Cannabis has remained federally illegal at the same time states continue to legalize cannabis in one form or another. As a result of legalization, private parties enter and perform contracts, loan and borrow money, and convey leasehold property rights in ways that involve cannabis. These contracts affect and depend upon millions of dollars in assets,
Cannabis licensing in the City of Los Angeles has been a slow go. Though the City's Department of Cannabis Regulation ("DCR") has licensed 155 Existing Medical Marijuana Dispensaries ("EMMDs") there is still an entire line of existing cultivators and manufacturers, social equity applicants, and general public applicants waiting their turn for cannabis entitlements. The City announced
Last week, the California Department of Public Health's Food and Drug Branch (CDPH-FDB) issued a revised FAQ on cannabidiol (CBD) in food products that will likely block the sale of hemp-derived CBD products in California -- which if you've been in the state lately, are pretty much already everywhere. CDPH-FDB has determined that CBD sourced
We’ve gone over the obstacles to obtaining federal trademark protection at length, but given recent inquiries our cannabis trademark attorneys have been receiving lately, it seemed high time to revisit what exactly makes a trademark “strong” or “weak.” I regularly have clients come to me with catchy marks they or their brand consultants have developed,
Indiana has uniquely positioned itself with some of the most robust regulations of hemp-derived CBD products. On March 21, 2018, Senate Bill 52 became law, allowing the distribution and retail sale of “low-THC hemp extract,” defined as a product "(1) derived from Cannabis sativa L. that meets the definition of industrial hemp; (2) that contains not
Every business thrives on brand differentiation. One of the most effective ways to promote public identification and recognition is to enhance and protect your brand. Your brand is of course your name but it is also your logo. Beyond that, really, it's everything about you. As far as "formal" branding elements, logos are right there
In a previous post, we discussed GW Pharmaceuticals, the leading developer of cannabis-based pharmaceuticals. Today, the FDA announced the approval of GW Pharmaceutical's drug Epidiolex (cannabidiol), an oral solution for treatment of seizures associated with two rare forms of epilepsy, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome, in patients two years of age and older. This announcement is
The current state of enforcement in California tends to be dominated by headlines about the Department of Justice, Jeff Sessions, the DEA, and the Controlled Substances Act. And for good reason—under the constitution, federal law is the law of the land, and commercial landlords and tenant alike should study federal enforcement guidelines closely. Lease agreements
Copyright is an aspect of intellectual property (IP) law less frequently considered by cannabis businesses than trademark, trade secrets or even patents it seems. Yet, like these other forms of intellectual property, copyrights can afford their holders with market dominance and profitability when utilized correctly. Almost all marijuana businesses own numerous unregistered copyrights, whether or
We’ve written extensively about the dos and don’ts of filing cannabis-related state and federal trademarks, and we all know by now that you cannot obtain a federal trademark registration for goods or services that are not lawful pursuant to federal law. But I’ve heard a lot of creative arguments in this space, and have had many
