Lending to Cannabis Businesses
Recreational MarijuanaUncategorized August 14, 2018
This industry is different, you know. Many cannabis businesses are funded with debt. Sometimes, the debt is owed to one of the business’s owners, who pursued a debt structure for tax reasons. Other times, the debt is owed to a third party. That party could be a friend or... Read more
Cannabis Cybersecurity: Why Hacking Back is a Bad Idea
Recreational MarijuanaUncategorized August 13, 2018
Hacking back isn’t the answer, unfortunately. As I have discussed for the last two weeks, cannabis businesses have become increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks. It is natural for a company victimized by data breaches to want to retaliate by hacking back. However, under current U.S. law, which is codified under... Read more
The Key to Saving Costs in Your Deal? The Term Sheet
Recreational MarijuanaUncategorized August 9, 2018
When I receive a summary of a cannabis business deal–the first emails, calls, LOIs, and term sheet in any form–with 90% accuracy I can say whether the transaction will be a difficult one or not. Note that “difficult” does not correlate with complex: Often the more complex deals, with... Read more
Cannabis Data Security: How to React to a Cyberattack
Recreational MarijuanaUncategorized August 5, 2018
Be prepared! As I discussed last week, hacked devices, breached networks, and stolen proprietary information have become commonplace in the cannabis industry. Because cybercrime variants are continually emerging, no company can achieve totally assured cybersecurity. Consequently, we strongly encourage all our clients to adopt a cyber incident plan for... Read more
Protect your business and its data from theft. To our surprise, many of our clients remain convinced that they are immune to cyberattacks. Yet, cannabis businesses house incredibly valuable information, making them exceedingly vulnerable to these attacks. This misplaced confidence has led numerous cannabis companies to operate without the... Read more
Cannabis Investing: Has it Gone Mainstream?
Uncategorized July 22, 2018
Has Investing in Cannabis gone mainstream? In “As Marijuana Goes Mainstream, Investors Rush In,” The New York Times answered this question affirmatively, but that article focused primarily on publicly traded companies. What about industry-wide? As our attorneys regularly put together investment rounds for cannabis companies we see these macro trends... Read more
Definitely say “NO” to unregistered broker dealers. Startups in the cannabis space have few options when looking to raise funds– almost all banks, venture capital (VC) firms, and other institutional funds are off limits. Suitable private investors are few and far between. This situation is unfortunately leading to a... Read more
Cannabis Company Basics: Capitalization and Licensure
Marijuana Laws, Regulations, & PoliticsMarijuana Stocks, Finance, & Investing June 29, 2018
Prepare to describe how the sausage was made. Over the past few years, we have had many cannabis clients call us during the license application process and ask some version of the following: “The state is asking me to disclose the capitalization of the company. What should I write?”... Read more
Protecting Your Cannabis Copyrights (Yes, You Have Them)
IndustryMarijuana Laws, Regulations, & Politics June 21, 2018
Copyright is an aspect of intellectual property (IP) law less frequently considered by cannabis businesses than trademark, trade secrets or even patents it seems. Yet, like these other forms of intellectual property, copyrights can afford their holders with market dominance and profitability when utilized correctly. Almost all marijuana businesses... Read more
