Last month, California’s regulatory agencies charged with writing commercial cannabis rules released new modifications to the final rules proposed in July. The Bureau of Cannabis Control’s (BCC) proposed modifications contained some of the most dramatic changes, including what would effectively be an outright ban on intellectual property licensing for cannabis products—something we are still trying…
Federal courts are finding ways to enforce cannabis contracts nationwide. We’ve written previously about how courts, especially U.S. District Courts charged with applying and interpreting federal law, are wrestling with inconsistencies between state and federal law when it comes to state-legal cannabis. A little over a year ago, the... Read more
Hemp and Hemp-CBD in California is wild right now. As readers of this blog know, California is on its way to developing robust laws governing the sale (and all other aspects) of cannabis and cannabis products. So, it’s somewhat surprising that California’s laws concerning the sale of industrial hemp... Read more
Unfortunately, a lot of this stuff is not written anywhere. To successfully work in Washington’s regulatory cannabis industry, you need to understand the overlapping levels of laws and rules that are in the state’s regulatory arsenal. State statutes in RCW 69.50 set forth the boundaries of the regulatory system.... Read more
DEA and FDA are in a bit of a tiff over CBD. Last week, following the highly-anticipated U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) approval of Epidiolex, G.W. Pharma’s oral cannabidiol (“CBD”) solution for the treatment of seizure associated with Lennox-Gastraut and Dravet syndrome, the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) issued... Read more
Coming soon to California cannabis? In addition to our California cannabis business attorneys’ work on corporate, finance, and transactional issues with marijuana-related businesses, we also work with our firm’s foreign direct investment group. As California has implemented MAUCRSA since January 1 of this year, we have been getting tons of... Read more
California is taking steps to safeguard canna consumers. Yesterday, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a new piece of privacy legislation—AB-2402—which places restrictions on how licensed cannabis companies in California share information about their customers. AB-2402 is significant in that it prevents licensed cannabis businesses from sharing expansive categories of... Read more
RICO suits are not just busting up gangs these days. The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) is a federal Nixon-era law originally intended to combat drug cartels and organized crime. Among other features, it allows average citizens claiming a loss in property value to bring suit for... Read more
Could definitely be unconstitutional. We think it is worth taking another look at whether Washington’s strict residency requirement is constitutional. Since Washington first licensed marijuana businesses in 2014, we have wondered if anyone would be willing to bear the expenses of that particular challenge. And to date, there are... Read more
California municipalities are missing the mark on development agreements. Development agreements have become a popular tool for California municipalities regulating commercial cannabis activities. We’ve talked a bit about development agreements in the cannabis context here. In a nutshell, a development agreement is a contract between a municipality and developer that... Read more
