schedule 3 but am v confused because schedule 3 drugs require fda approval so like are we just ignoring the fda now?

CA5 rules that there is no secular purpose requirement under the Establishment Clause. So when individuals act for religious reasons, their actions are treated as religious, triggering exemption claims; but when the state acts for religious reasons, its actions are ... well, nothing to see here ...

Worth repeating that this article by @sbagen.bsky.social is the best and most important scholarly piece I've seen about the ways in which Trump/Vought have radically changed the nature of the federal government (and what might be done in response). papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

It bodes well for me that coming up with good law review article ideas excites me.

Congratulations to Victoria! A well-deserved outcome for someone so enthusiastic about teaching, writing, and the law more generally! I highly recommend her account of what it took to get to academia--particularly for those considering taking a similar path.

I landed my dream job and my family will be moving to Florida this summer. I decided to write a bit about my journey. open.substack.com/pub/victoria...

Finalizing edits on a law review I wrote last summer feels like time travel.

Just reminding everyone the IRS has been operating without a Commissioner since June of lat year, and based on this press release it seems that this administration is simply not going to appoint one. Who needs taxes anyway?

Tomorrow is day 4 of daycare closed and remote work due to the record breaking blizzard in RI and we are not okay. People who had young children during the pandemic, are you okay?

I'm seeing all the law professors here posting their acceptances and rejections and I'm like...* * I did not submit anything this cycle.

As federal power expands in areas like immigration enforcement and defense, I find myself thinking more about what happens to the ordinary, day-to-day functioning of government. www.cato.org/regulation/w...

6 months ago post-supremacy federalism was an idea in my head and now it’s something that shows up when you google the term. I know it will take time and effort to share my idea more broadly but I created a concept and am hopeful someone will find it useful (even if they totally disagree with it).

Thrilled that a project I’ve been working on for months finally exists in the world. This piece in @cato.org Regulation introduces the federalism theory developed in my forthcoming job talk paper. I hope it offers language and a framework that meet this moment. www.cato.org/regulation/w...

Check out our new digital symposium on Bill of Health titled The PULSE of Psychedelics, Law, and Spirituality. We will be publishing one post per day for the next week. Get started here: petrieflom.law.harvard.edu/2025/11/24/t...

I had so much fun with the students in my First Amendment class this semester. Honestly, being a law professor is a great gig.

I missed this too. Demonstrates a lingering threat of an informal policy of federal non enforcement when it comes to federal marijuana laws. Hate to see it.

Welp—glad I wasn’t working on my education law case study over the weekend. Would have had to do a significant rewrite. Might still have to make some major edits in the next couple of weeks. Maybe we could live in less interesting times?

Joyful grit

For no particular reason (all the reasons) I’ve been thinking about anti-commandeering

Your friendly reminder that it is literally a federal felony punishable by up to five years in prison for the President, Vice President, or any employee of the White House to directly or indirectly ask the IRS to open an investigation into any specific taxpayer.

Nothing hits quite like the last Sunday before the last day of class for the year! 28 out of the last 32ish weeks I've had to do a new prep for a Monday class. This time next week I won't have a Monday class to prepare for, and I am jazzed. (And also, so grateful and proud of this last year.)

Hot tip if you're feeling burnt out -- do a writing challenge. Write every day for an extended period of time about whatever you want. I started March 1 and I haven't been able to stop. (I've stopped posted to Substack but the urge to write has sustained)

eyeballs deep in federalism theory and loving it

1.5 weeks left of my first go around teaching a 1L doctrinal and vibes are good. The amount of work ahead of me in the next few weeks is so much less than what is behind me and for that I feel proud and grateful. (At least class planning/prep work - looking at you summer writing projects!)

I miss having twitter tbh. For some reason I haven’t felt compelled to use this place like I used to use twitter. Maybe I should try?

Started a little series on my substack about 280E. There’s a lot out there on 280E, but my goal is to break it down in a way that’s useful for the moment we’re in. Maybe one of you will find it interesting? open.substack.com/pub/victoria...

NEW Legalization Nation: Maine investigates head regulator for corruption, which has national implications

Started a March writing challenege yesterday. Today i wrote about drug decrim. open.substack.com/pub/victoria...

Another great year of Northeastern Junior Scholars thanks to @davidasimon.bsky.social!!

Really excited to be in Boston for the second annual Junior Scholars Conference at NUSL organized and emceed by the tireless @davidasimon.bsky.social.

every single legal market is destined for this.

Partially due to its size, a legislative approach made more sense in RI than a ballot proposal. What I think is more notable is that it would be the first statewide measure that is decrim of personal use only & no state regulated access model. Excited to keep supporting this bill!

Lineup of panelists for Sacred Rights: Psychedelics, Law, and Spirituality Panel 1 Rick Doblin, @jaimeclarksoles.bsky.social, John Rapp, @victorialitman.bsky.social Panel 2 David Pozen, @carolinemalacorbin.bsky.social, Deepak Sarma, @masonmarks.bsky.social petrieflom.law.harvard.edu/events/detai...

Whether we should tie psychedelic access to a facilitated use access model

Maine Cannabis Labels outlaw images of fruit but allow images of vegetables bc kids dont like veggies

Love this & will be sharing the message with my 1Ls who just got their grades.

I know that given everything else, this is not the most important thing, but already wondering how these fires impact CA cannabis. Most (all?) SoCal grows this time of year are indoor. But you need water/power. Also thinking of WeHo cannabis culture.

Trying to accept the reality that it’s not an impossibility that a significant portion of LA (my home for 4 of the most formative years of my life) will burn down this month. Truly devastating. & I know I can only imagine what so many are experiencing.

It continues to be a very interesting dynamic that state courts say that probable cause for state officers who smell marijuana is set by state marijuana law, while federal courts say it's set by federal marijuana law. Below is from US v. Skouras, 2025 WL 19818 (MDPa 2025). #N

this article misses the most interesting point of comparison imo - how do adventure sport communities deal w/ unsafe guides? I've spent enough time rock climbing to know that ppl have no problem telling you who's an unsafe belayer - not the case for psychedelic guides inwardbound.nl/managing-ris...

Also I know most of the people who follow me here are from the cannabis or psychedelic world. I’m speaking about both at a webinar in a couple of hours. us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Does anyone out there have any tips or trickers for long international trips with toddlers?!

Maybe I’m just jaded but I feel like the DEA hearings for MJ rescheduling actually don’t matter that much in terms of actually impacting the outcome. After teaching rescheduling this semester, I’ve been thinking that the whole admin process is basically a distraction.

Eventually (soon) I’ll start talking about cannabis and psychedelics. But for now I’m winding up torts and testing this place out.