Last month, I wrote a post explaining some of the issues buyers of cannabis businesses face when dealing with the landlords for the purchased business. In a nutshell, leases almost always contain clauses restricting assignment and subletting, and these clauses will often note that certain changes of control of the cannabis tenant are considered assignments
Nationwide, cannabis companies and advocates are hailing the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act as the savior of the future of cannabis (a copy of the bill is here). If the Act passes, we will finally have federal legalization and the consequences of the current federal conflict will end, or, at least be reversed in the
Getting to closing on a cannabis M&A transaction is always a hurdle (read about that process in detail here). There are always a lot more contingencies to closing for cannabis M&A transactions than for run-of-the-mill businesses that don't operate in highly regulated fields (e.g., cannabis acquisitions will require approval from state and possibly local agencies).
Over the last few months, I've written a few posts about SB-519, a bill introduced by California State Senator Scott Wiener earlier this year that is intended to decriminalize a host of psychedelics - from psilocybin to ketamine to LSD (you can read those posts here, here, and here). SB-519 has passed through the California
This week, Governor Newsom took a major step in reforming California's (pretty tortured) cannabis licensing program by signing into law Assembly Bill 141, which generally consolidates all cannabis licensing and oversight into the Department of Cannabis Control ("DCC"). In our view, centralizing all licensing and regulatory oversight into a single agency in California is a
Summer's here, a massive heatwave just hit the west coast, and fire season is right around the corner. This is the harsh reality for west coast residents and it doesn't look like that'll change anytime soon. Wildfires have a severe impact on entire communities and everyone can be impacted. But there are some unique issues
In a case we've been watching closely, a California District Court Judge recently denied a motion by cannabis company Capna Intellectual. The motion sought to dismiss tobacco giant ITG Brands’ dilution claim for its "KOOL" brand. ITG’s branding uses “KOOL OOs” while Capna’s branding uses “BLOOM OOs.” As a refresher, in December 2020, ITG had
For a state that pioneered medical cannabis and was a relatively early adopter of recreational cannabis (cannabis is defined only as marijuana here and not hemp), California is among the worst states in the union when it comes to sensible hemp-derived CBD policy. So it should surprise absolutely nobody that in legislation that's designed to
Hard to believe that it's been five years since the passage of Prop. 64, which legalized the distribution and sale of cannabis for adults 21 and up in the State of California. Like all "cannabis friendly" states, California has had issues and time delays getting a licensing framework off the ground. Of course, this is
Every single business that wants a cannabis license in California needs to buy or lease property, because licenses are tied to properties. Cannabis businesses usually opt for leases rather than purchases given the uncertainties in getting licensed or succeeding in business, and sometimes capital constraints. As part of the licensing process, state and local agencies
