canna law blog

How To Handle A Neighbor Who Wants To Shut Down Your Cannabis Business

“Not in My Back Yard,” or NIMBY, seems to be the word of the day for the marijuana industry and this is not a good thing. With legalization taking over state by state, NIMBY neighbors are coming out in large numbers to go after marijuana businesses. NIMBYs can be aggressive and, in our experience, will

canna law blog

They Said it on Marijuana, Quotable Saturday, Part XXXVI

Terence McKenna, psychedelic philosopher extraordinaire, is credited with saying, “Drugs induce paranoia and psychosis in people who have never taken any.” Count regulators, legislators, law enforcement and the media among the paranoid as well. Thankfully, common sense and evidence-based thinking are starting to make inroads in the ongoing war on drugs, but this past week

canna law blog

Marijuana and the New Attorney General: Why You Should Care

A few weeks back, our nation’s current attorney general, Eric Holder, announced he would be resigning the position he has held since the start of the Obama administration, once his replacement is named and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Holder’s tenure is viewed somewhat as a mixed bag — earning kudos for his efforts to

canna law blog

They Said it On Marijuana, Quotable Saturday, Part XXXII

Singer-songwriter and nine time Grammy award winner John Legend speaks good sense when it comes to marijuana, having said the following in a Huffington Post interview last year: I think we need to legalize marijuana. There’s no good reason to continue prohibition, and we need to consider ending prohibition in general. I don’t know if

canna law blog

Marijuana Retailers: Be Mindful of Products Liability

Marijuana business owners need to be mindful of products liability laws and how they pertain to defective cannabis products. Though most state’s product liability laws favor those not directly involved in manufacturing a defective product, there are circumstances under which retailers can be held liable for a defective product, even without any knowledge of the

canna law blog

Marijuana Trademarks

A trademark is commonly thought of as a brand or a logo. Think of Nike as a brand and the swoosh as its logo. A trademark can be a word (Nike), a phrase (“Just do it”), a symbol (the swoosh), a design (the swoosh) or a combination of words and designs. The owner of a

canna law blog

Real Property Forfeiture For Marijuana Tenants: Your Marijuana Leasehold Is Key

Why do commercial landlords still hesitate to rent to marijuana businesses? In addition to the remote possibility of a landlord getting arrested and prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for violating the Federal Controlled Substances Act, landlords face the very real threat of losing their property via a civil asset forfeiture. The federal

canna law blog

Marijuana Bankruptcy? Think Again

Be it the IRS, the Bureau of Reclamation, or the banks, the conflict between state and federal laws on marijuana can cause problems to those in the marijuana industry. You should now add filing for bankruptcy to the list. When businesses go (or are near to going) under, they typically file for bankruptcy in a

canna law blog

They Said It On Marijuana, Quotable Saturday, Part XXVI

Anyone remember Dan Quayle?  He was our 44th Vice-President and the guy who misspelled potato.  But who knew that even way back in 1977 he thought the war against marijuana was a complete waste of time? Well he did, as evidenced by this quote from him below: Congress should definitely consider decriminalizing possession of marijuana…

canna law blog

They Said It On Marijuana, Quotable Saturday, Part XXV

This is part 25 of our Saturday quote series and it will be the first time the quote comes from someone who is not the least bit famous. A number of people told us that they just assumed we would use a Robin Williams quote on marijuana and a number of others even suggested the