Cannabinnovation: Cannabis-Related Autism Treatments, Antiviral Lip Balms, and THC Breathalyzers

Cannabis | Innovation

While federal trademarks relating to cannabis and cannabis-derived products remain prohibited, patents in the cannabis space continue to be issued by the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) at a brisk pace.

The reason for this difference is because federal trademarks cannot be granted for products that cannot legally be sold across state lines, which is (currently) the case for cannabis or cannabis-derived products under the Controlled Substances Act. There is no such prohibition when it comes to patents.

To get a taste of some of the cannabis-related innovations coming down the pike, I searched the USPTO database for patents that issued last month with claims that contain any of the following words:…