The federal government continues to surprise us with its varied treatment of marijuana: this time by federally recognizing marijuana workers’ rights. Specifically, the National Labor Relations Board (for the second time) is preparing to hear marijuana workers’ allegations against their New Jersey medical marijuana dispensary employer for retaliation, union-busting, and unfair working conditions. That hearing is
Our cannabis lawyers been asked several times in the past couple of weeks whether we have any opinion on a Washington Superior Court decision that came out earlier this month that grappled with the interplay of government regulation and commercial free speech. There’s no copy of that Superior Court opinion available online, but in this
Our cannabis lawyers are often asked what it takes to purchase or sell a marijuana business license. This question from our clients sometimes comes up during their license application phase and it sometimes comes up after their licensing has been finalized. People tend to think of marijuana licenses as fungible commodities. This makes sense, as most
If you follow us on Facebook, you probably know about our ongoing saga with the social media giant over its having banned our promoting our page or our posts. Why is Facebook blocking us from promoting content from the Canna Law Blog on its pages? According to the Facebook Advertising Guidelines, and from what we have been
Now that four states have legalized recreational marijuana and another twenty or so states have legal medical marijuana regimes, we are hearing people talk about how taking their legal pot across state borders by car or by air is no big deal. Unfortunately, it is a big deal. A really big deal. It should first
A few weeks back, our nation’s current attorney general, Eric Holder, announced he would be resigning the position he has held since the start of the Obama administration, once his replacement is named and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Holder’s tenure is viewed somewhat as a mixed bag — earning kudos for his efforts to
Marijuana business owners need to be mindful of products liability laws and how they pertain to defective cannabis products. Though most state’s product liability laws favor those not directly involved in manufacturing a defective product, there are circumstances under which retailers can be held liable for a defective product, even without any knowledge of the
A trademark is commonly thought of as a brand or a logo. Think of Nike as a brand and the swoosh as its logo. A trademark can be a word (Nike), a phrase (“Just do it”), a symbol (the swoosh), a design (the swoosh) or a combination of words and designs. The owner of a
Why do commercial landlords still hesitate to rent to marijuana businesses? In addition to the remote possibility of a landlord getting arrested and prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for violating the Federal Controlled Substances Act, landlords face the very real threat of losing their property via a civil asset forfeiture. The federal
Be it the IRS, the Bureau of Reclamation, or the banks, the conflict between state and federal laws on marijuana can cause problems to those in the marijuana industry. You should now add filing for bankruptcy to the list. When businesses go (or are near to going) under, they typically file for bankruptcy in a
