It’s 2023 and many cannabis businesses are still missing one critical operating document: a privacy policy. I’ve been writing and talking about this issue for years. And things are not getting better. So let’s talk about it once more. To start, California has required privacy policies for a very long time (well, “long” at least
ChatGPT is all the rage. The GPT stands for “Generative Pre-trained Transformer”. Translation: this is a next level, nearly omnipotent chatbot that’s incredibly articulate and conversant. Per Wikipedia: “while the core function of a chatbot is to mimic a human conversationalist, ChatGPT is versatile, including the ability to write and debug computer programs; to compose
Cannabis companies are largely behind the curve in Web3, but in the past few months some top cannabis companies have emerged in the Web3 ecosystem to join the old guard. The connection between cannabis and Web3 may not be apparent at first glance, but both industries are relatively nascent, semi-regulated, and attracting some of the
I wrote recently about cannabis NFTs (see here) and tokenization of cannabis assets (see here). This post covers cannabis DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) within the industry space (“DAO” is pronounced like “dow”). Web3: cannabis DAOs, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and smart contracts If you have been paying attention, you know at least something about Bitcoin, which is
Since launching our Web3 practice group, we have been getting steady inquiries regarding cannabis and web3 crossover. In this post, I focus on the tokenization of cannabis business assets, which often occurs through ICOs (initial coin offerings). This is currently an unsettled area of law in the U.S., and we do not recommend trying to
Every cannabis company has been asking lately how they can start making money from cannabis NFTs (non-fungible tokens). Many of these companies know that NFTs are part of the greater Web3 movement that feels somewhat familiar, especially to marijuana companies. Web3 is in large measure a counterculture movement that pushes back against large institutions that
Clients have often as asked whether HIPAA applies to the cannabis industry. As with anything else in healthcare, the answer can be complex. HIPAA was enacted in 1996 to help protect a patient’s healthcare information. While HIPAA is expansive, to the extent state law is more restrictive or protective, then state law will control in
For some reason, many cannabis businesses believe that because they’re already violating the federal Controlled Substances Act, they’re free to violate other existing federal laws. This of course is not the case, and never has been. Even though cannabis businesses can’t get legitimate recognition or fair treatment from the Department of Justice or the Drug
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) took effect at the beginning of the year. CCPA is a massive privacy law similar in scope to the European Union’s infamous General Data Protection Regulation, and applies to many businesses (not just cannabis businesses) that are based in or even “do business” in California. I wrote about the
If you aren’t familiar with the TCPA, you should familiarize yourself with this important statute that is currently sparking a ton of litigation in the cannabis industry. The TCPA stands for the Telephone Consumer Protection Act – a statute that was passed in 1991 to fight the incessant “robocalls” that were plaguing consumers at the
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