I started as a lawyer in the cannabis industry in 2010. Twelve years in there has been immense progress and maturation at the business level for cannabis licensees. This post is dedicated to the top ten list of which arrows all cannabis companies, regardless of state, size, culture, or market share, must have in their
Last week, I participated on a great panel about current and future cannabis taxes called “Solving the Cannabis Tax Puzzle: Approaches for an Emergent Industry” hosted by Ohio State University Moritz College of Law’s Drug Enforcement and Policy Center and the Center for New Revenue. The panel covered current and future cannabis taxes from a
Spotify AB (“Spotify”) has prevailed in two opposition proceedings it brought against the registrations of two POTIFY marks, which were applied for by U.S. Software Inc. (“U.S. Software”), in connection to its Potify platform. According to U.S. Software, Potify is “a backend software platform designed for legal marijuana dispensaries to market and sell their products.”
Across practices, we are seeing the internet turn into a menace for businesses dealing with law enforcement and regulatory agencies. Risks are present for entities of all stripes, but cannabis businesses in particular need to beware of the Internet and what it says about them. If the Internet says so, it must be drug paraphernalia
For the past year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has directed its attention to the cannabis industry– in a helpful way! This includes promulgation of cannabis tax guidelines as well as webinars and public forums dedicated to tax compliance for marijuana businesses (together, the “Guidelines”). The stated IRS goal here is “to positively impact filing
I feel like we’re living in an upside down world when it comes to cannabis legalization at the federal level. The main reason being that Dems, despite in being in full control of Congress and the White House, just can’t get the ball across the line on a number of cannabis reform bills. This includes
As we anticipated, AB-45, California’s comprehensive legislation that finally regulates (and legitimizes) industrial hemp products is now law and takes effect immediately. Governor Newsom signed the bill into law this week. Pretty huge step in the right direction for California’s booming hemp products marketplace. How far has California come on the hemp spectrum when it
We wrote a couple of times about the Department of Cannabis Control’s (DCC) proposed emergency regulations. See here and here. Under those regulations, some interesting changes were proposed around the definitions of owners and financial interest holders, alongside restrictions on license stacking on “contiguous” premises (among other things). On September 15, 2021, the DCC submitted
Many people ignore or just don’t want to believe the fact that, until recently, California was a bit of a villain when it comes to the manufacture, distribution, and sale of industrial hemp derived products, namely hemp CBD in food, beverages, dietary supplements, animal products, and cosmetics. However, AB-45 is going to change all of
Our posts here regularly cover celebrity-backed cannabis companies who are doing things right (and sometimes, doing things wrong), but a recent copyright infringement case proves that not all celebrities are interested in getting involved in the industry – and certainly shouldn’t be presumed to be okay with using their fame to promote it. Solar Therapeutics
