It could soon be illegal to smoke marijuana in public if some New York politicians have their way. New York Assemblyman Michael Novakhov and Senator Mario R. Mattera are co-sponsors of a new bill that would ban the public use of cannabis unless a local government opts in to permit such public use. As it
One of the most important business decisions cannabis businesses need to make is whether to lease or buy real estate. I have worked on too many cannabis real estate transactions to count. And in my experience, the vast majority are leases. Today I want to look the top three reasons why that’s the case. #1
The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) released a rules guide on July 14, “outlining regulations of products containing THC”. The guide is titled “Discontinued Sales of Products Containing THC by Businesses that Do Not Hold a Cannabis License” and it relates to recently enacted SB 5367, which we’ve been following closely. As we
California has the biggest legal cannabis market in the world – it’s a larger economy than some small nations. But while the Golden State’s regulated market is massive, it’s illegal market is far bigger. California has a big illegal cannabis market problem Back in 2019, I quoted reports that there were 3,000 illegal businesses in
California’s cannabis laws are a textbook example of what a state shouldn’t do. And one of the best examples of this is California’s distribution licenses. These licenses were unnecessary from the get go, and the recent developments have only made that reality more apparent. It’s time for the state to end distribution licensing and simplify
Federal law prohibits cannabis users from owning or possessing firearms. There are a host of federal court cases that may find these prohibitions an unconstitutional violation of cannabis users’ gun rights. But even if courts find these laws unconstitutional, many cannabis users could still face other federal government hurdles and restrictions. If you are not
New York State’s recently passed 2024 budget includes many cannabis-related provisions, addressing enforcement, licensure, and penalties, with the goal of curbing the state’s illicit marijuana market. Specifically, Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation granting the state Office of Cannabis Management (“OCM”) certain enforcement powers. Enforcement tools at OCM Several of the new enforcement tools at OCM’s enforcement
We’ve recently received a number of inquiries about whether it is legal to import marijuana seeds into the United States. These are seeds derived from marijuana plants that have a THC content less than 0.3%, but when planted will germinate into marijuana plants that have a THC content more than 0.3%. The seeds themselves have
Cannabis users cannot own or possess firearms under federal law. This is true even in states where cannabis is legal, and even for medical patients. These gun rights are very likely going to be held unconstitutional. But the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is clinging to them nevertheless. I’ve written pretty extensively
As a corporate attorney, one of the most common errors I see is failure to implement even basic corporate governance practices. This can lead to astoundingly bad places in certain circumstances. But even when it doesn’t, it is often costly to reconstruct past corporate actions. And that cost can be defrayed relatively easily. One way
