Category: Legal

Cannabis capital markets appear to be drying up. Headlines once dominated by successful capital raises and expensive strategic acquisitions are now consumed with reports of an apparent crash, involving dwindling stock prices, unrealistic revenue targets, deals falling apart and mass layoffs. The California-based cannabis retail behemoth MedMen Enterprises Inc. (OTC:MMNFF)…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a press release on November 25 concerning its recent enforcement actions and a regulatory decision concerning products that contain CBD. The warning letters follow FDA’s trend of focusing its CBD product enforcement on unapproved drug claims. The regulatory decision stated in the press release…

A look back at some of the most important pieces of advice published in the pages of Marijuana Venture in 2019

Thanks to the advocacy efforts of cannabis entrepreneurs in Massachusetts, businesses owned by women and minorities will now receive priority review of their licensing applications — a benefit previously reserved for “economic empowerment” applicants alone. Prior to this change, most minority business enterprises (MBEs) and women’s business enterprises (WBEs), which…

Traditionally, California employers have hired workers as employees or independent contractors to fit the needs of their businesses. The state’s laws generally require employers to provide employees with protections such as overtime compensation, paid sick leave and unemployment and workers’ compensation insurance. Independent contractors, on the other hand, do not…

In 2012, when voters in Colorado and Washington legalized recreational marijuana sales, lawmakers and regulators were concerned about how legalization would impact public health and safety and how to ensure adequate control over the tracking, production and sale of legal products. But there was little done to ensure the opportunities…

The snake-oil salesmen of the California Gold Rush were more likely to be stoned than sued or prosecuted for their questionable claims. CBD product purveyors looking to capitalize on the current Green Rush, however, must navigate an assortment of evolving federal regulations or risk receiving ominous warning letters from the…

For those of you who may have missed the classic rom-com “When Harry Met Sally,” there are several scenes in the movie when Carrie Fisher’s character laments, about the married man she has been dating for years, “I don’t think he’s ever going to leave her.” Her exasperated friend Sally,…

The CBD industry has exploded with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) making bold advances in regulating these products and a notice posted in late August by the DEA that “certain forms of cannabis no longer require DEA registration to grow or manufacture.”  However, California’s long-awaited legislation to legalize…

Entrepreneurs, executives and investors strategize with lawyers with the goal of finding concrete answers and practical business solutions to complex problems. Those in the cannabis industry are no exception. As the global cannabis industry continues to mature, the need for attorneys will only increase. From defending individuals against criminal charges…