Once upon a time, the cannabis industry had something called the Ogden Memorandum. That was back in 2009, prior to any state legalizing cannabis for recreational use. The Ogden Memo gave prosecutorial guidelines to U.S. Attorneys in medical marijuana states. Many people read the Ogden Memo too cavalierly for the feds’ liking (to wit, over
Yesterday, we received a call from Congressman Earl Blumenauer’s office here in Portland, Oregon. The purpose of the call was to discuss an idea to deal with the oversupply of marijuana in the state sanctioned Oregon market. Specifically, the idea was to explore the possibility of an interstate compact with California, where Oregon would sell
We represent investors from all over the world making plays in state-legal cannabis. The phenomenon began in earnest a couple of years ago, when Oregon became the first U.S. state to open its marijuana industry to non-residents. Some of those early deals were backed by Canadian public money, and the phenomenon of Canadian investment has
The Oregon legislature concluded its 2018 session last weekend. As we wrote last month, because 2018 is an even-numbered year, this was a short session lasting just 35 days. We predicted that not all four proposed cannabis bills would pass and that is exactly what happened: the proposed legislation on “special events” for marijuana licensees
Cannabis producers make up the largest number of Oregon industry licensees. As of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission’s (OLCC) February 15, 2018 report, there are 922 licensed producers and approximately 1100 producer licenses awaiting approval. In comparison, the next largest license category is retail establishments, with a total of 527 approved licenses and approximately 200 awaiting approval.
The Oregon legislative session began on Monday. Because 2018 is an even-numbered calendar year, this session is a short session, lasting just 35 days. That fact hasn’t stopped Oregon democrats from targeting ambitious policy objectives like cap-and-trade, along with a host of other items that will likely not get done. As to cannabis, there won’t
We recently wrote that we are working on a substantial number of merger and acquisition deals regarding Oregon marijuana businesses. One question that comes up in these deals, without exception, is how the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) license acquisition process works for the incoming party. This is because licensing is a fundamental sale consideration: no
On December 22, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) adopted a large packet of rules amendments that incorporate the many cannabis bills signed by Oregon Governor Kate Brown, as well as “technical amendments [made] in response to market realities.” These changes, effective December 28, 2017, include: implementation of mandatory seed-to-sale tracking for medical cannabis; a new
A little over a year ago, I put together a State of the State blog post on Oregon cannabis. At that time, the rules were rolling out in a business-friendly manner, many of our clients were proceeding toward licensure, and the market did not feel saturated. Today, the first two items remain true, but the
Back in 2014, we wrote that bankruptcy is not an option for marijuana businesses. That issue has been litigated here and there since then, but as of today, cannabis businesses are no better off than before. The hard reality is this: all bankruptcy cases are handled in federal courts under rules outlined in the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Those courts have held
