ChatGPT is all the rage. The GPT stands for “Generative Pre-trained Transformer”. Translation: this is a next level, nearly omnipotent chatbot that’s incredibly articulate and conversant. Per Wikipedia: “while the core function of a chatbot is to mimic a human conversationalist, ChatGPT is versatile, including the ability to write and debug computer programs; to compose
The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (“WSLCB”) announced this Wednesday, January 18, that the 30 day window to apply for a Washington Social Equity In Cannabis Retail License will open March 1, 2023. The WSLCB will reissue 44 retail licenses to qualified applicants that rank the highest on a points scale to “prioritize” applicants.
As we inch closer to a cannabis recession, businesses are desperately looking for new ways to stay afloat. A few years ago, our cannabis attorneys saw equity investments left and right. It seemed like everyone wanted to own a piece of a cannabis business. But as things grow more precarious for the industry as a
The 2023 Oregon legislative session kicked off yesterday. It’s a regular session this year, meaning we’re in for a longer stretch– a 160 day calendar, versus the 35 day affair we see in even-numbered years. Following November’s elections, the state government also looks quite different than the last few years, from the Governor’s office on
In November 2022, the OLCC adopted and amended a suite of cannabis rules that became effective January 1, 2023. You can download the changes here and read our previous coverage of many of these changes here, here, here, and here. Now that Oregon’s new cannabis rules are effective, let’s take a look at some of
Happy MLK Day! Time to catastrophize just a bit. Last year at this time, I kicked off this post by writing: If Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today, he would almost certainly advocate to end the War on Drugs. Dr. King never spoke publicly about drugs or cannabis in particular: he was assassinated in
Yesterday, January 13, 2023, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (“LCB”) released an interactive mapping tool for determining whether people meet have lived in Disproportionately Impacted Areas (“DIA”)–one of three eligibility criteria for the forthcoming Social Equity in Cannabis (“SEIC”) program licensing. The map can be found by a link on the LCB’s website,
Connecticut is the latest state to permit the sale of adult-use cannabis. The possession of cannabis by adults has been legal in Connecticut since 2021, following the enactment of Public Act No. 21-1. Impressively, this law also erased 43,754 convictions for cannabis offenses. In December, the state’s Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) announced that hybrid
Cannabis advertising has always been a precarious art. From first amendment commercial speech issues to zealous state marketing and promotion regulations to false claim lawsuits, cannabis advertising can go down some dark rabbit holes. Notoriously, tech giants like Instagram and Facebook would take down cannabis-related ad content for violating site terms and conditions around the
Will we see tax reform in 2023 for cannabis sellers? Specifically, will Congress finally get something done about the pain inflicted on industry by the Internal Revenue Code at 26 USC § 280E? (“IRC 28oE”.) It feels like a long shot, but you never know. After many attempts to get the SAFE Banking Act through
