The cannabis industry is no different than any other when it comes to the importance of – and its reliance on – business partnerships. And just like any other industry, it’s seen its share of breakups, too. Bruce Linton’s firing last year at Canopy was a cautionary one for company founders. Now, the bloodletting at Aurora Cannabis has claimed co-founder Terry Booth. What can cannabis entrepreneurs learn to prevent similar outcomes?
CBE Policy & Employment Law updates
Believe It or Not, Marijuana Inventory Is Insurable – For Now
I recently chaired a webinar about marijuana and insurance issues, and I have already been roped into doing another one. I am well aware of how cannabis and insurance are a legally charged combination, and I expect to see an increase of cannabis insurance cases very soon. A federal court in Colorado just came down with an important cannabis insurance […]
Must Employers Accommodate Employee Medical Marijuana Use?
By Eric B. Meyer I’ve blogged before about how grilling a medical marijuana user about her disability, just before firing the employee, could give rise to a viable disability-discrimination claim. In other words, where the disability (as opposed to the medical marijuana use) motivates the employment action, that’s discrimination. I’ve also blogged before that the Americans with […]
Does the Cannabis Industry Present an Opportunity for Organized Labor?
Legal marijuana is here, and it’s not going away. By early 2016, the states of Washington, Colorado, Oregon, and Alaska permitted the social use of cannabis, and 23 others protected the sale of medical marijuana. The Second Annual Cannabis Summit in Seattle in early January drew over 300 participants; the group included growers, retailers, academics […]
Colorado Marijuana Laws Being Challenged by Out-of-State Organizations
Three of the four marijuana-centered lawsuits filed against Colorado officials and businesses were organized and at least partially funded by out-of-state anti-drug organizations and socially conservative law firms, a Denver Post analysis shows. Only one lawsuit, filed by the states of Nebraska and Oklahoma, appears to be entirely homegrown. For those who oppose Colorado’s marijuana […]
Why Canadian Employers Must Accommodate Medical Cannabis Users
Employers in Canada have a duty to accommodate employees with medical disabilities that are using prescribed medical cannabis as a treatment. I should say, at the outset, that I am a Human Resources specialist, and my perspective does not constitute legal advice of any kind. Human Rights legislation in Canada requires employers to accommodate individuals […]
Alaska Forecast Predicts Statewide Job Loss — Except in the Cannabis Industry
For the second time in nearly two decades, Alaska’s yearly employment forecast is predicting job losses across the state. The annual report, published recently by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, is predicting a net loss of about 2,500 jobs in 2016 after 1,700 jobs were gained in 2015. “Both statewide and in Anchorage, […]
Buffalo Lawyer Is First in New York to Focus on Medical Marijuana
Marc S. Gromis worked as a federal prosecutor for 15 years, going after scam artists who cheated people out of their money. He retired in 2002 as chief of white collar crime prosecutions in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Buffalo. Now, he’s starting a new legal career. Gromis is believed to be the first lawyer […]
Here’s What the Washington, D.C. Council Could Do to Allow Legal Pot Sales
The D.C. Council’s surprise see-saw on loosening marijuana laws Tuesday — and promise to revisit the issue within a month — has set up a vexing period of high-stakes negotiations that could put the council on a collision course with Mayor Muriel E. Bowser and with a Republican-controlled Congress that wishes D.C. voters never legalized […]
Study Finds Employers Have Little Tolerance For Any Cannabis Use by Employees
Medical or recreational use of marijuana is legal in 23 states and the District of Columbia, but employers in those locations continue to have a zero-tolerance policy about the drug’s use in the workplace, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found in a survey of HR professionals. In the most extensive survey of employer […]
