California has no shortage of issues with its legalized cannabis marketplace. For a couple of years now, an open secret in California (and a cautionary tale for other states) is the concept of “burner licenses“. These are licenses issued to a company by the Department of Cannabis Control (“DCC”) that are used to conduct illegal,
Since the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) was passed back in April of 2021, New York has made clear that mitigating environmental impact, including energy usage, would be a key component of New York’s adult-use cannabis industry. To wit, the legislators expressly included applicants’ “ability to mitigate adverse environmental impacts, including but not limited
Cannabis companies, for some reason, seem to love clever names predicated on well-known brands. (See e.g. Zkittlez and Skittles or Bloom and Cool). More often than not, these companies end up in trouble. (See Major Food and Beverage Companies Call Out Marijuana Copycats). Although these companies may try a parody defense, it’s not so easy.
The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) voted on Wednesday, March 29, approving an emergency rule proposal to extend the application window for social equity in cannabis (SEIC) retail licenses. The application window has been extended from March 30, 2023, to 5:00 p.m. April 27, 2023. The rule will have the effect of amending
On February 28th, we put on a webinar on “Distressed Cannabis Businesses” webinar. In that webinar, Griffen, Ethan, and Vince discussed the current financial and economic pressure the entire cannabis industry is facing today. We covered reorganization, litigation, dissolution, M&A, receivership, secured interests, and liquidation. And we of course discussed how state-by-state cannabis regulations impacts all
In the past few weeks, I’ve published a few posts (here and here) about recent federal cannabis gun rights cases. In those cases, the courts disagreed on whether the federal government can prohibit cannabis users from owning guns. On the other end of the spectrum, there are state-level efforts to protect gun rights for cannabis
Florida voters may have the opportunity to legalize adult-use cannabis during the next general elections. First, though, the Florida Supreme Court must okay the language on the ballot initiative, in the face of likely opposition from the other branches of the state government. As Floridians watch their elected officials argue against letting them vote on
As Minnesota approaches the legalization of marijuana, the Minnesota Supreme Court has just ruled on a case we covered in September 2021. The case involves the difference between hemp and marijuana and a state prosecutor’s burden to prove what side of the line a leafy or liquid cannabis substance falls. As we explained two years
As New York moves steadily closer to a fully rolled out adult-use cannabis industry, two New York state legislators recently proposed legislation that would significantly simplify the tax structure for adult-use cannabis. Under the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA), New York would have charged a potency THC tax on all adult-use cannabis, plus an
We’ve written regularly about the plight of cannabis businesses not being able to secure traditional lending (and other financial services) from major, federally regulated institutions. In this post, we dive deeper into a promising federally regulated equity offering as an alternative funding means: Rule 504 under Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Regulation D. Why aren’t
