Author: Rob Meagher

[ad_1] Cannabis businesses often use letters of intent (LOIs) to get agreed deal terms in writing before spending time and money negotiating the definitive written contract. LOIs can be a big help, especially with a complicated deal. But they are easy to botch, and can lead to some pretty devastating consequences if not done right. Be careful for unintended binding LOIs In the majority of situations, parties to an LOI want them to be fully or partially non-binding. These LOIs are intended only to be outlines of a deal that the parties can use in negotiating finer points. Some provisions may end up being…

[ad_1] Minnesota could become the first state in nine years to open cannabis dispensaries that are run by cities and counties. That’s because of one line in the state’s new cannabis laws that allow for cities and counties to “establish, own and operate a municipal cannabis store.” The law appears to be the first of its kind in the country and has prompted cities to research whether they want to open their own dispensaries. But there’s only one city that’s been successful with running a cannabis store. The City of North Bonneville in Washington was the first city in the…

[ad_1] By Pam Chmiel The convergence of beer and cannabis into a single beverage is no longer just a concept—it’s a reality. Ross Hunsinger, an experienced beer brewer, teamed up with Abstrax Tech, a company specializing in botanical terpene extraction, to explore the possibility of recreating familiar beer flavors in cannabis-infused beverages using their patented technology. Hunsingerconvinced the team to leverage its cannabis-focused technology to merge the worlds of beer and cannabis and helped launch their new division, Abstrax Hops. Abstrax Tech developed its cannabis strain database by working directly with master growers to analyze their best genetics. The Hops…

[ad_1] The regulations allowing anyone 21 or older to grow marijuana are subject to a 60-day public comment period before they become official The state Cannabis Control Board, which abruptly canceled its monthly meeting last month, on Friday adopted rules that would allow anyone 21 or older to cultivate their own marijuana plants at home. The proposed regulations were approved nearly three years after marijuana was legalized in New York and include a provision that would allow retail marijuana store owners and operators to sell starter plants to customers. They are still subject to a 60-day public comment period before…

[ad_1] Even if you don’t work in the cannabis industry, you still need to make sure your company’s policies reflect the state’s new legalization laws. So your employee showed up to work stoned. The best-case scenario for dealing with such a predicament: There’s a policy against THC intoxication in the workplace written in your company’s employee handbook for you to follow. If not, you might as well ask them to pass the joint and take a hit because there’s not much you can do about it. Minnesota’s legal marijuana laws enacted last year go far beyond licensing growers and sellers.…

[ad_1] By Griffen Thorne, Attorney at Harris Sliwoski, California publishes quarterly data concerning its “enforcement” efforts against the illegal cannabis market. Over the last couple of quarters, I’ve gotten in the habit of analyzing this data (see here for Q3 2023, and here for Q2 2023). I’ve been blogging here since 2018 and my opinion is that the state is doing very, very little to stop the illegal market. And I’ve got data to support me. What does California’s Q4 2023 data show? California published Q4 2023 data just a few weeks ago. In a press release, the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) director claimed…

[ad_1] Since voters declined to legalize recreational marijuana sales in Colorado Springs in November 2022, dispensaries in town have started to close as proponents of the ballot question predicted. The number of medical marijuana dispensaries in town is down from 114 to 96 since the ballot question, city data shows. Once dispensary licenses are surrendered to the city, they are no longer available and so the number can never rise. Statewide issues, such as low prices, have hurt the industry and those problems have been compounded by the lack of recreational sales, said Liz Zukowski, a spokeswoman for Native Roots.…

[ad_1] Thailand’s new government is moving ahead to pass new legisalation banning cannabis for recreational use in a major reversal 18 months after the country became the first in Asia to decriminalize the plant. The relaxed laws saw a lucrative cannabis industry catering to locals and foreigners alike boom across the Southeast Asian nation, but a new conservative coalition government came to power late last year vowing to tighten the rules and only allow medical use. A draft bill was released on Tuesday by Thailand’s health ministry outlining hefty fines or prison sentences of up to one year for offenders – or both. Cannabis…

[ad_1] PRESS RELEASE New program makes microbial testing compliance attainable for cannabis cultivators of all sizes Bohemia, NY – November 15, 2023  – VJ Scientific, Inc., a leading manufacturer of cutting-edge microbial decontamination equipment for the cannabis industry, is happy to announce its new lease-to-buy program for its premier X-ray system, the CX-1000™. The program aims to empower cannabis cultivators to meet stringent microbial testing requirements for their cannabis products while effectively managing budget constraints. VJ Scientific’s CX-1000 is a state-of-the-art system that boasts unparalleled features designed to simplify cannabis decontamination. With patent-pending technology such as dual X-ray sources for…

[ad_1] By Fred Rocafort, Attorney at Harris Sliwoski Goods and services (G&S) identifications are a critical part of a cannabis trademark application, as with any other trademark application. An improper identification can delay an application, and in the worst cases prove fatal. Cannabis brands in particular have to be very careful when it comes to G&S. Trademark rights are linked to specific goods and services (or, said differently, products). If my neighbor starts using the name Gina’s Lawns in connection with her lawn care business, she can establish trademark rights in that name in connection to lawn care services. Nothing prevents…

[ad_1] The New York Cannabis Control Board approved a package of regulations that included licensing requirements for distributors, dispensaries and others. Cannabis regulators in New York approved a package of regulations Tuesday that laid the groundwork for an expansion of the state’s emerging cannabis industry. The rules, approved by the Cannabis Control Board, outline licensing and operation procedures for different types of businesses in the industry, including dispensaries and delivery services. The state legalized marijuana for adults age 21 and up in March 2021. No state besides California draws as much business and consumer interest in cannabis as New York,…

[ad_1] The News More than one-fifth of people who use cannabis struggle with dependency or problematic use, according to a study published on Tuesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open. The research found that 21 percent of people in the study had some degree of cannabis use disorder, which clinicians characterize broadly as problematic use of cannabis that leads to a variety of symptoms, such as recurrent social and occupational problems, indicating impairment and distress. In the study, 6.5 percent of users suffered moderate to severe disorder. Cannabis users who experience more severe dependency tended to be recreational…