New Developments Regarding Oregon Hemp
HempOregonUncategorized March 14, 2019
Last week, the Oregon Department of Agriculture (“ODA”) submitted a letter of intent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) in which the state agency conveyed its decision to submit a state hemp plan, pursuant to the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (“2018 Farm Bill”). In addition to legalizing the production of hemp by removing…
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Oregon Cannabis: 2019 Legislative Forecast and Report
Medical MarijuanaOregonRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized March 1, 2019
The Oregon legislature has been grappling with cannabis for five consecutive years. Talking with those in Salem trenches, one senses some fatigue. At this point, over a month into the 2019 session, a preponderance of legislators appear vaguely inclined to “let it ride” and drop the big ideas when it comes to cannabis. This means…
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Is Six Years of Oregon Cannabis Supply Enough Already? OLCC Weighs In.
OregonRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized February 21, 2019
Last week, I covered the Oregon Secretary of State’s audit report of Oregon marijuana regulation. On January 31, the same day the audit was released, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) submitted its 2019 Recreational Marijuana Supply and Demand Legislative Report (“Report”). The Report’s key finding is nothing new: supply exceeds demand within Oregon’s recreational market….
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Oregon Marijuana Audit: Everything is All Messed Up and Also Just Fine
Medical MarijuanaOregonRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized February 16, 2019
On January 31, the Oregon Secretary of State released an audit of Oregon marijuana regulation. The audit is a hefty 37 pages, but its core findings are listed right there on the cover sheet: “Oregon’s framework for regulating marijuana should be strengthened to better mitigate diversion risk and improve laboratory testing.” Now: we would all…
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The Future of Cannabis in Washington and Oregon
OregonRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized February 7, 2019
In late January, Portland hosted the Cannabis Collaborative Conference (“CCC” or “Conference”), an annual forum created by cannabis industry leaders, aimed at addressing the most pressing issues facing this emerging market. This year’s conference focused on the future of the cannabis industry. Rick Garza, Director of the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (“WLCB”), was one…
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Portland Awards Cannabis Grants to Minority Owned Cannabis Businesses
OregonRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized February 2, 2019
We have been critical of cities licensing cannabis businesses in the past. Cannabis businesses are taxed and regulated heavily enough at the state level–why involve cities as well? We have always thought that if a city is going to be involved in the licensing process, it might as well do some good along the way….
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Last year was a big one for the Oregon industrial hemp program. If you recall, the state legislature enacted House Bill 4089, which provided a much needed regulatory framework for the crop and authorized its processing and sale into the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (“OLCC”) recreational market. To administer a portion of these statutory changes,…
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In December 2018, Congress passed the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (better known as the “Farm Bill”). Among other things, the passage of the bill removed industrial hemp from the federal Controlled Substances Act, allowing legal production of the crop. Despite this landmark legislation, pitfalls still lay on the path ahead. The legality of many…
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Oregon Cannabis: Are the Days of Administrative Settlement Over? Not Entirely.
OregonRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized January 18, 2019
I’ve been suspicious the last few months that the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) is starting to set a zero tolerance policy for marijuana rule violations. Unfortunately, the extrinsic evidence seems to be proving my suspicions. As I’ve previously written, the OLCC settlement policies seemed to shift last September. In a first for the commission,…
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Oregon Marijuana Company Sued in FLSA Wage Claim
OregonUncategorized January 11, 2019
I recently wrote about a case in the Tenth Circuit, Kenney v. Helix TCS, Inc., where the Court of Appeals is asked to decide if the Federal Labor Standards act (FLSA) provides wage and hour protection to employees of cannabis businesses. That case hasn’t seen much movement since I wrote about it, but its decision…
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