So you went and started a cannabis business. Congratulations! Now, here’s a question for you: what’s it worth? And if you don’t mind us asking: how did you make that determination? Is it supportable? Recently, we have written about the future of cannabis funding and the basics of investment rounds. The valuation question looms large
On January 28, 2016, San Diego police narcotics officers along with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Hazmat Unit raided MedWest Distribution, a California manufacturer of concentrated cannabis extracts, also commonly known in the marijuana community as “hash oil,” “honey,” “wax” or “shatter.” Cannabis extracts are produced through complicated methods of extracting cannabinoids (like THC and CBD)
When it comes to marijuana and taxes, there is no bigger buzzword than “280E.” However, there is still a lot of confusion about what exactly 280E is and does. In reality, section 280E is a single sentence of the Internal Revenue Code. It states: “No deduction or credit shall be allowed for any amount paid
If 2015 was the year of the marijuana recall, 2016 is going to be the year of marijuana recall response and planning. If your cannabis business does not already have a recall plan in place you are already behind the eight ball as the need to quickly pull cannabis products off the shelf is happening with increasing
The cannabis industry has always been international. Our first cannabis client was actually a Dutch company that hired us years before either Colorado or Washington had legalized. This client hired us to figure out what it would need to do as a foreign company investing in a U.S. cannabis business in a cannabis industry which
Several months ago, we wrote about different ways to reward employees with equity in marijuana businesses. Since then, various other publications have written similar pieces. But there are some lingering challenges associated with cannabis businesses as they attempt to lure and incentivize high-performing employees. Primarily, the complex regulatory systems maintained by the various cannabis-legal states
In most states with legal cannabis, an illegal cannabis market still flourishes. In many of those states, a large chunk of growing, processing, selling and buying still occurs outside the regulatory system. The illegal market for cannabis stretches across the nation and impacts both states with and without legal cannabis. Before legalization, all cannabis was
Last week, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) issued temporary draft rules on marijuana labeling, concentration and testing. The rules are here and here. Like the Oregon Liquor Control Commission’s (OLCC) draft rules issued the same day (for the recreational program), the OHA rules are being promulgated pursuant to House Bill 3400, last summer’s omnibus marijuana
This past Friday I chaired a “Medical and Recreational Marijuana in Southern California” seminar in Santa Monica. During the seminar, Governor Brown signed into law the three bills that comprise the California Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA). Needless to say, this was big news for all of us at the seminar. This is
The Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) finally issued its draft rules yesterday for Oregon’s recreational marijuana program. The rules weigh in at a hefty 70 pages and you can find them here. In an accompanying release, the OLCC cautioned that “draft rule language is subject to change and should NOT be used as basis for
