The deals in Oregon cannabis are getting very big and much of what we do these days involves mergers, acquisitions and cross border work. It’s amazing this happened so fast. Less than four years ago, as the OLCC began writing rules for the adult use marijuana industry, there was a distinct small business tenor to…
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Oregon Cannabis Delivery: How to Enter the Market
OregonRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized April 30, 2019
In the past year or so, we’ve seen an influx of cannabis delivery businesses enter the Oregon market– specifically in Portland. Those businesses are getting a lot of press, and we have received multiple inquiries from outfits looking to enter this space. Given this growing interest, we thought we would go over some of the…
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Oregon Cannabis and Liquor: Why is OLCC Harder on Marijuana Licensees?
OregonRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized April 18, 2019
Why is the OLCC throwing the book at me? This is a question we hear a lot these days from our Oregon cannabis clients in reference to the OLCC’s recent more aggressive approach to enforcement. As we’ve explained, the OLCC has tightened the reins on marijuana applications and rule violations. This has made the prospects…
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The Oregon wine and cannabis industries can’t seem to get along. Where some see a natural synergy, others see undesirable competition. And as a RICO case filed in the Oregon federal court last week makes clear, Momtazi Family, LLC v. Yamhill Naturals, LLC, et al., No. 3-19-cv-00476-BR, some see only a criminal enterprise. At first…
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Hemp production is incredibly hot right now in Oregon. Since 2015 the number of licensed hemp growers has climbed from 13 to 584 (with much of that in the past two years) and hemp acreage has rapidly expanded to 11,000 acres. In 2019, we expect to see this dramatic escalation continue for several reasons, including: 1) recent…
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Last week the federal district court in Oregon dismissed with prejudice the plaintiffs’ amended complaint in Ainsworth v. Owenby, Case 6:17-cv-1935. As you may recall, this is one of several cases tracked by this blog in which a group of residential property owners displeased with alleged deleterious effects of a marijuana production or processing facility…
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Those who have been running businesses in the cannabis industry for years, as well as those that are working hard to become licensed, know it is not a simple task to stay in compliance with state and local regulations. The complexity of such regulations can cause businesses to inadvertently make mistakes, which can lead to…
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Last Thursday, in one of the few (to our knowledge) contested cases heard by the OLCC concerning cannabis, the OLCC accepted unanimously the findings of a state Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) and denied an application for a recreational marijuana producer license. You can read the press release here. The decision merits comment as a case…
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Oregon Cannabis Litigation: What’s Discovery Got to Do With It?
OregonRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized March 21, 2019
Recently, we wrote about the increasing frequency of litigating cannabis business disputes in the courts, noting several possible causes for this change from the early days when private arbitration was the preferred forum. Meanwhile, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) is beginning to treat violators of the rules governing recreational marijuana much more seriously. One…
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New Developments Regarding Oregon Hemp
HempOregonUncategorized March 14, 2019
Last week, the Oregon Department of Agriculture (“ODA”) submitted a letter of intent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) in which the state agency conveyed its decision to submit a state hemp plan, pursuant to the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (“2018 Farm Bill”). In addition to legalizing the production of hemp by removing…
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