canna law blog

Producing Cannabis Extracts in California is a Risky Business

On January 28, 2016, San Diego police narcotics officers along with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Hazmat Unit raided MedWest Distribution, a California manufacturer of concentrated cannabis extracts, also commonly known in the marijuana community as “hash oil,” “honey,” “wax” or “shatter.” Cannabis extracts are produced through complicated methods of extracting cannabinoids (like THC and CBD)

canna law blog

State of Cannabis: Not-So-Sweet Home Alabama

This is number four in our series ranking the fifty states on cannabis from worst to best. This is our fourth in the series. Idaho was last week, ranking as the third worst state for cannabis. This week we head to the heart of Dixie, where good marijuana laws are severely lacking, but especially in Alabama. Alabama Criminal Law. Marijuana

canna law blog

Marijuana and the Federal Trade Commission: When Will the Giant Awake from Its Slumber?

It’s no secret that in the wake of the 2013 Cole Memo federal agencies greatly vary in how they treat marijuana businesses. The Department of Justice has opted to “stand down” for now in those states with “robust state marijuana regulations.” The Internal Revenue Service will not relent on enforcing section 280e against cannabis businesses, even though to do

canna law blog

Marijuana Ads in the Mail Are a No Go

We’ve previously written about how First Amendment free speech rights intersect with advertising for marijuana. We’ve also written about how a Colorado television station pulled the plug on a marijuana television commercial over concerns about violating federal broadcast regulations. We have also apprised everyone of how multiple social media platforms are #SorryNotSorry for shutting down pages

canna law blog

Oregon Marijuana Production: Terms, Tiers and Really Big Grows

Under Oregon’s new recreational marijuana program, many of the people we used to call marijuana growers will soon become licensed “producers.” The medical program growers will still be “growers,” unless they apply to become producers, in which case those producers would remain subject to OHA grow site limitations (that is, unless the producer-licensed premises ceases

canna law blog

Foreign Investors in the U.S. Cannabis Industry Face Their Own Special Risks

The cannabis industry has always been international. Our first cannabis client was actually a Dutch company that hired us years before either Colorado or Washington had legalized. This client hired us to figure out what it would need to do as a foreign company investing in a U.S. cannabis business in a cannabis industry which

canna law blog

Oregon Marijuana: Draft Rules for Labeling, Concentration and Testing

Last week, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) issued temporary draft rules on marijuana labeling, concentration and testing. The rules are here and here. Like the Oregon Liquor Control Commission’s (OLCC) draft rules issued the same day (for the recreational program), the OHA rules are being promulgated pursuant to House Bill 3400, last summer’s omnibus marijuana

canna law blog

California’s New Medical Marijuana Laws: What You Need to Know Now

This past Friday I chaired a “Medical and Recreational Marijuana in Southern California” seminar in Santa Monica. During the seminar, Governor Brown signed into law the three bills that comprise the California Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA). Needless to say, this was big news for all of us at the seminar. This is

canna law blog

The Suquamish Marijuana Compact: First in the State, First in the Nation

The Suquamish Tribe and the State of Washington recently signed and entered into the first ever marijuana compact to allow a Native American Tribe to cultivate, process, and sell marijuana within a state’s highly regulated marijuana system. The Tribe’s own marijuana regulations have not been disclosed to the public. We previously blogged about how Washington was the first state to adopt

canna law blog

New York Medical Cannabis Licensing: Is It Worth It For Anyone?

On July 31, 2015, the New York State Department of Health awarded five licenses for medical marijuana cultivation, processing, and distribution authorized by the state’s Compassionate Care Act that went into effect on July 5, 2014. These five license recipients now have a deadline of January 5, 2016, or eighteen months from the date the law