Griffen Thorne

Griffen is an attorney in Harris Sliwoski’s Los Angeles office, where he focuses his practice on corporate, transactional, intellectual property, data security, regulatory, and litigation matters across a wide variety of domestic and international industries.

cannabis leasing competitive licensing

Cannabis Leasing in Competitive License Jurisdictions

Cannabis leasing is incredibly complicated for both lessors and lessees. But things can get a lot more complicated in competitive license jurisdictions. I’ve worked with both lessors and lessee-applicants in competitive licensing jurisdictions, and today want to highlight some of the key things I’ve seen over the years. #1 Why competitive licensing is different from

hunter biden

What the Hunter Biden Indictment Means for Cannabis Users

On September 14, 2023, Special Counsel David Weiss of the Department of Justice filed an indictment against Robert Hunter Biden in the District of Delaware. The indictment pleads three counts, which I analyze below. The Hunter Biden indictment centers on issues I’ve analyzed in many posts this year (see links at the bottom). Today I

cannabis investment

What Rescheduling Means for Cannabis Investments

Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommended rescheduling cannabis from schedule I to III under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). My colleagues already covered various implications of the proposed cannabis rescheduling (see here and here). Today, I want to talk about one of the most important consequences of the announcement other than

enforcement program

Another California Cannabis Enforcement Program That Won’t Work

Earlier this week, California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta announced yet another cannabis enforcement program: the Cannabis Administrative Prosecutor Program (CAPP). CAPP is the newest of California’s ever-growing list of acronym enforcement programs, alongside EPIC (previously CAMP), UCETF, alongside countless other county and local agencies. Will the new enforcement program make a dent in the illegal

cannabis product

Why Cannabis Product Review is So Important

Over the last five years, I’ve done countless compliance reviews for cannabis product and CBD product labels, packaging materials, and products themselves. In all cases – not most, all – cannabis product labels needed at least one change. Product type, shape, and ingredients often needed work. And even packaging material has had plenty of issues.

gun control

Yet Another Court Strikes Cannabis Gun Control Law

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is the most recent court to find that federal cannabis gun control legislation is unconstitutional. The case, United States v. Daniels, was published on August 9, 2023. The court joins a growing list of courts which have all found these restrictions unconstitutional. Federal law prohibits cannabis users from buying

federal cannabis

Predictions for Future Federal Cannabis Laws

Most Americans favor federal cannabis legalization. Nearly all Americans support medical cannabis legalization. This is not a new development. It has been that way for years. And it is a rare non-partisan issue. Over the past few years while support has been its highest, well, ever, a series of federal election cycles have come and

gun rights

Arkansas Passed a Cannabis Gun Rights Law. It Won’t Work.

Last week, Marijuana Moment reported on a new Arkansas law that would protect medical cannabis users’ gun rights. This law is the most recent in a series of attempts by states to get around federal gun control laws that prohibit cannabis users from owning or buying guns. It won’t work. I’ve written extensively on the

kratom

Cannabinoid Folks, Pay Attention to Kratom

It seems as if there is a new cannabinoid product coming out every five minutes. Scratch that – it seems like there is a new cannabinoid coming out every five minutes. After CBD, it was CBG and CBN, then the deltas, and then, well, it’s hard to keep track. Today, every time I research these new

cannabis real estate

Cannabis Real Estate: Leasing v. Buying

One of the most important business decisions cannabis businesses need to make is whether to lease or buy real estate. I have worked on too many cannabis real estate transactions to count. And in my experience, the vast majority are leases. Today I want to look the top three reasons why that’s the case. #1