California has the biggest legal cannabis market in the world – it’s a larger economy than some small nations. But while the Golden State’s regulated market is massive, it’s illegal market is far bigger. California has a big illegal cannabis market problem Back in 2019, I quoted reports that there were 3,000 illegal businesses in
Federal law prohibits cannabis users from owning or possessing firearms. There are a host of federal court cases that may find these prohibitions an unconstitutional violation of cannabis users’ gun rights. But even if courts find these laws unconstitutional, many cannabis users could still face other federal government hurdles and restrictions. If you are not
As the cannabis economy tanks (with the exception of states that just came online for medical and/or adult-use), cannabis litigation is picking up. Most of this litigation revolves around partnership disputes, unpaid bills, breached contracts, and solvency. All cannabis entrepreneurs and businesses should be mindful of cannabis litigation trends, especially in these lean times. To
Last month, Washington governor Jay Inslee signed SB 5367, a largely unpublicized bill “concerning the regulation of products containing THC”. Among other things, the bill amends the definition of “cannabis product” in the state’s Controlled Substances Act to include products with any detectable amount of THC concentration. Selling such CBD products will require licensure by
Ever since Congress passed the Agricultural Improvements Act of 2018 (or 2018 Farm Bill), people have tried to find creative ways to sell intoxicating hemp-derived products. One example of this is THCA products, such as THCA flower, which contain very high levels of THCA. But is THCA legal? Today, I want to examine legality of
We’ve recently received a number of inquiries about whether it is legal to import marijuana seeds into the United States. These are seeds derived from marijuana plants that have a THC content less than 0.3%, but when planted will germinate into marijuana plants that have a THC content more than 0.3%. The seeds themselves have
On April 13th, I moderated a webinar about cannabis taxes called “IRS Enforcement of Cannabis Operators is Here – What Do We Do Now?“. Cannabis taxes should scare anyone in the industry, but federal incomes taxes under I.R.C. 280E probably take the cake when it comes to general anxiety. Our webinar featured Ani Galyan and
FTC Warning letters Marketing CBD products is a challenge. For years we’ve written about risks associated with making health-related claims in marketing. But there’s another avenue that the federal government doesn’t like: unsubstantiated claims. Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) decided to ratchet up enforcement and sent out warning letters to nearly 700 companies
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,
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
