ICYMI: U.S. Attorney General Nominee (Likely) Won’t Harsh Your Mellow
Medical MarijuanaRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized February 13, 2019
Back on January 4, 2018, the industry was in a slight tailspin due to then acting Attorney General Jeff Session’s (renowned marijuana hater) rescinding of all marijuana enforcement guidance from the Department of Justice (“DOJ”). Reactions in the media ranged from treating the Sessions announcement as nothing more than an attempt to frighten the cannabis industry…
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Cannabis and International Trade: Never the Twain Shall Meet?
Medical MarijuanaRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized February 4, 2019
Recently, we’ve been getting tons of questions from clients regarding the international import and export of cannabis around the globe. 2018 was a historic year for the cannabis industry not just in the United States, but also internationally. Canada legalized recreational marijuana for the entire country. Many countries (e.g., Thailand, New Zealand, Mexico, Lithuania, U.K.) took…
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California Cannabis: Breaking Down the CDPH Permanent Regulations
CaliforniaMedical MarijuanaRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized January 22, 2019
The State of California finally adopted permanent cannabis regulations earlier this month. In a series of posts, we’re going to cover the highlights of each agency’s permanent rules so that you know what big changes to expect during 2019. This post will cover the main changes (in our opinion) regarding the California Department of Public…
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MLK Day 2019: Marijuana and Civil Rights
Medical MarijuanaRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized January 21, 2019
Happy MLK Day! For our international readers, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a federal U.S. holiday marking the birthday of its eponymous civil rights hero. Dr. King was the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. Dr. King was assassinated in…
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BREAKING NEWS: California Agencies Issue Final Cannabis Regulations. Finally.
CaliforniaMedical MarijuanaRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized January 17, 2019
Yesterday afternoon, on January 16, 2019, the California Office of Administrative Law (“OAL) finally approved the sets of final regulations under it had been reviewing after submissions from the California Department of Public Health (“CDPH”) which regulates cannabis manufacturers, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (“CDFA”) which regulates cultivators, and the Bureau of Cannabis Control (“BCC”)…
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California Cannabis Red Tape Alert: New BCC “Change of Ownership” Rules
CaliforniaMedical MarijuanaRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized January 7, 2019
Our California cannabis lawyers are seeing a major spike in mergers and acquisitions (M & A), and it’s time to discuss what’s on the horizon for changes of ownership for some California cannabis businesses. In every cannabis state, M & A is no breeze because the regulators almost always require pre-approval of the transaction or…
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The California Cannabis Packaging and Labeling Mess Will Soon Begin
CaliforniaMedical MarijuanaRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized January 4, 2019
In early December, California’s cannabis regulators released their proposed final regulations. If the regulations aren’t changed, it’s expected that they will take effect at some point this month, or shortly after. These regulations have some pretty important changes from the current readopted emergency regulations. One of the notable areas of change is the packaging and…
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2019 Will Be a Banner Year for Cannabis Mergers and Acquisitions
CaliforniaMedical MarijuanaRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized January 2, 2019
We handle a lot of cannabis M & A in our Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland offices. Over the years, it’s become pretty clear that in robustly regulated cannabis states, the secondary market for buying and selling businesses really peaks (after initial legalization) as local and state governments finally begin to settle their…
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Happy New Year!
Medical MarijuanaRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized January 1, 2019
Here’s to great things for all of our readers and for the cannabis industry in 2019!
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2018 Was a Huge Year for Cannabis
Medical MarijuanaRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized December 31, 2018
We had a blast celebrating all of the big wins for cannabis on this blog this past year. Looking back, it was a monumental year for cannabis reform, both in the United States but also internationally. At this point, it feels like there is no realistic scenario in which prohibition carries the day: Federal legalization…
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