cannabis businesses

Strategies for Distressed Cannabis Businesses

It’s pretty easy to write about everything that’s going wrong in today’s cannabis industry. Today, I want to change gears and talk about some of the strategies we’ve seen work for distressed cannabis businesses in the past. Yes, some of these strategies may seem obvious at first. But pulling them off correctly – especially in

cannabis investment

Cannabis Investment and the NBA

In case you missed it, professional players on teams in the National Basketball Association are getting a free and clear opportunity to take advantage of the cannabis industry through cannabis investments. As a former D-1 college athlete, I’m glad to see the NBA not only remove cannabis from its list of banned substances but also

corporate secretary

Is a Corporate Secretary Really Important?

As a corporate attorney, one of the most common errors I see is failure to implement even basic corporate governance practices. This can lead to astoundingly bad places in certain circumstances. But even when it doesn’t, it is often costly to reconstruct past corporate actions. And that cost can be defrayed relatively easily. One way

cannabis contract approval

Cannabis Contract Approval Headaches

Cannabis companies move a million miles an hour. Many cannabis companies don’t spend nearly enough time focusing on the “basics,” such as corporate governance and getting things in writing (for more posts on why handshake deals are bad, see articles linked at the bottom of this post). Another area where many cannabis businesses need some

cannabis joint venture

Times are Tough: Cannabis Joint Ventures May Help

We’ve written a lot recently about how cannabis companies are falling on tough economic times in this roiling economy. When times get lean, cannabis companies need to innovate and get more competitive with services and product offerings. This is in addition to consolidation, cost cutting, and going after third parties that owe you money. One

corporate governance

Yes, Good Corporate Governance is Critical

Corporate governance is a basic requirement of any business. So of course, cannabis businesses often just ignore it. Some of them may pay a lawyer to put together a simple set of bylaws and an organizational resolution (or operating agreement for an LLC), and then basically close their files until something “big” comes up. This

subpoena

Cannabis Litigation: A Primer on Subpoenas

A “subpoena” is used in cannabis litigation (or any litigation) when third-party witnesses or documents become necessary for a lawsuit. Over the years, we’ve seen the need for subpoenas come up in a variety of contexts. Below is a primer on what to do as a recipient of one: What is a subpoena? There are

employer and employee

Oregon Cannabis: Employment Law Issues for Struggling Businesses

We all know the Oregon cannabis industry is struggling. We write often about the causes on a macro level, possible solutions, and what we see as business litigators. We haven’t written much about one of the basic areas of employment law that applies to Oregon marijuana businesses: workers rights to wages and employer responsibilities. As

cannabis scam

Cannabis Scams 3.0

In an era of Theranos, Fyre Fest, FTX and WeWork, cannabis scams, frauds, and scandals probably pale in comparison. However, cannabis scams (and their evolution) are still worth noting, spotting, and avoiding at all costs. I’ve written about cannabis scams in the past (see here), and it’s one of my favorite topics given the still-emerging

cannabis collections

Cannabis Collections Headaches and What to Do

On this hallowed 4/20, while consumers and businesses celebrate cannabis near and far (which is great!), it’s important to be mindful that the cannabis industry is getting financially pummeled nationwide. For the cannabis companies able to survive this rocky time, cannabis collections are becoming an increasing headache as other cannabis businesses fold and/or just ignore