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
We work with many large cannabis businesses and many small ones too. It’s fun to talk up the bigger fish, but I have a soft spot for the little guys. I really enjoy small business at the end of the day. I like seeing financial statements of disciplined, privately held companies doing maybe $5m to
Foreign investors (often in countries that prohibit cannabis) are eager to invest in burgeoning state cannabis markets in the U.S. This can often go very wrong, especially if the investor gets bad legal or tax advice. Our cannabis attorneys and our foreign direct investment team have seen these problems crop up again and again. Today,
Investors in marijuana businesses face many risks. To name just a few: the subject of their investment is illegal under federal law; the businesses in which they are investing face heavy tax burdens because of IRC 280e; and the lack of access to banking services means businesses operate nearly exclusively cash, which makes tracking sales,
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
Cannabis purchase order financing is gaining speed in the industry. Because of robust state regulation, high operational costs, high taxes, and the federal illegality of marijuana, a lot of cannabis businesses struggle financially in their day to day business operations. Approaches to this problem takes various shapes and forms across the industry. There are threats
I spend a lot of time with business owners discussing their cannabis business value. Often, they come to me when they realize they have a problem with their current or former business partner. We all like to assume our business relationships will continue indefinitely as the venture increases in value and the owners see eye-to-eye
Many investors and cannabis businesses are keen on opportunities to participate in financing rounds. As with any other investment or business venture, financing rounds for cannabis operations carry various risks. Investors and businesses looking to participate in these financing rounds naturally wonder how to insure cannabis financing, and what insurance options are available to protect
