Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommended rescheduling cannabis from schedule I to III under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). My colleagues already covered various implications of the proposed cannabis rescheduling (see here and here). Today, I want to talk about one of the most important consequences of the announcement other than
Huge news yesterday. Huge! The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has officially recommended that marijuana be rescheduled, from Schedule I to Schedule III of the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA). This means that the country’s top health agency has finally conceded that cannabis has medical value, and isn’t a drug of abuse
Oregon’s governor recently vetoed an effort to create a state bank for marijuana businesses, in another blow to the struggling industry. The lack of consistent, equitable access to banking has been recurring issue for Oregon marijuana businesses and those in other states. Federal reform through the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act (SAFE Act) has
The California cannabis market is truly struggling all the way around. Cannabis businesses and those who work with them closely face mounting financial pressure. Because of the credit crunch in California cannabis, the state and various impacted distributors and brands are taking steps to help shore up the issues created by cannabis companies that can’t
In an era of Theranos, Fyre Fest, FTX and WeWork, cannabis scams, frauds, and scandals probably pale in comparison. However, cannabis scams (and their evolution) are still worth noting, spotting, and avoiding at all costs. I’ve written about cannabis scams in the past (see here), and it’s one of my favorite topics given the still-emerging
We’ve written regularly about the plight of cannabis businesses not being able to secure traditional lending (and other financial services) from major, federally regulated institutions. In this post, we dive deeper into a promising federally regulated equity offering as an alternative funding means: Rule 504 under Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Regulation D. Why aren’t
Cannabis and business immigration don’t mix. Or at least that’s the conservative guidance we often give clients that come to us with that question. That’s not because a particular investment may not be sound, rather because federal law creates inherent conflicts between immigration eligibility and participating in a cannabis venture. Kate Robertson at MJBizDaily reported
As we inch closer to a cannabis recession, businesses are desperately looking for new ways to stay afloat. A few years ago, our cannabis attorneys saw equity investments left and right. It seemed like everyone wanted to own a piece of a cannabis business. But as things grow more precarious for the industry as a
In November 2022, the OLCC adopted and amended a suite of cannabis rules that became effective January 1, 2023. You can download the changes here and read our previous coverage of many of these changes here, here, here, and here. Now that Oregon’s new cannabis rules are effective, let’s take a look at some of
I previously wrote about how the cannabis industry should prepare itself for tough financial times. Capital is increasingly hard to come by unless you find yourself in a newly launched state like New York, perhaps. But once a state cannabis program is relatively mature, it’s only a matter of time before it’s a race to
