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
Even if your state has legalized marijuana, your neighbors or your homeowners’ association may not be on board. Most states that have legalized medical marijuana or recreational marijuana limit consumption to places out of view of the general public. In other words, you are mostly limited to consuming cannabis in the privacy of your own
Oooh oooh that smell — can’t you smell that smell? Ok, we couldn’t resist trotting out the oft-repeated Lynyrd Skynyrd lyric. In all seriousness though, a recent Washtenaw County, Michigan court ruling discussing marijuana odor gives us an opportunity to remind canna businesses and home-growers alike to keep their smells to themselves. Neighbors had been
Many people use decriminalization and legalization synonymously and interchangeably, and that’s not correct. Decriminalization essentially means that a given activity no longer qualifies as criminal conduct and can only be treated as a civil infraction, but that activity is unregulated. Legalization ultimately means the ability to lawfully regulate a given activity, as well as the
Washington State’s Liquor Control Board issued new “emergency” rules yesterday, mostly dealing with marijuana-infused food products, commonly called edibles. The rules were a reaction to recent stories of individuals who ingested too much cannabis from their edibles (see Maureen Dowd’s story here), and of children mistaking cannabis candy for the real thing. If you are making edibles for
Though the Department of Justice has been sticking by its promise to stand down when it comes to legalized marijuana, its sister agencies have been dragging their feet. The newest cannabis foe to line up beside the IRS and the Department of Treasury? The Bureau of Reclamation. While some of you have probably never heard
We’ve been marijuana business lawyers for a long time now and in multiple states, and being on the front lines of this industry means that we have seen a lot of good and bad actors. In this post, we share the Top Ten Marijuana Industry Red Flags so that you know what to look for to
