canna law blog

Top Five Suggested Revisions to California Form Leases for Cannabis Tenants

I cringe every time a form lease comes across my desk for a California cannabis tenant. While C.A.R. and A.I.R. lease forms certainly have their advantages (brokers and veteran landlords are comfortable with them, and they can be cheap and efficient if the transaction is simple), because of the complexity involved in leasing to cannabis

canna law blog

Navigating California Cannabis Leases in 2019

We’ve previously written about some of the pitfalls for landlords to avoid when leasing to commercial cannabis tenants in California. We’ve also recently discussed some relevant issues for landlords created by the state’s near-final regulations. And we’ve also looked at some of the biggest uncertainties remaining after the state issued those regulations. Now that we

canna law blog

California Cannabis Landlords: More Regulatory Snags to Avoid

We’ve previously written about some of the pitfalls for landlords to avoid when leasing to commercial cannabis tenants in California. We’ve also written about how the state’s recently proposed modifications to its final cannabis regulations could affect licensees and the industry writ large (see here and here). The comment period for those rule changes is

canna law blog

California Cannabis: New Law Allows Municipalities to Fine Landlords Without Notice

Prior to the enactment of AB 2164, California law required cities and counties to grant a person responsible for a continuing municipal code violation a reasonable time to remedy the violation before the city or county could impose fines or penalties when that violation pertained to building, plumbing, electrical, or other similar structural and zoning issues

canna law blog

The Neighborhood “Gangbusters”: Avoiding RICO Cannabis Lawsuits

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) is a federal Nixon-era law originally intended to combat drug cartels and organized crime. Among other features, it allows average citizens claiming a loss in property value to bring suit for triple damages plus attorney’s fees against any “person” or “enterprise” that has a part in any

canna law blog

California Cannabis Leasing: Landlord Pitfalls

We’ve written previously about some common issues landlords run into when leasing to cannabis businesses (see links at the bottom of this article). Now that we’ve seen almost a year’s worth of emergency regulations, and the state has released its proposed final regulations, we’ve also seen a variety of cannabis leasing issues crop up. Here

canna law blog

California Cannabis Leasing: The Normalization of Cannabis Landlords

Almost two years after the passage of Proposition 64, the 2016 California voter initiative to legalize and regulate medicinal and adult-use cannabis, California has begun to finalize its regulations that will govern the largest cannabis market in the country, though that effort has not been without some hiccups and bumps in the road. But, things

canna law blog

California Cannabis Leasing: Federal Enforcement Is Not The Only Concern

The current state of enforcement in California tends to be dominated by headlines about the Department of Justice, Jeff Sessions, the DEA, and the Controlled Substances Act. And for good reason—under the constitution, federal law is the law of the land, and commercial landlords and tenant alike should study federal enforcement guidelines closely. Lease agreements

canna law blog

California Cannabis: Commercial Leasing Changes in New Emergency Regulations

Last Friday, California released another round of emergency regulations that essentially renewed the existing emergency rules, but with some updates, a fair amount of which affect commercial cannabis leasing. Here are some of the notable ones. “Premises” distinctions defined. SB 94 and AB 133, the statutes enacted in 2017 to implement and refine Prop 64,

canna law blog

California Approves First Commercial Cannabis Landlord Insurance Coverage

One of the most important elements of a commercial tenancy is insurance. Generally, the landlord maintains property insurance for damage to the building, existing improvements, and surrounding property, as well as liability insurance for bodily injury and property damage occurring on the premises. The landlord will typically pass the cost of that coverage on to