Cannabis Business Basics: Product Liability Insurance is a Nonnegotiable Priority
Uncategorized October 22, 2019
With Juul recently in the news and vaping bans going into effect around the country (see our recent coverage here, here, here and here), marijuana companies have been asking us questions about what to expect in the near term. In the midst of this uncertainty, we have been stressing to our clients the importance of insurance coverage…
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Five Common Problems in California Cannabis M&A Transactions
CaliforniaUncategorized October 21, 2019
Now that we’re about two years into California cannabis licensing, our California cannabis attorneys are seeing a huge uptick in mergers and acquisitions in the cannabis space. It’s critical for potential M&A transactions to understand California cannabis laws and regulations and ensure that any M&A contracts are drafted with the regulations in mind. This is…
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Last week I had the pleasure of speaking on a panel called “Expert Perspectives on the Rapidly Evolving Cannabis Industry” at the Midwest IP Institute in Minneapolis, MN. One of the issues that is often a source of confusion, both at IP-focused events and for clients, is how to craft an appropriate specification of goods…
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Terrible, No Good California Cannabis Distribution Contracts
CaliforniaMedical MarijuanaRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized September 25, 2019
Since January 2018, distributors have played an interesting role in California cannabis. From a regulation perspective, dealing with a distributor is not optional. However, from the business decision vantage point, they’re not all that necessary. Still, some manufacturing and cultivation licensees opt to utilize distributors for sales and retail relationships with the distributor attempting to…
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Is Bankruptcy Protection on the Horizon for Cannabis Businesses?
Uncategorized September 14, 2019
As most of us know, bankruptcy is just not an option for the cannabis industry or those even affiliated with it. To date, courts have generally ruled that debtors who work in the cannabis industry or derive meaningful income from cannabis activity (directly or indirectly) cannot use bankruptcy. This is in response to the U.S….
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Cannabis Branding: New Rule Requires U.S. Attorney for Foreign Applicants and Registrants
Uncategorized September 13, 2019
Earlier this summer, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that as of August 3, 2019, all foreign-domiciled trademark applicants, registrants, and parties to Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) proceedings must be represented by an attorney who is licensed to practice in the United States. This will apply to all trademark applicants,…
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Marijuana Business Financing: Tough Questions From Investors
Uncategorized September 11, 2019
As veteran marijuana business owners (and virtually every other type of industry owners) know, there may come a point in time in the business when you are sitting across the table from someone who is offering to put money into your business. They may be your prospective business partner. They may be your close friends…
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Cannabis Litigation/Bankruptcy Options: Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors
Uncategorized September 3, 2019
We recently hosted a webinar on alternative dispute resolution options for cannabis companies. In addition to the handful of questions we received on receivership, one topic of particular interest was the potential for cannabis companies to utilize different restructuring or bankruptcy options. As you might know, a hefty percentage of the disputes we see in…
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Commercial marijuana activity remains a federal crime, and the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) generally prohibits financial institutions from accepting marijuana-generated dollars. Financial institutions that work with marijuana businesses must conduct due diligence to ensure that marijuana businesses are complying with state law. That includes regularly submitting Suspicious Activity Reports (“SARs”) to the Financial Crimes Enforcement…
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Cannabis Company Disasters: Learning from the Brutal Curaleaf Sequence
Uncategorized August 14, 2019
Today let’s talk about Curaleaf and the trifecta of very bad things that befell the company over a recent two-week span. Then, let’s see what we can learn from this brutal sequence. To recap, between July 22 and August 5, Curaleaf: 1) was hit with an FDA warning letter for “illegally selling” CBD products and…
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