Legal Issues, Litigation February 17th, 2020
A lawyer I know once told me that the primary motivation behind drafting a contract should not be making each party’s obligations clear or negotiating better terms, but instead should be ensuring that when there is litigation, that party is in the best possible position to win. Having written and litigated numerous contracts, I could […]
The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (“2018 Farm Bill”) legalized hemp by removing the crop and its derivatives from the definition of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) and by providing a detailed framework for the cultivation of hemp. The 2018 Farm Bill gives the US Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) regulatory authority over hemp […]
California February 7th, 2020
Last year, the California cannabis agencies started to ramp up enforcement activities against unlicensed operators. Still, if you ask any licensed cannabis business, enforcement against unlicensed competition is far from where it needs to be. It was widely reported last year, for example, that there were 3,000 illegal cannabis businesses in California. My best guess is that there are many, many […]
California, Data / Cyber January 30th, 2020
We’ve been writing a lot lately about recent major changes in federal hemp laws that will likely affect every hemp company in the United States (see here, here, and here). While we’re on the topic of dramatic legal changes, it’s probably a good idea to talk about a California privacy law that’s about to take effect and require […]
Hemp/CBD January 26th, 2020
The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (“2018 Farm Bill”) legalized hemp by removing the crop and its derivatives from the definition of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) and by providing a detailed framework for the cultivation of hemp. The 2018 Farm Bill gives the US Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) regulatory authority over hemp […]
Litigation January 25th, 2020
As each state’s cannabis industry matures past the licensing and permitting phases, expect to see a huge uptick in internal and external issues with cannabis businesses: promising partnerships turn into bitter rivalries, companies go broke, permits and licenses get voided, etc. All of these issues need to be resolved, and many companies or their execs […]
The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (“2018 Farm Bill”) legalized hemp by removing the crop and its derivatives from the definition of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) and by providing a detailed framework for the cultivation of hemp. The 2018 Farm Bill gives the US Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) regulatory authority over hemp […]
FDA, Federal law and policy, Hemp/CBD January 2nd, 2020
2019 was, to put it lightly, an intense year for the hemp and hemp-derived cannabidiol (“Hemp CBD”) industries in the United States. We saw the implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill, strongly worded statements by the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) that Hemp CBD was unlawful in many products followed (amazingly) by almost zero enforcement, the issuance of interim hemp […]
Hemp/CBD December 28th, 2019
When it comes to hemp-derived CBD (“Hemp CBD”), the best advice we can give is not to trust most of what’s out there on the Internet. No, I am not talking about the claims of medical benefits for Hemp CBD (which could be the subject of its own entire post), but rather about whether or […]
California, Legal Issues December 21st, 2019
It’s no secret that California’s illicit cannabis market is alive and well; a recent audit showed that there are nearly 3,000 unlawful cannabis businesses in the Golden State. A few months ago, I wrote a post offering a few suggestions on how the state could combat the problem of illicit cannabis, and I am not the only one who […]
