Cannabis businesses need money - and lots of it - to operate. Being mostly startups, operational profits are not enough to sustain their business. So cannabis businesses take on outside capital generally in one of two ways: taking on debt from cannabis lenders or bringing in equity investors. Due to industry volatility and a crash
On January 1, 2023, California's Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) will begin accepting applications for large cultivation licenses for the first time ever. California law authorized large cultivation licenses years ago. But, the law caveat was that applicants could not apply for large cultivation licenses until 2023. And on June 17, the DCC announced it
We have more details for you regarding the Los Angeles cannabis retail license lottery, following last week's post on the topic. We combed the Department of Cannabis Regulation's ("DCR") website and came up with answers to the three most important questions about the retail lottery. 1. When will the retail lottery occur? DCR anticipates that
In almost every cannabis litigation webinar we’ve done, and in many of our past posts discussing breach of cannabis contracts (the general breakdown of this claim is here), we’ve stressed the importance of memorializing good cannabis business agreements – in writing – to save yourself from potential or protracted litigation down the line. Still, even
After many delays, controversies, and changes to the regulations, Los Angeles is getting closer to opening its second (and last) round of retail licensing. Based on the timeline laid out by the LA Cannabis Regulations, Retail Round Two will open either around the end of 2022 or sometime in early 2023. This round will be
California deems nearly all kinds of workers employees. There are, however, some important circumstances where workers may be classified as contractors. In my first post of this series, “Classifying California Cannabis Workers,” I explained the basics of employee versus independent contractor classification. Today, I look at some of the key independent contractor exceptions for California
Last summer, I wrote a post called "Fire Season is Coming." Given the massive expected California droughts, it's pretty safe to assume that fire season is coming, again. Today, I want to recap some of the issues that we're likely to see in the coming months. As we learned in prior fire seasons, the cannabis
California is one of the trickiest states in the U.S. for employers, and especially for cannabis employers. The numerous, byzantine requirements here simply don't exist in many other states. Classifying California cannabis workers is one of the biggest challenges for local industry. Cannabis companies often think they can get around employment law requirements by calling
Unfazed by the federal leadership vacuum on cannabis, states continue to roll out cannabis proposals and programs. A total of 34 states considered cannabis reform proposals in 2021. Another 32 proposals (some of them pre-filed in 2021) are up for discussion here in 2022. These proposals range from limited decriminalization measures to comprehensive, adult use
For many years, we've written about California's truly bizarre animus towards hemp-derived CBD. Many efforts to regulate CBD failed. Last year, the state finally managed to pass AB-45 but the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) hasn't really done anything since. That will change soon. Finally, California will regulate CBD. California is getting CBD regulations
