California marijuana business attorneys

July 17, 2019

New CBD-Infused Beverages Coming to California

California shoppers are about to see a brand new line of cannabidiol (or CBD)-infused beverages hit supermarket shelves this week, despite the fact such products are still illegal. Even though federal U.S. law now allows for the creation of CBD based products (in the form of tinctures, capsules, lotions and oils, etc.), FDA guidelines restrict CBD food and beverage interstate product sales. Los Angeles cannabis business attorney

Alternative health food observers can likely tell you that locally made CBD food products have been steadily propping up all across the country for a couple of years now. As functional foods, CBD products have grown in popularity thanks to their relaxing properties, but they won’t produce a ‘high’ as they lack the psychoactive tetrohydrocanabidiol (THC) found in marijuana.

To buy CBD products until now, consumers have typically had to seek out alternative health food stores, neighborhood dispensaries, or mom-and-pop market stalls. Now, the Oki brand is about to change that. With its CBD-infused, flavored water and iced tea lines, Phivida – the premium functional food and beverage manufacturers of the Oki brand – is among the first to mass produce CBD-infused beverages and is poised to make its 360,000 bottles already produced, available in mainstream grocery stores.
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April 10, 2019

Santa Cruz Sues State to Protect Local Pot Shops, City Oversight

By Cannabis Law Group

Santa Cruz is a community that is known for its laid-back lifestyle – the redwoods, the shoreline and red wine vineyards. Just don’t mess with their pot shops. Los Angeles marijuana attorneys have learned the city is suing the state in an effort to fend of out-of-towners from nearby San Francisco and Oakland from cannabis from swiping customers from their home-grown cannabis companies. Los Angeles marijuana delivery driver

The city’s chair of the board of supervisors argues that local businesses are being undercut by these services because the playing field isn’t level, and further the city has no say in regulating the interlopers.

Santa Cruz Says State Backing Out on Its End of the Bargain

Recently, the state altered its regulations to permit state-licensed marijuana delivery companies to sell their product wherever consumers are. Santa Cruz isn’t the only city taking issue with this – 25 in all are suing the state, asserting this new stance is a work-around the provision of Proposition 64 (which legalized marijuana for recreational sales and use) that assured local governments would have authority to put a stop to brick-and-mortar sales. Continue reading

December 4, 2018

California’s “Trimmigrants” Less Targeted for Prosecution, Still Grapple With Harassment, Wage Theft

By Cannabis Law Group

Legalization of marijuana has brought a number of enterprises and employees from the shadows of the black market. One of those includes the work of so-called “bud trimmers.” Los Angeles marijuana employment attorneys know that because so many of these workers are from other places, flocking in heavy numbers during harvest seasons, they are sometimes referred to as “trimmigrants.” These workers were historically subject to an outsized risk of the same sort of abuses many migrant workers face – unfair wages or wage theft, discrimination and sexual harassment. Los Angeles marijuana employment attorney

An article published two years ago in “Broadly” was written by a woman who worked for years during harvest season on illegal marijuana farms in rural California. The isolation of the site made it all the more dangerous for young female workers – not only because they risked jail time and felony charges for unregulated, untaxed income, but because they are frequently (especially on the black market) targeted for sexual harassment. One investigation by the Center for Investigative Reporting’s Reveal found in 2016 that the number of sexual assaults suffered by female trimmers was far underestimated.

Ideally, legalizing the drug would have brought these sort of elements of the industry to light, making workers safer. Perhaps to some degree, that is true. However, as Los Angeles marijuana attorneys with practice areas both in the budding cannabis law as well as California employment law, we recognize these workers may still be vulnerable, especially if the operation is still illegal (as a fair number still are, given the high taxation and testing requirements on legal marijuana and the limited number of cultivators and distributors allowed, which varies by jurisdiction. Trimmers are an inherent part of cannabis cultivation process, though the hours are long and the work tedious. Continue reading

December 1, 2018

Credit Union Offering Marijuana Businesses Checking and Savings Accounts

By Cannabis Law Group

Banking for marijuana businesses has been fraught with legal perils. As Los Angeles marijuana business attorneys can explain, this stems primarily from the fact that no matter how many states allow marijuana, the Department of Justice continues to consider the drug unlawful according to federal law, which puts banks in the legal cross-hairs, thanks to money laundering statutes. That’s why despite being a multi-billion dollar industry, only 30 percent of cannabis businesses have access to banking. cannabis attorney blog

That may be changing, though the pace will truly depend on how aggressively the federal government pursues violators pursuant to federal law. The Anchorage Daily News reported a credit union plans to launch a pilot program intended to extend banking and checking services to marijuana-related businesses that otherwise operate largely in cash. As noted by the credit union’s CEO, the lack of financial services for cannabis companies has resulted in essentially a cash crisis for marijuana businesses as well as a safety issue for local communities, as these locations may be targeted for strong arm robberies.

Alaska, like California, allows marijuana cultivation, sale and possession for recreational purposes, and has done so since 2014. Yet as retailers have cropped up throughout the state, they face problems similar to those in this state, which is they must operate in cash and owners have even had their personal bank accounts abruptly closed. The credit union says it hopes to address this market need and also improve community safety by giving cannabis companies another option besides cash-only operation. Just in Alaska alone, the industry is handling some $1.5 million monthly – all in cash, according to local media. Continue reading

November 28, 2018

California Cannabis Lawyers Explain Why “Free Samples” Could Cost Your Pot Business

By Cannabis Law Group

Many retailers extend promotional offers to drum up new business or garner awareness of a new product. However, just as with almost every other aspect of operation and sales, California cannabis companies must be especially careful about how they market and promote their product. Otherwise, as our California cannabis lawyers can explain, distributors may find their green business deep in the red – and themselves in handcuffs. marijuana lawyer

Recently, The Olympian reported recently that a pot shop owner in a Washington state suburb drew the attention and ire of state regulators for allegedly passing out free samples in violation of the state’s recreational marijuana laws. An undercover investigation was launched after officials received an anonymous tip about an alleged illegal marijuana club on site. Social media advertisements indicated free samples to the product were provided upstairs. Undercover officers began investigating the pot shop, and were offered free samples by an employee, who told them they could try it in another section of the building that wasn’t licensed. The officers reported that when they got to this portion of the building, they saw several individuals smoking marijuana.

