Will China Really Buy More U.S. Hemp? There is No Guarantee
Uncategorized January 30, 2020
Two major President Trump-centric events have been unfolding these past few weeks, and each has alternatingly claimed the limelight and been overshadowed by the other. First, we have the ongoing Senate impeachment hearings, which began January 16, and second, phase one of the U.S.-China trade deal, which was signed and made public on January 15….
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Federal Agencies Provide New Guidance for Hemp Banking
HempUncategorized December 5, 2019
The tides have been rapidly changing for hemp companies to gain access to banking, which has not traditionally been available to hemp companies due to the fact that hemp was (sort of) federally illegal until about a year ago. As we previously explained: Commercial marijuana activity remains a federal crime, and the Bank Secrecy Act…
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Cannabis Taxation: C Corp, S Corp, LLC, LLP, Partnership, Nonprofit, or Something Else for Your Cannabis Business?
Uncategorized November 26, 2019
One of the most fundamental questions facing any businessperson in the cannabis industry and every other industry is: “What type of business entity should I use?” This is such a loaded question that your lawyer or accountant will first respond with, “That depends,” and then they will need to ask you at least ten follow-up…
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Utah Cannabis Investment Fraud: Know Your Securities Laws
UncategorizedUtah November 11, 2019
It is trite of me to say so, but the current “gold rush” in the U.S. has prospectors dreaming of double-fisting cannabis buds and greenbacks, and that makes for fertile fraud soil. In this green rush, investors are voraciously putting money into cannabis ventures that are, in some instances, producing vast amounts of cash and…
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California Cannabis: Department of Business Oversight Issues Somewhat Helpful Guidance to Financial Institutions
CaliforniaRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized October 30, 2019
Earlier this month, on October 3, the California Department of Business Oversight (the “DBO”) issued a Cannabis Banking Guidance memorandum to its state-chartered financial institutions (banks and credit unions) to help them make appropriate risk assessments in serving cannabis-related businesses and comply with federal guidelines. The memorandum is in the form of an extensive questionnaire. The…
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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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Hemp/CBD Litigation: Curaleaf Hit With Federal Class Action Lawsuit Alleging Securities Violations
HempUncategorized August 9, 2019
Just a few weeks ago, Curaleaf Holdings (“Curaleaf”) announced that it would pay $875 million, mostly in stock, to acquire a Chicago based cannabis company, Grassroots. (See here.) This followed news in May that Curaleaf had reached a nearly $1 billion all-stock deal with one of Oregon’s biggest cannabis companies, Cura Partners, Inc. (See here)….
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Seven Things Foreign Companies Should Consider When Investing in US Cannabis
Uncategorized August 1, 2019
Our cannabis business attorneys see more and more deals where foreign individuals or companies want to invest in or acquire licensed cannabis businesses. It’s often easy for foreign companies to assume that because cannabis is state-lawful, it is similar to any other investment. This couldn’t be farther for the truth. Even for local companies, the…
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Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from China in U.S. Cannabis Businesses
CaliforniaRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized June 25, 2019
If you think your Chinese investor will be able to get your cannabis venture the promised investment funds any time soon, you are in for a long slog. Most companies do not care who provides their investment capital (as long as the investors are content being passive investors), and Chinese households have typically been lauded…
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Since 2014 we’ve cautioned investors about publicly traded marijuana stocks. Back then we cautioned would-be investors about “pot companies that are trading at frothy levels that are not well-positioned to compete in the marijuana marketplace.” More recently, we’ve written about the scale of mergers, acquisitions, and cross border work, how to “raise money right, and…
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