One of the most persistent and common failures in the cannabis industry is using handshakes instead of written cannabis contracts. This is an issue I’ve written about for years (most recently here), and it doesn’t seem like there has been much of a willingness to change. A lot of companies would like to move into
You may think that due diligence is something reserved for business or real estate purchases. But due diligence is also a must for lenders in cannabis loan transactions. I recently wrote a post about what borrowers can look forward to in cannabis loan transaction. Today I want to do a deeper dive into due diligence
Welcome to the eighth annual “State of the State” post on Oregon cannabis. Last year was memorable for Oregon the industry, pockmarked by OLCC scandal, heavy regulatory swings, and even marquee litigation. We also saw the state’s first very-large-business failure, more trade association consolidation, and other altibajos as my mother-in-law might say. Let’s go! Sales
Nondisclosure agreements (sometimes abbreviated, “NDAs”) are some of the most important agreements a company can sign. At the same time, they can be some of the simplest agreements to get in place. Today I want to do a deeper dive into nondisclosure agreements, what they contain, and why they are important. What is a nondisclosure
Cannabis real estate transactions can be notoriously complicated – much more so than your average real estate deal. On January 9, 2024, I’ll be speaking on a panel called “Navigating Real Estate Issues Impacting the Cannabis Industry” for the Los Angeles County Bar Association, where my co-panelists and I plan on touching on many of
I stumbled upon this recent post by Jason Paltrowitz titled “Lawful but Awful: The Small Cap IPO Cycle.” It contains some interesting findings and I like everything about it for cannabis companies, except the conclusion. The conclusion is that OTCQX and OTCQB markets are a good alternative to senior U.S. exchanges for small companies. The
Cannabis companies that need more money than they can generate through sales generally have two options: borrow money (debt) or solicit investments (equity). Over the years as the industry has constricted, equity finance became less of an option. I recently predicted that equity investment will reignite when cannabis is rescheduled. But that hasn’t happened yet,
One of the main reasons why I am such a vocal supporter of written cannabis contracts is allocation of risk and liabilities. Parties to a cannabis contract have a number of ways that they can allocate risks and liabilities that they just won’t have in a “handshake” deal. Today I’ll explore six of the top
A common way to get and retain employees is to issue them options or equity securities like corporate stock. But like with everything else, issuing securities is heavily regulated. Today, we’ll look at a few key issues for cannabis businesses that want to offer equity incentives. How do cannabis companies offer equity incentives? There are
We are helping build out another cannabis banking program here in Oregon. My law firm has done a series of these for credit unions (“CU”s) and other financial institutions (“FIs”) going back to 2014. We have also handled a good bit of hemp banking work– mostly in 2019 and 2020 before that industry cratered. In
