Unfortunately, in times of crisis and hardship there will always be companies attempting to take advantage of people, playing off of fear and desperation. Earlier this month, the FDA sent out a round of warning letters to companies that were selling fraudulent COVID-19 products. We’ve written extensively about what CBD companies should not do if
A lawyer I know once told me that the primary motivation behind drafting a contract should not be making each party’s obligations clear or negotiating better terms, but instead should be ensuring that when there is litigation, that party is in the best possible position to win. Having written and litigated numerous contracts, I could
Succeeding in the cannabis industry is not easy, especially in California. Complex regulation, high taxes, expensive real estate, and competition with the black market are just a handful of factors that challenge cannabis businesses. The majority of players lack sufficient reserves and agility to stay in the game. Due to the substantial upfront costs required
It’s no secret that California’s illicit cannabis market is alive and well; a recent audit showed that there are nearly 3,000 unlawful cannabis businesses in the Golden State. A few months ago, I wrote a post offering a few suggestions on how the state could combat the problem of illicit cannabis, and I am not
This is the first in a three-part series addressing why companies making and sell hemp-derived CBD products ought to be concerned about state consumer protection laws and offering a few thoughts on how to mitigate the risk of running afoul of those laws. This week we will look at Oregon, followed by Washington, and California.
As expected, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has continued to increase the number of patents issued containing the words “cannabis” or “marijuana” this year. Because we anticipate that the growing number of patents in this industry and progression of the first cannabis patent lawsuit (covered here, here, here, and here) inevitably will inspire more
A few weeks ago, I wrote a Hemp/CBD litigation forecast in which I predicted that at some point a CBD company will make use of the Lanham Act by claiming that a competitor is engaging in false or misleading advertising. (See here). In that post I promised to go into the Lanham Act in further
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that the U.S. is facing a vaping epidemic where consumers are potentially inhaling/ingesting very toxic chemicals in the form of vaporized nicotine liquid and THC oil. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevent (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and state and local governments are still trying
The 2019 Oregon legislative session resulted in the adoption of several new laws concerning cannabis. You can read our definitive list here, our preview of the session here and a mid-session update here. One notable change was the passage of Senate Bill 218, which authorizes the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) to refuse to issue initial
Recently, I traveled to Chicago to speak at a conference hosted by the American Bar Association (“ABA”) titled From Regs to Riches: Navigating the Rapidly Emerging Fields of Cannabis and Hemp Law. The Conference covered a broad range of cannabis topics including the tension between state and federal law on marijuana, navigating the licensing and start-up
