Happy MLK Day! For our international readers, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is an American federal holiday marking the birthday of its eponymous civil rights hero. Dr. King was the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. Dr. King was assassinated in
For any marijuana business not fortunate enough to own its land outright, there are few documents more important than the lease. Not only is the lease the only transactional document reviewed by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) prior to licensure, but it sets fundamental operating parameters than can determine the success –and even life cycle
When it comes to ending federal prohibition, some public officials are do-ers, and other are talkers. Here in Oregon, we are lucky enough to have Congressman Earl Blumenauer, who is a relentless advocate for ending prohibition. Blumenauer helped found the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, and appended his name to the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment (RBA), which prohibits the
It’s finally happening — Attorney General Jeff Sessions will, today, rescind the 2013 Cole Memo regarding federal enforcement in states that legalized cannabis. The Cole Memo, which came on the heels of marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington back in 2012, set forth the Obama administration’s enforcement policies regarding state-legal marijuana. It set out eight
Even though the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (“MAUCRSA“) stripped distributors of massive amounts of power, they are still relevant and 100% necessary if cultivators and manufacturers want to get their products to retailers. Why? There are three primary reasons: Distributors are the only license type that can transport marijuana products and they’re also the
On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“The Act”) otherwise known as PL-115-97, was signed into law. The Act is the most significant overhaul of the U.S. Tax Code since 1986 and is effective beginning in 2018. Accordingly, cannabis businesses need to understand now how the new tax law affects their business.
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
Our Seattle office often receives calls from entrepreneurs who want to operate in Washington’s thriving recreational cannabis market. Washington is not currently accepting applications for new cannabis licenses which means there are a finite number of licenses available. This leaves one option for entrepreneurs who want to operate their own Washington’s cannabis business: buy an existing
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
At 3:30pm PST today, Sen. Ron Wyden became the first US Senate Co-Sponsor of Sen. Cory Booker’s Marijuana Justice Act (“MJA”). We’ve discussed the content of the MJA before here and as we stated in the Portland Mercury: “Booker’s Marijuana Justice Act is remarkable in its scope. Not only would it remove marijuana and tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) from Schedule I classification,
