Insurance in the cannabis industry is big business, and business owners need to know what policies are available and what those policies cover. Why? Because in insurance policies, like all other business contracts (e.g. leases), the risk of a business venture is divided between the contracting parties. Your insurance policies are contracts where you pay…
Read more
Cannabis Real Estate Leases: The Roots of Your Cannabis Business, Part 1
Real EstateRecreational MarijuanaUncategorized May 31, 2019
Whether you are a landlord, tenant, or subtenant in the cannabis industry, you need a first-rate cannabis lease. The structure of the leasing relationship and the terms of the lease are key components, both for getting funds out of the primary business and mitigating your risks, of which there can be many. If you are…
Read more
Evidence-Based Research Suggests Allowing Cannabis Storefront Retail Benefits Neighboring Property Values, Public Health and Safety
CaliforniaReal EstateUncategorized May 19, 2019
In 2016, California voters approved Prop 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, by nearly 2 million votes. In addition to legalizing adult use and possession of cannabis, the law creates a statewide regulatory regime for commercial cannabis activity, but also provides discretion to local jurisdictions to prohibit or restrict such businesses. Almost 18 months…
Read more
California Proposed Williamson Act Changes Could Expand Availability of Cannabis and Hemp Farmland
CaliforniaReal EstateUncategorized May 4, 2019
California legislators have so far proposed more than 40 new cannabis laws for the 2019 session, ranging from cannabis tax reductions to banking reforms to party buses. But one bill stands out as a potentially important change to cannabis and hemp cultivation throughout the state: SB-527 would add language to a California law known as…
Read more
Top Five Suggested Revisions to California Form Leases for Cannabis Tenants
CaliforniaReal EstateUncategorized April 26, 2019
I cringe every time a form lease comes across my desk for a California cannabis tenant. While C.A.R. and A.I.R. lease forms certainly have their advantages (brokers and veteran landlords are comfortable with them, and they can be cheap and efficient if the transaction is simple), because of the complexity involved in leasing to cannabis…
Read more
Qualified Opportunity Zones, which provide a tremendous benefit to investors and low income communities, are the hot new topic in the real estate investment world. The cannabis industry is buzzing about investment opportunities in these zones, but we remain skeptical about the ability of cannabis business activity to qualify for the benefits under this new…
Read more
We’ve previously written about some of the pitfalls for landlords to avoid when leasing to commercial cannabis tenants in California. We’ve also recently discussed some relevant issues for landlords created by the state’s near-final regulations. And we’ve also looked at some of the biggest uncertainties remaining after the state issued those regulations. Now that we…
Read more
California Cannabis Landlords: More Regulatory Snags to Avoid
CaliforniaReal EstateUncategorized November 26, 2018
We’ve previously written about some of the pitfalls for landlords to avoid when leasing to commercial cannabis tenants in California. We’ve also written about how the state’s recently proposed modifications to its final cannabis regulations could affect licensees and the industry writ large (see here, here, and here). The comment period for those rule changes…
Read more
California Cannabis Development Agreements: Part Three
CaliforniaReal EstateUncategorized November 13, 2018
This is the third post in our three-part series on development agreements in California. In our first post we provide an overview of the use (and misuse) of development agreements in the cannabis industry. The second post breaks down the basics of development agreement laws. Here, we will discuss the key terms to include and what…
Read more
California Cannabis: New Law Allows Municipalities to Fine Landlords Without Notice
CaliforniaReal EstateUncategorized September 25, 2018
