Last week, I spoke at a legal education event on advising corporate and officers and directors. It wasn’t a cannabis-specific event, so there were speakers with various backgrounds. One interesting commonality that a few of the speakers discussed was the value of corporate mission statements, both in the for-profit and non-profit worlds. I don’t know
The Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (“MCRSA”) left us with many questions regarding how cannabis cultivation would be regulated. But now that the California Department of Food and Agriculture (“DFA”), through its CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing division, dropped 58 pages of proposed regulations for the Medical Cannabis Cultivation Program we have plenty of answers. Though these
Though the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (“MCRSA“) initially failed to specifically define the term “manufacturer,” California finally rectified the situation with the Department of Public Health’s Office of Manufactured Cannabis Safety‘s release of the initial MCRSA manufacturing rules last Friday. “Manufacturer” now means the production, preparation, propagation, or compounding of cannabis products, including extraction
We’ve written before on how commercial leasing for cannabis business is a uniquely different animal that requires special attention beyond a boilerplate commercial lease agreement. The new multi-agency rollout of California’s proposed medical cannabis regulations under the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (“MCRSA“), as well as Governor Brown’s recent budget trailer bill to harmonize the
Last month, the Oregon State Police Drug Enforcement Section published a report titled “A Baseline Evaluation of Cannabis Enforcement Priorities in Oregon.” It’s a great read. The big takeaway, as reported by The Oregonian, is that Oregon remains a top source for black market pot— despite our legal cannabis programs. Those familiar with the industry have long known this
John Oliver, comedian and host of Last Week Tonight, has the right idea here. Marijuana laws do have a big impact, including on environmental regulations and international treaties. Marijuana laws also can empower or disempower drug cartels, increase or lessen the opioid addiction crisis, improve or worsen racial politics, create or reduce jobs, and increase or reduce access
I have been traveling for the past couple of weeks in Japan and Taiwan, so I thought I’d write a brief post about cannabis in East Asia. In addition to having a cannabis business practice, our firm’s other main focus is on international business — we have lawyers in Shanghai and in Barcelona — so
In a multitude of marijuana-regulated states, certain individuals and companies cannot own or even finance a marijuana business due to state regulations on residency and criminal and financial background checks. This means the cannabis business lawyers at my firm often get clients interested in getting involved with an ancillary cannabis business so as to avoid these heavy regulations. Whether
This week in ridiculous cannabis quotes that ignore science is brought to you by Dr. Joe Godfrey, Executive Director of the Alabama Citizens Action Program (ALCAP). Godfrey claims to serve as “Alabama’s moral compass” and the aim of his group is to “protect…children from the dangers associated with immoral behaviors and the temptations they face in
Should we laugh or cry? Comedian Stephen Colbert’s analogy hits the mark on the absurdity of Jeff Session’s cannabis views. Colbert was responding to the following Sessions comment about combatting violent crime: I realize this may be an unfashionable belief in a time of growing tolerance of drug use. But too many lives are at stake
