hemp industries

California Bill May Change State’s Cannabis and Hemp Industries

On February 7, 2024, California Assembly Member Aguilar-Curry introduced AB 2223. The bill, if passed, would significantly change the state’s cannabis and hemp industries – for better or worse. Today, we’ll take a look at how AB 2223 could change both the cannabis industry and hemp industry in the Golden State. First though, a brief

black history month

DEA’s Post on the Start of Black History Month

As America celebrates and commemorates Black History Month, it’s important to remember exactly how Black Americans have been disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system in our country. From the crack vs. cocaine sentencing disparities to the fact that Black Americans are on average four times as likely to be wrongfully convicted of a serious

california illegal cannabis

California Gives Up on the Illegal Cannabis Market: Another Update

California publishes quarterly data concerning its “enforcement” efforts against the illegal cannabis market. Over the last couple of quarters, I’ve gotten in the habit of analyzing this data (see here for Q3 2023, and here for Q2 2023). I’ve been blogging here since 2018 and my opinion is that the state is doing very, very

oregon cannabis legislative

Oregon Cannabis 2024: Legislative Forecast and Report

The 2024 Oregon legislative session kicked off yesterday. It’s a short session this year, with adjournment sine die set for March 10. Whatever hasn’t passed by that day will be scuttled to 2025, or fade to black entirely. This year, we have but one cannabis bill to cover– unless you count HB 4093, which would

international cannabis

International Cannabis: Adams Lee, Vince Sliwoski on the Simply Trade Podcast

Two of our international cannabis lawyers, Vince Sliwoski (business) and Adams Lee (international trade), recently joined the Simply Trade podcast for a lively discussion on the international cannabis trade. You can hear that free-ranging, informative conversation at either of the following links: Apple Podcasts Spotify As explained in the Simply Trade show notes: This episode

RFK Jr., a presidential candidate, in a suit and tie standing in front of a sign.

Grading the Presidential Candidates on Cannabis: RFK Jr.

Every election cycle, we grade the many of the presidential candidates based on their track record with cannabis (here’s our summary of 2020’s main candidates). We kicked off 2024 with our analysis of incumbent President Joe Biden (Grade C), and followed up with Republican challenger Ron DeSantis (Grade C+), who recently dropped out of the

Cannabis loans and investments.

FREE Cannabis Loans and Investments Webinar: February 28th

Register Here Please join us for our latest cannabis business webinar, focused on “Cannabis Loans and Investments”. In 2024, a constellation of factors makes things very interesting for both cannabis industry investors and businesses: More states are open for business and investment than ever before In the macroeconomic environment, interest rates are high (especially compared

nikki haley

Grading the Presidential Candidates on Cannabis: Nikki Haley

Welcome to part three in our series on cannabis and those who wish to lead us. In the first two posts, we covered Joe Biden (we gave him a “C”) and Ron DeSantis (R.I.P.; we gave him a “C+”). Today’s subject is Republican candidate Nikki Haley. She’s still around as of this writing and I’m

california cannabis taxes

California’s Cannabis Taxes Are a Disaster

Cannabis regulation efforts are usually sold to voters or legislators with the express promise that a state will be able to milk the new industry for all it’s got through cannabis taxes. Don’t believe me? Well, look no further than California’s landmark Proposition 64, also known as the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana