By: Mikaela Whitman and Jacquelyn Mohr In recent years, the cannabis industry has experienced unprecedented growth and transformation. In 2017, the cannabis industry generated nearly $9 billion in annual sales and by 2022, some project that number will increase to an estimated $80 billion.[1]As the cannabis industry continues to grow and diversify, cannabis businesses will encounter […]
Insurance
5 problems hemp farmers face this year
Bottlenecks abound on the production end—and that’s not even counting the fundamentals of weather and hemp farming competence. Five years ago, farmers were racing to get in on the hemp craze with visions of $100,000 an acre dancing in their heads. This year, farming problems are coming into focus, with so many problems facing farmers—from […]
Medical and Recreational Marijuana: An Overview of the Various Issues Involved in Starting and Operating Marijuana Dispensaries Part 4
This article is the fourth part of a six-part series discussing the legal issues, operational challenges, and regulatory hurdles that marijuana-related businesses (MRBs) frequently encounter. Part 1 discussed the various fire, health, and safety risks that MRBs encounter while growing and cultivating marijuana plants inside large, indoor, commercial spaces. Part 2 discussed the three most […]
Cannabis And Coronavirus: What Your Business Should Do Right Now
By Vince Sliwoski, Attorney at Harris Bricken Add “global pandemic” to the list of challenges faced by the sputtering cannabis industry. The coronavirus COVID-19 is tearing across the U.S. economy. Businesses everywhere are making very difficult decisions. In many cases, those decisions are being made for them. As I write this post on the evening […]
Anatomy of a Cannabis Insurance Policy: Exclusions
By Jonathan Bench, Attorney @ Harris Bricken Previously I wrote about insurance generally (see here) and products liability insurance specifically (see here). Today I want to look at some policy exclusions to point out potentially problematic terms that you may notice when reviewing your insurance contract during your annual insurance audit. First, I need to […]
5 Key Considerations When Starting Your Cannabusiness
The estimate is staggering: $30,000,000,000. That’s a lot of zeros and a forecast of annual legal cannabis sales by 2025—this as more and more states legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use. No question, the cannabis business is booming, which is something of a given. Less obvious is what you, as a budding cannabusiness entrepreneur, […]
Anatomy of a Cannabis Insurance Policy, Part 1: The Basics
By Jonathan Bench, Attorney @ Harris Bricken Insurance in the cannabis industry is big business, and business owners need to know what policies are available and what those policies cover. Why? Because in insurance policies, like all other business contracts (e.g. leases), the risk of a business venture is divided between the contracting parties. Your […]
Cannabis Banking and 3rd Party Support…On Board or Not?
By Sundie Seefried Why do financial institutions fail to serve the cannabis industry? You’ve certainly heard that question enough. It’s probably a little more complex than many realize. There are regulations, laws, complexity, reputation, etc. to consider. However, it is not just the financial institution telling you ‘NO’ because they won’t bank your cannabis business…. Third Parties […]
Insurance Loss Control Issues for the Cannabis Industry
The International Risk Management Institute defines loss control as “a risk management technique that seeks to reduce the possibility that a loss will occur and/or reduce the severity of those that do occur. Also known as safety or risk control. Driver training is an example of a loss control program that seeks to reduce the likelihood […]
Mutual of Omaha Won’t Sell Life Insurance to Marijuana Businessman
A successful businessman with a growing footprint in several states says he was shocked when he was refused a personal life insurance policy by Mutual of Omaha, one of the nation’s largest insurers. The company informed Derek Peterson, CEO of Terra Tech Corp., in a letter dated June 13 that “we cannot accept premium[s] from […]
