One of the most important decisions a new cannabis business can make is the form of entity it will use. In fact, one of the first questions businesses ask is whether the right entity for a cannabis business is a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, or something else. Like basically every other legal analysis, the
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
Many cannabis handshake deals result in the parties forming an inadvertent cannabis partnership. The words “partnership” and “joint venture” are often thrown around casually. Many early stage cannabis entrepreneurs know they want to do some type of business venture, often with a business partner, but they often do not know why or how to avoid
New York snuck a pretty significant tax break for cannabis businesses into its 2022 budget. The Revenue Bill included a state tax deduction for cannabis related business expenses that are currently disallowed by § 280E of the federal tax code. We have seen this strategy in other “canna friendly” states and it’s a welcome development.
We work with international cannabis companies that operate in the U.S., and we regularly field inquiries from others who want to enter the U.S. market. Some are already selling into the U.S. market through an intermediary like a broker or a sales agent. In the United States, there are four main ways to enter the
Previously we wrote about equity compensation for cannabis employees from the perspective of companies. We have been dealing with more and more companies adding equity to their overall compensation scheme, so now is a good time to revisit it from the employee perspective. For an overview of the types of equity compensation available, see here.
We have been watching the debate on California cannabis taxes, including the arguments from child welfare advocates that cannabis tax reductions would harm children. In this post, I’ll explain why this perspective is flawed, and propose a better path forward. The California cannabis tax headache California is potentially overhauling cannabis taxes, a much-needed reform for
I’ve written a couple of times about the ongoing struggle that is the California cannabis tax situation, and I was recently on a great panel about the future of cannabis taxes in the country. California cannabis taxes are some of the highest in the U.S.. The situation seems to be, thankfully, evolving for the better
Last week, I participated on a great panel about current and future cannabis taxes called “Solving the Cannabis Tax Puzzle: Approaches for an Emergent Industry” hosted by Ohio State University Moritz College of Law’s Drug Enforcement and Policy Center and the Center for New Revenue. The panel covered current and future cannabis taxes from a
I really fought myself on putting together a festivus post of all that went wrong for the cannabis industry in 2021. Instead, I want to focus on the positives for 2022 as the industry continues to mature and expand across the U.S. and abroad. As 2021 comes to a close, here’s what I’m looking forward