The problem is marijuana retailers cannot, as Los Angeles cannabis business lawyers can explain, offer a ‘try it before you buy it” sort of deal for marijuana customers. This is largely owing to the fact marijuana business licensees in California, just as in Washington, are required to keep track of their product from seed to sale. By diverting products to be distributed as free samples, they are in violation of the law. Continue reading

August 19, 2018

4 Billion Reasons to Believe Marijuana is the Next Big Industry

By Cannabis Law Group

Constellation Brands has made the biggest investment the marijuana industry has ever seen with a mighty $4 billion medical marijuana going to Canopy Growth. Canopy Growth, a Canadian company, was already considered one of the giants of the cannabis industry, and this investment will only further their global footprint, according to a report from Esquire. Meanwhile, Constellation is diversifying its portfolio, which currently consists of major alcohol brands, such as Modelo and Corona.

The relationship between Constellation and Canopy Growth is not a new one. Last year, Constellation made an investment in the company of $191 million to develop a drink infused with cannabis. Now, with Canada passing full legalization of marijuana, Constellation executives are getting on board one of most anticipated industries in the world in a more substantial way; they now hold a 38 percent stake in Canopy Growth. The most recent investment won’t just go to beverage research, but also into edibles, new medical marijuana advancements, and worldwide growth. Continue reading

July 3, 2018

Creative Solutions for California Marijuana Business Owners

By Cannabis Law Group

When life hands you lemons, make lemonade … or in this case cannabis-infused water. A brewery in northern California called Lagunitas is doing just that with a line of sparkling waters it plans to sell in dispensaries. Drinks with cannabis are not common, but the brewery was able to achieve what other marijuana businesses have been afraid to tackle thanks to some creative thinking and close consideration of the law.

As our cannabis attorneys can explain, many in the beverage industry have been nervous to dabble in cannabis drinks out of concern for Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. Section 812. Because the law bans marijuana and lists it as a Schedule I narcotic, brewers worry that crossing the federal government could put their alcohol licenses at risk, even if they are abiding by state laws. That’s where ingenuity, creative problem solving and help from a knowledgeable legal team can help. Continue reading

May 25, 2018

Expect More Recreational Marijuana Events in Our Future

By Cannabis Law Group

In a big step toward the normalization of cannabis, the 2018 NorCal Cannabis Cup in Santa Rosa, Calif., has been granted a recreational marijuana license. In the past, the event was only a gathering of people who appreciated cannabis, with booths, activities, food, music, and marijuana-related products, but not the real deal. Now marijuana businesses and consumers alike can enjoy the thing they all have in common, allowing the community to share cannabis goods and knowledge on a new scale.

This is only the second event in the U.S. that allowed the sales and consumption of cannabis, according to a report from High Times, host of the event. The Central Valley Cannabis Cup in Sacramento in early May was the first event to receive such a license and was also hosted by High Times. While the first event was groundbreaking, in some ways it is the second event that is a sign of times to come. Attendees and marijuana businesses at the Central Valley Cannabis Cup proved that an event of this kind can be run safely and responsibly, making it possible for more events in the future. These gatherings can also have a major impact on local economies, bringing in tourists and vendors to the area. This is, of course, in addition to the publicity and money-making opportunities available to businesses inside the event. Continue reading

April 11, 2018

Tourists Could Cause Marijuana Shortage in CA This Summer

By Cannabis Law Group

California marijuana supply shortages have been of mounting concern, stemming primarily from the introduction of legal cannabis Jan. 1st and the barrage of regulations that came with it. Marijuana businesses have varied reports on supply issues thus far, with some experiencing few supply chain problems, and others reporting major lapses. Many of these issues are typical growing pains associated with a budding new industry. These problems could become major snags this summer, though, when tourist season his, and we’re flooded with curious new customers.

In San Diego, for example, about 8 million tourists visit during the summer months, according to a recent report discussing the potential impending shortage from San Diego Union-Tribune. Lines are already out the door at stores in this city, so there is worry businesses may not be able to keep pace. The issue is not necessarily that overall supply can’t keep pace with demand, but more that businesses are grappling with supply bottlenecks due to erratic regulation across jurisdictions throughout California. Continue reading

April 10, 2018

San Bernardino Sued for Exclusionary Marijuana Business Regulation

By Cannabis Law Group

Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego and San Francisco have been praised for being at the forefront of decriminalization and legalization of marijuana in California. marijuana business

On the flip side, we have San Bernardino. The city recently passed a regulation (Ordinance No. 1464 Section 5.10) that prevents any cannabis business that has “conducted commercial cannabis activity in the City of San Bernardino in violation of local and state law” from obtaining one of the 17 licenses available in the city.

One savvy business owner isn’t taking this move lying down, though. She is suing the city after officials in December raided and shut down a facility she owned and leased out to cannabis growers. They confiscated 35,000 marijuana plants, according to a report from High Times. And though the owner of the facility was never charged, she still falls under the current restrictions and is not qualified for one of the licenses, currently being given to other establishments who have the same intention as her: to run a facility for growing marijuana. Continue reading