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
The cannabis industry in California in 2018 is still finding its feet on many fronts – with both a regulatory framework and a banking solution being very much under construction. As these normalize, companies will establish their business metrics and get a firmer idea of the size of their opportunity, and then naturally increased M&A
As more cities begin to allow for and regulate commercial cannabis businesses, the State of California is seeing an influx of cannabis tourism. We’ve written before about the touchy relationships governments have with the idea of “cannabis lounges” (see here and here) and often questioned who will lead us in regards to cannabis tourism (our bets
In California, the first Cannabis Tax Return is due on April 30, 2018 and many of our clients are now working through the issues related to the Cannabis Cultivation and Excise Tax. In addition, many marijuana businesses must file their first 2018 estimated federal tax payment by April 17, 2018. To estimate taxable income, every
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
Last week I spoke on a panel about compliance at the Cannabis Cultivation Conference hosted by the Cannabis Business Times. If you’ve been following the latest developments in California you’d know that compliance with the myriad of regulations is the biggest obstacle for businesses looking to join the state legal cannabis market. For commercial cannabis
On Thursday, SB 1409, which proposes changes to California’s industrial hemp laws, was referred to committee. This piece of legislation proposes some much-needed updates to California’s industrial hemp laws. In our experience, states with adult use marijuana regulations, like California, tend to move more slowly building out their industrial hemp programs, which often come in
California is just starting to get its cannabis packaging and labeling regulations right under MAUCRSA. California has a mandated transition period from January 1 to July 1, 2018, during which time adult use and medical marijuana licensees can do business with each other and temporary and annual state licensees can transport and sell cannabis products already
As we’ve discussed time and time again, California’s voter-passed cannabis legalization initiative, as well as all subsequent statutory and regulatory additions to that law, maintains local governments as the ultimate arbiters of whether and how commercial cannabis operations can take place within any given county or municipality in the state. The most prominent exercise of
California cannabis businesses are now acquiring temporary permits to enter the new cannabis marketplace made possible under MAURSCA. As part of that process, all cannabis businesses have been introduced to the California Department of Fee and Tax Administration (“CDTFA”), the agency tasked with administering the new cannabis cultivation taxes and sales tax. The CDTFA administers
