The Biggest Pitfalls of California Cannabis Leases in 2019
CaliforniaMedical MarijuanaRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized August 13, 2019
We’ve written many times about how commercial leases to cannabis tenants are their own beasts. Generic leases don’t ever the job done. And, in California, as bad as some landlords want to rely solely on AIR and CAR forms, we generally caution landlords to have a customized lease arrangement when dealing with a cannabis tenant….
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Washington Cannabis: Crimes That Affect Your License Application, Maintenance, and Renewal
Uncategorized July 31, 2019
Most of us do not intend to break the law, but occasionally we may be caught on the wrong side of law enforcement. Both felony and misdemeanor crimes can derail an individual’s or company’s initial marijuana license application or renewal process. The Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board (the “WSLCB”) utilizes a point system, and if…
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Commercial cannabis licensing in California kicked off on January 1, 2018. A few days later, former U.S. Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, rescinded all former Department of Justice guidance on federal enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act in states with legal cannabis. The industry reaction in California that day was all over the place, and chaos…
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Welcome to the Jungle: Changes in Ownership, Financial Interests, and Entities for California Cannabis Businesses
CaliforniaMedical MarijuanaRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized July 19, 2019
We’ve written a lot about cannabis M & A, entity selection choices, and financing on the Canna Law Blog and how these transaction and changes do not amount run of the mill transactions because of the invasive regulatory overlay in almost all states. California though stands alone when it comes to the regulatory gauntlet on…
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Oregon’s New Cannabis Laws: The Definitive List
OregonRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized July 10, 2019
The 2019 Oregon legislative session formally concluded on June 30 and it was a doozy. With respect to cannabis, however, the session was significantly less eventful than any conference since 2015 (and that is mostly a good thing). If you’d like to track how we got here, we previewed the 2019 session in March and…
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Yes, Washington, You Really Need Cannabis Business Insurance
Medical MarijuanaRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized July 2, 2019
In a prior post I discussed some general insurance issues for cannabis business owners to consider. Today we’ll take a deep dive into Washington State insurance for cannabis businesses. As is the case with most emerging industries, the pace of marijuana business continues to outstrip the development of ancillary but crucial services (see California Approves…
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Insurance in the cannabis industry is big business, and business owners need to know what policies are available and what those policies cover. Why? Because in insurance policies, like all other business contracts (e.g. leases), the risk of a business venture is divided between the contracting parties. Your insurance policies are contracts where you pay…
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Cannabis businesses use non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) constantly. This may be due to a combination of factors: 1) the relative hardship of acquiring and protecting intellectual property over marijuana-related processes and products, today and historically; 2) a general modus operandi of “close to the vest” dealings in an industry that historically was pushed underground; and 3)…
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Cannabis Real Estate Leases: The Roots of Your Cannabis Business, Part 1
Real EstateRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized May 31, 2019
Whether you are a landlord, tenant, or subtenant in the cannabis industry, you need a first-rate cannabis lease. The structure of the leasing relationship and the terms of the lease are key components, both for getting funds out of the primary business and mitigating your risks, of which there can be many. If you are…
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Everyone’s Asking: Why Isn’t the Marijuana Banking Act Moving in the Senate?
Uncategorized May 26, 2019
The banking associations from all 50 states and 1 U.S. territory sent a joint letter to leaders of the Senate Banking Committee on Monday, to urge advancement of bipartisan legislation that would protect financial institutions that service marijuana businesses. The banking associations complained that while the SAFE Banking Act cleared the House Financial Services Committee…
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