Regulatory

Due to coronavirus, what normally would have been a pretty robust legislative session in the California Assembly for new cannabis bills was generally underwhelming. The set-up is markedly different than the 2020 session, where there were over 30 cannabis-related bills. Nevertheless, here we are. At this point, we have a handful of live bills that […]

Every week, clients ask us to review their hemp-derived cannabidiol (“Hemp CBD”) products to ensure “full compliance.” Unfortunately, given the patchwork of often conflicting state labeling laws, and the lack of a federal pathway for the sale and marketing of these products, it is virtually impossible for Hemp CBD stakeholders to meet compliance standards. Consequently,

Como muchos de nuestros lectores sabrán, la Cámara de Representantes de los Estados Unidos votará este mes para despenalizar la marihuana en todo el país. De prosperar ciertas iniciativas legislativas en Colombia y México, las contrapartes de la Cámara en estas dos importantes economías latinoamericanas podrían seguir sus pasos. En Colombia, los representantes Juan Carlos

As many of our readers will know, the U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on nationwide decriminalization of marijuana this month under the MORE Act. If legislators in Colombia and Mexico have their way, the House’s counterparts in two important Latin American economies could be following its steps. In Colombia, Reps. Juan Carlos

In an inevitable conclusion, the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) and Department of Justice (“DOJ”) won their federal court case against the California Bureau of Cannabis Control (“BCC”) pursuant to which the BCC must now comply with a recent DEA subpoena regarding alleged criminal activity by certain state-licensed distributors hailing out of (what’s probably) San Diego

The officers, directors, partners, members and managers of cannabis companies need to understand what constitutes a “security” and how to comply with applicable securities laws. The failure to do so may result in their personal liability for securities fraud. Let’s start with what constitutes a “security.” As my colleague Jonathan Bench recently explained in layperson’s

Last week the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a bad interim hemp rule. I wrote that it was dangerous because I viewed it as making most hemp processing activities illegal if, at any point in processing hemp, the level of delta-9 THC increases beyond 0.3%– even if the hemp was remediated before it left the

I’ve been practicing corporate, transactional, and regulatory law in the marijuana industry for going on 10 years now. I’ve never understood exactly why folks get excited about, or even remotely interested, when various lifetime politicians in Congress push bills on the federal legalization/rescheduling of marijuana. Why? Because these bills notoriously go nowhere (for a number

When the 2018 Farm Bill was inked, one of the biggest perceived wins was a provision prohibiting states from interfering with interstate transport or shipment of hemp. It turns out that this protection was for a long time meaningless. Many hemp transporters today face just as much risk when transporting hemp as they did before

Last month, my colleague Alison Malsbury reported on the trademark infringement lawsuit filed by Colorado-based Veritas Fine Cannabis (“VFC”) against Florida-based Veritas Farms. In her post covering the initiation of the lawsuit, Alison explains why the current legal landscape forces plaintiffs in such cases to rely on a two-part strategy of obtaining 1) state trademark