cannabis license agreement
Canna Law Blog

Common Pitfalls in Cannabis Brand License Agreements

Cannabis companies and (depending on the state) brands often use license agreements to grow their brands. If done correctly, they can be a huge driver of revenue for the brands and licensees, and can grow the good will of the brand across a particular territory. However, they are notoriously easy to botch. A bad license

cannabis contract
Canna Law Blog

Risk Allocation in Cannabis Contracts

One of the main reasons why I am such a vocal supporter of written cannabis contracts is allocation of risk and liabilities. Parties to a cannabis contract have a number of ways that they can allocate risks and liabilities that they just won’t have in a “handshake” deal. Today I’ll explore six of the top

written contract
Canna Law Blog

Five Reasons Written Contracts Beat Handshake Deals

One of the best insurance policies a cannabis business can get is a written contract. Paying a lawyer a little bit up front can save hundreds of thousands when things go south. A lot of folks in the cannabis industry are still doing deals on a handshake basis (you can see some of our older

cannabis joint venture
Canna Law Blog

Times are Tough: Cannabis Joint Ventures May Help

We’ve written a lot recently about how cannabis companies are falling on tough economic times in this roiling economy. When times get lean, cannabis companies need to innovate and get more competitive with services and product offerings. This is in addition to consolidation, cost cutting, and going after third parties that owe you money. One

chatgpt cannabis
Canna Law Blog

ChatGPT and Cannabis: Not Bad, Not Bad at All

A few years ago I wrote a somewhat tongue-in-cheek blog post titled, “Cannabots – Are the Robots Coming For Your Weed,” which discussed the application of robotics to the cultivation of marijuana. In that post I cited several articles discussing the use of robots as farmers, restaurant workers, fashion models, and even lawyers. Just a

cannabis testing
Canna Law Blog

Oregon Cannabis: Challenging Testing Requirements Take Effect March 1, 2023

I’ve spoken with a handful of clients recently who are anxious about Oregon’s new cannabis testing requirements. These requirements cover heavy metals and microbiological contaminants, and they take effect on March 1, 2023. The scuttlebutt is that many failed tests are inevitable if the labs do their jobs. And the labs are under scrutiny at

cbd liability
Canna Law Blog

Direct and Ancillary CBD Liability Under the FD&C Act

Not much thought is given to ancillary CBD liability. Why is that? Probably because the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) hasn’t taken any serious enforcement action against any company or individual that aids and abets violations of the Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act (the “Act”) when it comes to CBD. Still, secondary CBD liability under

amazon
Canna Law Blog

Pro-Cannabis Amazon Contradicted By Algorithm

Amazon’s prohibited product algorithm gets drug paraphernalia analysis wrong Amazon’s prohibited product algorithm is creating issues in the ancillary cannabis business space. In doing so it directly contradicts the company’s pro-cannabis public image. On September 26, Seattle Times reporter Lauren Roseblatt wrote an interesting article describing Amazon’s abrupt removal of an herb grinder company’s (“Golden

california medical marijuana
Canna Law Blog

When Medical Cannabis Makes Sense in California

I wrote a post last year entitled, “Does Medical Licensing Make Sense in Recreational Jurisdictions?” The idea – which we’ve seen borne out countless times – is that in jurisdictions that allow recreational cannabis, medical cannabis usually becomes a relic of the past. That’s because medical cannabis is subject to many more restrictions than recreational