Cannabis Trademark Protection in Brazil

An appeals court in Brazil is set to consider the issue of cannabis-related trademarks, and in particular their registrability under the country’s Intellectual Property Law (LPI), which forbids the registration of marks “contrary to morals and good customs” (Article 124, III). One of the key issues at the intersection of cannabis law and cannabis business

Newspaper cannabis

Lawsuit Challenging California Cannabis Deliveries Dismissed, But Status Quo Remains

On November 17, 2020, the Fresno County Superior Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by 24 California cities seeking to invalidate state cannabis regulations that allow delivery of cannabis to customers in jurisdictions that have banned retail commercial cannabis activity. Many industry players and media are touting the dismissal as a “win” for California cannabis companies.

Mexico Cannabis

Mexican Cannabis: Legalization is Happening! Are you Ready?

On Thursday, January 28, we will be hosting a FREE hour-long webinar discussing the business side of medical and recreational cannabis in Mexico. REGISTER TODAY!   The Mexican Senate just passed a bill containing a draft federal law for the regulation of cannabis (the “Cannabis Law”). The bill includes amendments to the General Health Law and the Federal Criminal Code

Oregon Cannabis

Oregon Cannabis Stories

We love our clients. From mom-and-pop shops to multinational corporations, most of them run solid operations and behave themselves pretty well. But when you have hundreds of clients and thousands of transactions over many years in the cannabis industry, you see some crazy things. This list covers crazy things have happened in Oregon. This is

Cannabis SEC

SEC’s Investment Rule Updates and Cannabis Fundraising

Recently the SEC updated its rules to simplify the patchwork of regulations to help companies in fundraising mode. This matters to cannabis companies of all types, especially those that want to utilize the available federal exemptions in their securities offerings. In the SEC’s own words, “These amendments will promote capital formation and expand investment opportunities

California Civil Rights

A Primer on California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act (UCRA)

This summer, I wrote about a Title III lawsuit that was filed against cannabis company NC3 Systems dba Caliva. As a quick refresher, Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) requires all businesses to remove any obstacle that interferes with a disabled person’s ability to access their products or services online. The plaintiff

Oregon Marijuana

Oregon Marijuana: OLCC to Adopt “Fix-it or Ticket” Approach for Some Rule Violations

Last month, along with streamlined licensing, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) announced a significant (and welcome) change to its compliance function by instituting a new Verification of Compliance program (VOC) that will focus on education rather than penalties for certain types of marijuana rule violations. The VOC launched in early October and arose from

Puerto Rico Cannabis

Puerto Rico: The Recent Election May Still Be Good News for Recreational Cannabis

Last month, in Puerto Rico: November Surprise for Recreational Cannabis?, we proposed that a victory by opposition candidate Charlie Delgado “might be Puerto Rico’s best shot at recreational cannabis legalization.” As of 2:00 PM local time on November 5, Delgado has not conceded the race. However, the results so far suggest that the island’s next

Federal Law

Federal Court Dismisses RICO Claims: Remedies Would Violate Federal Law

RICO claims in the cannabis industry have certainly evolved over the years, but the general trend of the Courts dismissing those claims or cases altogether has held fast. In Shulman, et al. v. Kaplan, et al., a case filed in the Central District of California, the plaintiffs – who are involved in the production, marketing, and

oregon cannabis dispensary valuation

Oregon Cannabis Dispensary Sales: What We Are Seeing on Valuation

The Oregon secondary market for cannabis licenses and businesses remains lively. We have been helping industry buy and sell these businesses since 2016. This post is mostly about pricing for retail plays, which is still an evolving standard, but a standard nonetheless. First, some context. Over the past few years, there have been two significant