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Although COVID-19 is causing much of the world to slow down, business deals in many industries continue. Companies continue to seek strategic acquisitions, partnerships, and investments as they enter new international markets or seek to relocate a portion of their business or supply chain from higher-risk markets, such as China, to lower-risk markets in Southeast […]

We have worked with, in and around cannabis companies for a decade here at Harris Bricken. In that time we have been privileged to advise and structure some truly impressive enterprises. Conversely, we have also seen all manner of  malfeasance, nonsense, and fraudulent scheming. This post explores the latter. Specifically, it covers a personal grievance

Even though they’re currently deemed “essential“, California cannabis businesses were already struggling financially before the onset of COVID-19. Increasing competition from unregulated, un-taxed, illegal actors combined with high local and state taxes combined with costly and competitive local barriers to entry were all leading to delayed opening timelines, shorted budgets, terrible margins, and increasing failures

The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) legalized hemp by removing the crop and its derivatives from the definition of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and by providing a detailed framework for the cultivation of hemp. The 2018 Farm Bill gives the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulatory authority over hemp

Earlier this month, the company now known as LeafedOut, but formerly known as LeafedIn, reached a settlement with LinkedIn over allegations of trademark infringement. As readers of this blog are well aware, this is not the first instance of a non-cannabis party alleging trademark infringement by a cannabis company: What NOT to do with your

Given that we’ve all been staying home lately, it seemed like a good time to talk about our four-legged friends and CBD. In fact, if I think about it, I first saw hemp-derived CBD (Hemp CBD) “in the wild” at my local pet store here in Seattle. Now CBD is so ubiquitous that I hardly

Over the last few months, cannabis and CBD companies have been subject to some pretty massively publicized cases. We’ve seen partnership disputes, consumer class actions, shareholder suits, agency enforcement actions, intellectual property cases, and more. One thing virtually nobody is talking about—or prepared for—are the inevitable wave of CCPA suits. Before I explain what CCPA

  For our clients in the cannabis space, from licensed operators to ancillary service providers, we’ve found that virtually no area of business (and no contract) is immune from the unique regulatory concerns of the industry. Our firm represents many ancillary companies that do business with cannabis operators, including software companies, delivery platforms, and other

Right now, economic times are tough for almost every single American and individual business in this country, large or small. Unemployment is at depression-era levels, and companies are doing whatever they can to cut costs and save employees while the COVID-19 pandemic rages on. Unless you haven’t been paying attention, the Feds took historic steps

A couple of months ago we reported on a decision in the Southern District of Florida in which the court stayed a putative class action lawsuit against a seller of cannabidiol (CBD) products until the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) completes rulemaking regarding the marketing, including labeling, of hemp-derived ingestible products. The case is Snyder