Tax season is nearly upon us. As cannabis businesses and the professionals who advise them can expect, navigating the variations and even direct conflicts that exist between and among the state and federal authorities that govern a cannabis business’s respective tax filings can be treacherous.
Continue Reading Tax Win in Oregon Reminds Cannabis Businesses to Properly Classify Expenses
In late October, the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) sent comprehensive License Application Forms to more than six hundred medical marijuana industry hopefuls throughout the state. The deadline to apply for one of Alabama’s 12 cultivator, four processor, four dispensary, five “integrated facility,” secure transporter, and state testing laboratory licenses is December 30, 2022.
Continue Reading The Marijuana Licensing Game is Officially Afoot in Alabama
We often look to the federal judiciary as the gold standard of American jurisprudence. However, when it comes to the rapidly evolving cannabis industry, the federal judiciary has been anything but consistent.
Continue Reading To Put It Bluntly, the Federal Judiciary’s Inconsistent Approach to the Cannabis Industry Is (Reefer) Madness
On October 6, 2022, President Biden took his first steps to overhaul federal policy on marijuana. In doing so, he pardoned individuals with federal offenses for simple marijuana possession and initiated review as to how the drug is classified.
Continue Reading Biden Speaks Bluntly About Marijuana Reform
The trend to legalize the medical and recreational use of marijuana continues to blaze through the states, but federal law — and bankruptcy courts by extension — have not yet followed suit.[1]
Bankruptcy courts have historically prevented cannabis — and even cannabis-ancillary companies — from filing for protection under the
Continue Reading Pot Cos. Can Rely On State Law For Bankruptcy Safeguards
Under current California law, cannabis licensees are not permitted to “transport or distribute, or cause to be transported or distributed, cannabis or cannabis products outside the state, unless authorized by federal law.” [1] Federal law, of course, also does not permit interstate transfer of cannabis. As the judge told Johnny Depp’s
Continue Reading Crossing The Line: California Looks to Permit Interstate Transfer and Distribution of Cannabis
For a variety of reasons, many states that have legalized recreational or medical marijuana have imposed residency requirements throughout their regulatory schemes, meaning that marijuana license holders, employers, and, in some cases, even consumers, must be residents of the state. However
Continue Reading Maybe You Can Play In the Sandbox If You Don’t Live in the Neighborhood
On its face, it appears to be counterintuitive: United States federal courts recognizing and enforcing workplace rights for employees working in an illegal industry. After all, we would not expect a judge to lend a sympathetic ear to the employee of an arms trafficker or an interstate fraud ring. However
Continue Reading Federal Discrimination Statutes and the Cannabis Industry: An Illegal Industry Still Subject to Federal Laws
With the anticipation of federal marijuana legalization, the cannabis industry rang in 2021 with sky-high equity values and anticipated social justice reforms seemingly imminent. However, differing ideas regarding how to legalize marijuana has left federal legalization in limbo and, 20 months later, the sector is still plagued by a myriad of factors that have effectively limited opportunities to succeed in the newly legal cannabis market: onerous capital requirements which can only be financed privately, prohibitions on granting licenses to drug felons, and other hurdles. While both chambers of Congress have made strides by passing bills addressing these issues, such as the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), and the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, all have failed to secure enough bipartisan support to break through the stalemate.Continue Reading Cannabis and Social Justice Reform: Are We Doing Enough?
On Thursday, July 21, 2022, Senators Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, and Cory Booker unveiled the long-awaited Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), which, if passed, would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level and require various federal agencies to establish rules for regulating various aspects of the marijuana industry.
Continue Reading Maybe This Time Will Be Different: Senate Unveils Legislation to Legalize Marijuana