A red herring is “something that misleads or distracts from a relevant or important issue.” Sad to say the marijuana industry has more than its fair share of red herrings, including the ten that are most prevalent these days: Federal enforcement memos mean the Feds are taking it easy on the marijuana industry. We wish this
The media is currently abuzz about the inadequacy of lab testing for marijuana and marijuana infused products, which once again raises a critical issue for business owners: lawsuits. There are circumstances under which marijuana producers, processors and retailers alike can be held liable for a defective product, even without any knowledge of the defect. Anyone
Marijuana businesses — just like other businesses — impact our environment. Environmental laws relating to water rights, energy consumption, pollution, and overall carbon footprint all can and do impact marijuana businesses. Environmental laws typically focus on containing or preventing pollution and disciplining corporate polluters, but they also cover the regulation of natural resources, environmental impacts,
As so many of you know, few landlords are willing to rent to marijuana businesses. They are afraid of the very real possibility of losing their property in a federal civil asset forfeiture action. The federal government has been known to seize property being used for cultivating, manufacturing, or selling marijuana. In the last seven
One of my clients sent me a link to this story, asking me to comment on whether it was really newsworthy. My response was not really; the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision to allow a listing of Terra Tech Corp. is not a major surprise. It is progress, yes, but it was also somewhat inevitable,
Recreational marijuana isn’t the only thing to get excited about in Oregon. Just this week, Oregon’s rules to obtain an industrial hemp permit just went into effect and Oregon’s Department of Agriculture (ODA) has begun accepting applications to grow hemp. Oregonians should expect to see the state’s very first state-legal hemp crop in the ground this
The federal government continues to surprise us with its varied treatment of marijuana: this time by federally recognizing marijuana workers’ rights. Specifically, the National Labor Relations Board (for the second time) is preparing to hear marijuana workers’ allegations against their New Jersey medical marijuana dispensary employer for retaliation, union-busting, and unfair working conditions. That hearing is
Almost everyone in the cannabis industry loathes Section 280E of the Federal Income Tax Code. For more on why this is the case, check out In the Wake of Marijuana Legalization, It’s Time to Repeal Section 280E. Section 280E prevents cannabis producers, processors and retailers from deducting expenses from their income, except for those considered
Our cannabis lawyers been asked several times in the past couple of weeks whether we have any opinion on a Washington Superior Court decision that came out earlier this month that grappled with the interplay of government regulation and commercial free speech. There’s no copy of that Superior Court opinion available online, but in this
Our cannabis lawyers are often asked what it takes to purchase or sell a marijuana business license. This question from our clients sometimes comes up during their license application phase and it sometimes comes up after their licensing has been finalized. People tend to think of marijuana licenses as fungible commodities. This makes sense, as most
