While cannabis brands need to be mindful of cannabis-specific trademark issues, they must also pay attention to trademarking basics. Back in January, we discussed three key trademark issues: distinctiveness, likelihood of confusion, and application bases. Today we continue our exploration of trademark basics, looking at the importance of choosing goods and services thoughtfully, in order
I’ve spent considerable time explaining the law regarding religious use of psychedelics on the Psychedelics Law Blog lately. A lot of that same law applies equally to cannabis. Naturally, I want to answer a similar question here: are cannabis churches legal? The answer is that they are basically “legal” in the same sense that cannabis
The battle to raise the limit of THC allowed in hemp from .3% to 1% continues. The 2018 Farm Bill defined hemp as “[t]he plant species Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant . . . with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.” It
Most people who aren’t familiar with California cannabis regulation are surprised to learn that legal cannabis is actually pretty rare throughout the state. Most cities and counties prohibit or severely restrict cannabis licensing. This includes most cities in Los Angeles county, and until recently, the county itself. But that’s all changing, because LA County will
Services agreements are a problem in the Oregon cannabis industry. These agreements have been around since at least 2016, when our office and at least one other law firm developed early templates in consultation with the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (“OLCC”). That form was called a “management agreement” and you will see them referred
Do principals need to worry about personal exposure in cannabis intellectual property (IP) litigation? Surprisingly, the answer is sometimes “yes.” In this post, we will look at the “Borat” case as one example. First, it’s important to note that there are varying levels of liability that can be attributed to a cannabis company’s principals. In
Demand letters are valuable tools for creating records, dispute resolution, and much more. But, they can backfire and lead to liability for the sender and even its attorney for threats or demands that are legally improper. Today, we’ll cover some of the basics of when demand letters go too far. What is the purpose of
Cannabis purchase order financing is gaining speed in the industry. Because of robust state regulation, high operational costs, high taxes, and the federal illegality of marijuana, a lot of cannabis businesses struggle financially in their day to day business operations. Approaches to this problem takes various shapes and forms across the industry. There are threats
Adult use cannabis legalization in Spain could be back on track, following a series of setbacks. To move things forward, Congress recently approved the creation of a subcommittee within the Committee on Health and Consumer Affairs. This subcommittee will analyze the experiences of regulating cannabis for medicinal use. Cannabis legalization in Spain: “To raise to
Many cannabis companies are thinking about creative ways to pivot into the developing psychedelics market. One of the questions I hear most frequently hear is whether this is a good idea. It’s one thing for companies to leave cannabis altogether and go full tilt into the psychedelics space. But mixing cannabis and psychedelics into one
