Despite continuously surpassing every other state with recreational cannabis in terms of total retail sales, California’s cannabis industry has faced continuous and far-reaching issues on multiple levels that have only spread even further. From declining sales that result in hundreds of millions less in total retail sales to a massive illicit market that the state
An injunction is a request to the court for immediate relief from harm or potential harm. Its purpose is to stop harmful activity, prevent future misconduct or maintain the status quo during the pending litigation. While courts are often hesitant to grant such relief, recent trends suggest a shift in attitude, especially within the cannabis
The California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) just published some new guidelines for cannabis cultivators following the passage of SB-833. Among other things, California will let cannabis cultivators reduce their canopy size and thereby reduce license costs. This will be a huge benefit. I write a lot about the woes that California’s cannabis industry faces
In the ever-evolving landscape of the cannabis industry, the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) is becoming more prevalent as the demand for difficult to grow exotic strains increases and more brands and businesses flood the market. Previously we have blogged about the importance of NDAs to safeguard confidential business information. Cannabis businesses should continue to
California’s cannabis taxes are a disaster, with no end in sight. I’ve written about the state’s tax problems extensively, but today I want to talk about what the state can do when it comes to tax collection. Late cannabis taxes? Get used to hefty penalties If a licensed cannabis business fails to timely or fully
California has a population of nearly 40 million, six years of cannabis licensing, but only has about 1,200 licensed dispensaries. These stores are mostly spread out in highly populated areas like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and so on. The problem is that many California cities still prohibit cannabis licensing, even in places where a majority
Cannabis M&A (short for mergers and acquisitions) in California is much more complicated and problematic than in other states. The biggest reason for this is that licenses are not transferrable, which all but eliminates the possibility of asset sales. In turn, this means that deals are much more complicated for both buyer and seller, and
On February 7, 2024, California Assembly Member Aguilar-Curry introduced AB 2223. The bill, if passed, would significantly change the state’s cannabis and hemp industries – for better or worse. Today, we’ll take a look at how AB 2223 could change both the cannabis industry and hemp industry in the Golden State. First though, a brief
California publishes quarterly data concerning its “enforcement” efforts against the illegal cannabis market. Over the last couple of quarters, I’ve gotten in the habit of analyzing this data (see here for Q3 2023, and here for Q2 2023). I’ve been blogging here since 2018 and my opinion is that the state is doing very, very
For anyone who missed it last month, we have published a full recording and transcript of our webinar titled: “Attorney Insights on the Cannabis Industry 2024: Ask us Anything.” You can view the recording and transcript here. The webinar was well attended, and attorneys Vince Sliwoski, Griffen Thorne and Jesse Mondry answered a variety of
