Marijuana Madness: Jeff Sessions Rescinds State-Legal Pot Policies January 9, 2018 Hilary Bricken Policy & Legal 0 Comments By Hilary Bricken What will the Future DOJ marijuana enforcement look like? It’s finally happening — Attorney General Jeff Sessions will, today, rescind the 2013 Cole Memo regarding federal enforcement in states that legalized cannabis. The Cole Memo, which came… Read More→
A Thing of the Future – Cannabis Franchising December 20, 2017 Hilary Bricken California, Policy & Legal, Retail 0 Comments We often work with cannabis businesses that want to license their brands to third parties. Licensing is a great way to expand the reach of a brand and make some revenue without the capital expense of funding and owning a… Read More→
Los Angeles Finally Passes Cannabis Business Regulations December 13, 2017 Hilary Bricken California, Policy & Legal 0 Comments Last week, the Los Angeles City Council adopted three ordinances to regulate and zone the city’s cannabis businesses pursuant to California’s Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA). The ordinances are: Cannabis Procedures, Rules and Regulations for Cannabis Procedures,… Read More→
Look, But Don’t Touch: Big Box Stores And ‘Hemp CBD’ December 6, 2017 Hilary Bricken Compliance and Regulations, Hemp Business Executive, Hemp Industry News 0 Comments Media recently reported on Target’s short-lived effort at selling cannabis-based CBD products online. By the end of the day on which the reporting was made, the major retailer had already removed the product from its website. The Phoenix New Times quoted Target spokesperson Kate Decker… Read More→
#MeToo And The Marijuana Industry: Ignore Harassment Policies At Your Own Peril November 29, 2017 Hilary Bricken Compliance and Regulations, HR and Staffing 0 Comments Over the past few weeks, story after story has come to light of sexual assault and sexual harassment in the entertainment industry. But though high-profile actors, directors, and producers are getting most of the press attention right now, the vast… Read More→
ICYMI: California Drops Emergency Cannabis Licensing Rules November 22, 2017 Hilary Bricken California, Compliance and Regulations 0 Comments California’s Bureau of Cannabis Control (along with its Departments of Public Health and Food and Agriculture) dropped their much-anticipated emergency rules (see here, here, and here) to fully implement the Medical and Adult Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) in California. The agencies kept a… Read More→
Marijuana Fundraising In California: What’s In Your Private Placement Memorandums? November 15, 2017 Hilary Bricken Cannabis Investments, Compliance and Regulations 1 Comment Many of our California clients that are raising money ask us to draft or review private placement memorandums (“PPMs“) for private securities offerings in their cannabis companies and/or ancillary cannabis companies. As you would expect, investment in California cannabis businesses is… Read More→
The 4-1-1 on Americans and Marijuana Investments Abroad November 8, 2017 Hilary Bricken Canada, Compliance and Regulations, International 0 Comments A lot has been written and analyzed regarding foreigners investing in U.S. marijuana businesses. What are the legal ramifications of the reverse though? If marijuana business is fully legal in a foreign jurisdiction (think Uruguay or Canada in the near future),… Read More→
Top 5 Predatory Practices In California Cannabis October 31, 2017 Hilary Bricken California, Policy & Legal 2 Comments With temporary licensing on the horizon, California’s cannabis industry is obviously on the cusp of really big things. With this green rush, our California cannabis business attorneys have been brought on to work on all kinds of merger and acquisition… Read More→
Looking for a Corporate Cannabis Haven? Better Think Twice October 25, 2017 Hilary Bricken Compliance and Regulations, Policy & Legal 0 Comments As business and corporate cannabis lawyers focused on the west coast, we have registered and structured a large and ever-expanding number of cannabis businesses from Alaska to California. Most of these businesses are corporations or LLCs, and most of the… Read More→
Regulating a ‘Sacred Plant’ in Jamaica Becoming a Tricky Process October 18, 2017 Hilary Bricken International, Jamaica, Policy & Legal 0 Comments I recently attended and moderated a panel at CanEx Jamaica in Montego Bay. The event focused on the business and policy of cannabis in Jamaica and abroad. Jamaica decriminalized cannabis in 2015, imposing a fine for possession of less than two ounces… Read More→
Fear And Loathing: The FDA and Marijuana Medical Claims October 11, 2017 Hilary Bricken Compliance and Regulations, Processing, Science and Technology 0 Comments The Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDAC) gives the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) broad regulatory powers over legal drugs and more limited power over the regulation of food. For drug makers, the FDA is the fearsome elephant in the… Read More→
Top Five Red Flags for California Cannabis Mergers and Acquisitions September 29, 2017 Hilary Bricken Compliance and Regulations, Cultivation, Retail 0 Comments Ah, California. The land of tech innovation, wine country, and endless coastline. Also the land of shysters, hucksters, and snake oil salesmen, far too many of whom have migrated to the booming cannabis industry to ply their trade. With the… Read More→
Assembly Bill 133 is the Cannabis Technical Fix Bill California Needs September 13, 2017 Hilary Bricken California, Policy & Legal 1 Comment Having begun my cannabis legal career in Washington state, which is a cannabis marketplace that started with a loose collective model and then morphed into the heavily regulated medicinal and adult use marketplace it is today, I know firsthand that it… Read More→
California Cannabis: Prepare Now For Your Upcoming Product Liability Wake-Up Call September 4, 2017 Hilary Bricken California, Compliance and Regulations, Policy & Legal, Retail 0 Comments Time and again I have warned cannabis industry participants that federal prohibition means nothing when it comes to liability created by defective products. Colorado is a prime example of the threat and the power of cannabis product recalls. And though for years… Read More→