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
Our Oregon lawyers have been fielding many questions regarding a recent civil RICO complaint filed in the federal court in Portland, Oregon styled as McCart v. Beddow et al. This case was filed on the heels of the Safe Streets decision out of Colorado that we discussed recently, and was clearly heavily influenced by that decision. You
We have begun to see an increase in consolidation throughout the Oregon marijuana industry. Large companies from other states are moving in, and Oregon companies are buying each other’s assets or stock and integrating to form verticals. In business parlance, we have entered the scaling portion of the inevitable consolidation curve. Cannabis Company Acquisition Generally
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
Individuals and companies looking to join the Oregon cannabis market often ask us lawyers whether we know of any licenses for sale. Some of these requests come from states like Washington, where licenses are no longer being issued and are frequently bought and sold. Others come from outside the regulated marijuana space altogether, from people
My law firm represents a large number of cannabis operators in Oregon, Washington and California. Some of these operators own the land they trade on; others simply lease. Whenever we are lucky enough to meet the client before the onset of cannabis activity, our first question is often whether the target property is mortgaged, or
Last week, I spoke on an Oregon Business Magazine panel regarding the state of the Oregon cannabis industry. The event drew a diverse group of industry entrepreneurs, investors, consultants and observers, despite its 7:30 a.m. start. The panel also covered an array of topics, from state and federal regulation, to product branding and marketing, to
In state level marijuana programs, compliance is king. Last week we wrote about the final, permanent rules for the Oregon Liquor Control Commission’s (OLCC) recreational marijuana program. In that post, we mentioned that all cannabis business employees must hold a marijuana worker permit, not just retail employees. We also mentioned that information about the permit
This is the second installment on our state by state series on “The Top Ten Things You Need to Know to Start a Cannabis Business.” Our first entry, on Washington, is here. Today’s entry covers Oregon, a pot friendly state with two separate programs: a recreational marijuana program run by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC),
