multistate operators – Cannabis Industry

By Sean P. McConnell, Wayne A. Mack, Christopher H. Casey, Paul P. Josephson, Tracy Gallegos, Michael D. Schwamm, and James Hearon

The Ohio attorney general recently filed an unprecedented state antitrust enforcement action against nine of the nation’s largest multistate cannabis operators. The complaint alleges these defendants formed illegal cartels through reciprocal supply agreements, competitively sensitive information exchanges and discriminatory distribution practices designed to exclude independent Ohio cannabis operators from the market and artificially inflate consumer prices. The complaint seeks injunctive relief, civil forfeitures of $500 per day per defendant for each day the alleged combinations were in effect, and attorneys’ fees.

Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

Duane Morris partner Jarret P. Hitchings authored the INSOL World journal article, “Is Chapter 15 Available to a Cannabis MSO? In the Face of Uncertainty, Tread Lightly.”

On 31 March 2021, the State of New York legalized the use, possession, and growth of cannabis by adults. Within the United States, cannabis is now legal in 16 states including Washington D.C., with legalization taking effect in two more states, Virginia and New Mexico, later this year. This state-level trend toward legalization in the United States continues even though cannabis remains illegal at the federal level. However, in Canada, cannabis has been legal at both the federal and provincial levels since 2018.

To read the full article, please visit the Duane Morris website.