California is in the process of transitioning from its gray market of medical cannabis collectives to a full-blown, heavily regulated regime under the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (“MCRSA“). At the end of April, California dropped more than 200 pages of regulation for retailers, distributors, transporters, manufacturers, and cultivators, and it’s now taking public comment on the initial
Like tech startups, or any new business, cannabis startups need investment. Though most tech startups are organized as corporations, with the ultimate goal of acquisition or IPO, cannabis businesses are more often (but not always) organized as LLCs. But cannabis startups too often fail to realize that if they are seeking investors, they are probably
Last week, I spoke at a legal education event on advising corporate and officers and directors. It wasn’t a cannabis-specific event, so there were speakers with various backgrounds. One interesting commonality that a few of the speakers discussed was the value of corporate mission statements, both in the for-profit and non-profit worlds. I don’t know
The Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (“MCRSA”) left us with many questions regarding how cannabis cultivation would be regulated. But now that the California Department of Food and Agriculture (“DFA”), through its CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing division, dropped 58 pages of proposed regulations for the Medical Cannabis Cultivation Program we have plenty of answers. Though these
Though the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (“MCRSA“) initially failed to specifically define the term “manufacturer,” California finally rectified the situation with the Department of Public Health’s Office of Manufactured Cannabis Safety‘s release of the initial MCRSA manufacturing rules last Friday. “Manufacturer” now means the production, preparation, propagation, or compounding of cannabis products, including extraction
We’ve written before on how commercial leasing for cannabis business is a uniquely different animal that requires special attention beyond a boilerplate commercial lease agreement. The new multi-agency rollout of California’s proposed medical cannabis regulations under the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (“MCRSA“), as well as Governor Brown’s recent budget trailer bill to harmonize the
Last month, the Oregon State Police Drug Enforcement Section published a report titled “A Baseline Evaluation of Cannabis Enforcement Priorities in Oregon.” It’s a great read. The big takeaway, as reported by The Oregonian, is that Oregon remains a top source for black market pot— despite our legal cannabis programs. Those familiar with the industry have long known this
John Oliver, comedian and host of Last Week Tonight, has the right idea here. Marijuana laws do have a big impact, including on environmental regulations and international treaties. Marijuana laws also can empower or disempower drug cartels, increase or lessen the opioid addiction crisis, improve or worsen racial politics, create or reduce jobs, and increase or reduce access
I have been traveling for the past couple of weeks in Japan and Taiwan, so I thought I’d write a brief post about cannabis in East Asia. In addition to having a cannabis business practice, our firm’s other main focus is on international business — we have lawyers in Shanghai and in Barcelona — so
In a multitude of marijuana-regulated states, certain individuals and companies cannot own or even finance a marijuana business due to state regulations on residency and criminal and financial background checks. This means the cannabis business lawyers at my firm often get clients interested in getting involved with an ancillary cannabis business so as to avoid these heavy regulations. Whether
