All U.S. businesses are marijuana related businesses (MRBs). By “all” I mean everyone from Amazon to your local hardware store, with very few exceptions. Allow me to explain. Guidance on banking and MRBs Over eight years ago, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network published the FinCen Memorandum of February 14, 2014 (“FinCen Memo”). FinCen is a Bureau
We often write of the pernicious effects of the War on Drugs in the criminal law context as well as its harmful impacts on the hemp and (state) legal marijuana industries. This post turns to another issue resulting from federal illegality – the inability of a lawful permanent resident to petition for naturalization and and
One of the cannabis litigation trends we discussed in a recent webinar was the increasing number of lawsuits alleging some type of fraud by cannabis companies during the capital-raise phase of their businesses. For most businesspeople, raising capital to fund their new business is essential. Just as essential is making sure that you comply with
Some readers may be surprised to realize that a lot of cannabis stakeholders actually don’t want broadsweeping federal legalization. Why? Because they know it means that they’ll instantly be competing with well-established companies that are already masters of economies of scale, branding, marketing, and consumer sales, and their market share will shrink or be eliminated
Seen as a protectionist, cottage measure to some stakeholders, residency requirements for cannabis licensure have been a staple in the industry since Washington and Colorado legalized cannabis statewide back in 2012. When I lived in Seattle, the local industry was mostly stoked then that “big money” and out-of-state interests couldn’t easily crash the party that
In my last post in this series, I ran through a detailed list of some of the more common conditions to closing you’ll see in the run-of-the-mill cannabis business purchase. Today, I want to do something similar, but instead with representations and warranties. In M&A contracts, the parties make various legal promises. Promises to do
In a prior post, we discussed some of the emerging trends for cannabis-related companies that seek bankruptcy protection (click here to view the prior post). But, in the first instance, the question is whether a cannabis-related company can file for bankruptcy relief? This post will examine the first decision from Arizona in the case of
Certain states are better than others when it comes to lucrative ketamine ventures. Whether you’re a physician looking to open a clinic in the space, or if you’re a third party lay person or entity looking to fund or manage such a practice, you need to be on the look-out for states with strict corporate
Summer’s here, a massive heatwave just hit the west coast, and fire season is right around the corner. This is the harsh reality for west coast residents and it doesn’t look like that’ll change anytime soon. Wildfires have a severe impact on entire communities and everyone can be impacted. But there are some unique issues
We work with a good number of multi-state operator (MSO) cannabis companies. Always have. Most of these companies are publicly traded, although others remain closely held. With more MSOs on the scene than ever before, it seems like a good time to list out some pitfalls for MSOs, their decisionmakers, lenders, etc., as these companies
