SAFE Banking Act

Breaking Down the Safe Banking Act: Why It Matters for Cannabis Businesses, Financial Institutions and Consumers

The Safe Banking Act, also known as the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act (SAFE Banking Act), is sorely needed legislation to address the critical issue of financial services being denied to marijuana businesses that operate in the state-legalized industries. We’ve written extensively about the SAFE Banking Act over the past several years. See here,

cannabis industry

What Biden’s Tax Plan Would Mean for the Cannabis Industry

President Joe Biden just dropped the federal budget for 2024. The White House boldly claims that the tax plan will reduce the deficit by $3 trillion over the next 10 years. But several parts of the budget’s tax reforms are likely to significantly (and adversely) impact the cannabis industry. Today, I’ll analyze a few key

cannabis immigration EB-5

Publicly Traded Cannabis Company Plans $500M (!) EB-5 Raise (!!)

Cannabis and business immigration don’t mix. Or at least that’s the conservative guidance we often give clients that come to us with that question. That’s not because a particular investment may not be sound, rather because federal law creates inherent conflicts between immigration eligibility and participating in a cannabis venture. Kate Robertson at MJBizDaily reported

chatgpt cannabis

ChatGPT and Cannabis: Not Bad, Not Bad at All

A few years ago I wrote a somewhat tongue-in-cheek blog post titled, “Cannabots – Are the Robots Coming For Your Weed,” which discussed the application of robotics to the cultivation of marijuana. In that post I cited several articles discussing the use of robots as farmers, restaurant workers, fashion models, and even lawyers. Just a

cbd liability

Direct and Ancillary CBD Liability Under the FD&C Act

Not much thought is given to ancillary CBD liability. Why is that? Probably because the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) hasn’t taken any serious enforcement action against any company or individual that aids and abets violations of the Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act (the “Act”) when it comes to CBD. Still, secondary CBD liability under

gun control cannabis

Will Gun Control Laws Soften for Cannabis Users?

The federal Gun Control Act of 1968 deems cannabis users “prohibited persons” who cannot legally own or possess firearms. In the past, numerous petitioners failed to overturn convictions under this law. That is now changing. In a recent case known as United States v. Harrison, a federal court ruled that cannabis use alone does not

interestate cannabis commerce

California Inches Towards Interstate Cannabis Agreements

It’s no secret that state cannabis markets across the nation are suffering badly. Because of I.R.C. 280E, lack of access to financial institutions, massive operational expenses, plunging prices, and just gluts of production, it’s not pretty out there. However, there’s a newish light at the end of the tunnel, at least for California and other

fda cbd

Breaking: FDA Says “No” to CBD Foods and Dietary Supplements

Since the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, the hemp CBD industry has been eagerly awaiting FDA CBD regulations. In that time, FDA convened a working group to study how the agency would regulate CBD foods and dietary supplements. As of January 26, 2023, the FDA concluded that it will NOT regulate CBD foods or

mlk day

MLK Day: Cannabis and Civil Rights

Happy MLK Day! Time to catastrophize just a bit. Last year at this time, I kicked off this post by writing: If Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today, he would almost certainly advocate to end the War on Drugs. Dr. King never spoke publicly about drugs or cannabis in particular: he was assassinated in

cannabis tax 280E

IRC § 280E is a Target for Cannabis Legal Reform in 2023

Will we see tax reform in 2023 for cannabis sellers? Specifically, will Congress finally get something done about the pain inflicted on industry by the Internal Revenue Code at 26 USC § 280E? (“IRC 28oE”.) It feels like a long shot, but you never know. After many attempts to get the SAFE Banking Act through