We just published a post on what cannabis businesses can be doing to stay ahead of the curve with respect to the coronavirus (COVID-19), which is shutting down businesses across the globe. In this post, my goal is to talk about things that California can do to ease the situation for California cannabis companies, all […]

Yesterday at the close of business, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) emailed stakeholders an update on COVID-19. This update was in response to an earlier proclamation by Governor Jay Inslee which shut down restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and any other venues where people congregate to eat and drink. The proclamation also prohibits […]

  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 of Sunday, March 15, the Federal […]

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 […]

Although the enactment of the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp, the production of the plant and its derivatives – or certain aspects of it – remain prohibited in some states. As a result, many stakeholders are contemplating the idea of using synthetic CBD over its naturally derived counterpart. But does the lack of hemp and […]

For those who couldn’t make the live event on January 30th, or those who just want to listen again, the recording of KCRW’s “Take Me To Your Dealer” panel, featuring our own Hilary Bricken, is available below:     “Take Me To Your Dealer” is part of the ongoing KCRW @Home series dedicated to hosting […]

We’ve been writing about various European countries’ approaches to regulating hemp (or auf Deutsch, Hanf) and hemp-derived cannabidiol (which I’ll refer to as “CBD”). While readers of the blog know that the legalization of hemp via the 2018 Farm Bell led to a massive CBD explosion in the United States, it’s only starting to dawn […]

The hemp-derived CBD market is a tough one right now. From uncertainty in when and how the FDA may begin regulating products, to the downturn in the stock markets as result of the coronavirus affecting the hemp industry, the problematic interim rules concerning hemp production and increasing state regulation, CBD companies face a plethora of […]

In the near future, we also plan to put together a follow-up post answering questions we didn’t have time for during the event. Stay tuned!

As usual, we’ve been monitoring both brewing and active trademark disputes in the cannabis space, and the most recent example involves the institution that is the Girl Scouts. For background, here are some of the other disputes we’ve covered in the past: Kiva Lawsuit Highlights the Cannabis Industry’s Ongoing Trademark Troubles Cannabis Trademark Litigation: Web […]