A replay of Mainstreaming Cannabis: Real Estate and Valuation is now available. for viewing.
Webinar: Mainstreaming Cannabis: Real Estate and Valuation
The Duane Morris Cannabis Industry Group, the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp and Centri Business Consulting present Mainstreaming Cannabis: Real Estate and Valuation on Thursday, April 25, 2024, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
As with any type of business, the cannabis industry faces real estate concerns ‒ but with particular lease-related issues unique to the field. Facilities for the cultivation, manufacturing and distribution of cannabis and cannabis products are important not only to cannabis operators, but also investors and landlords, all of whom face federal, state and local regulations that can vary by location. Our panel will discuss the interplay between state and federal laws as it relates to cannabis regulations and implications for real estate transactions. REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR.
Webinar Replay: Internal Revenue Code 280E and Tax Efficiency
A webinar replay of Mainstreaming Cannabis: Internal Revenue Code 280E and Tax Efficiency is now available for viewing.
Webinar: Internal Revenue Code 280E and Tax Efficiency
The Duane Morris Cannabis Industry Group, the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp and Centri Business Consulting will present Mainstreaming Cannabis: Internal Revenue Code 280E and Tax Efficiency on Friday, March 8, 2024, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
Continue reading “Webinar: Internal Revenue Code 280E and Tax Efficiency”
Webinar: Mainstreaming Cannabis: Bankruptcy, Receiverships and Reorganization
The Duane Morris Cannabis Industry Group, the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp and Centri Business Consulting will present Mainstreaming Cannabis: Bankruptcy, Receiverships and Reorganization on Wednesday, February 7, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. Eastern.
Continue reading “Webinar: Mainstreaming Cannabis: Bankruptcy, Receiverships and Reorganization”
Delta-8 Products Targeted by CT AG for Safety Concerns
I have previously written about lawsuits filed against manufacturers and sellers of hemp-synthesized intoxicants (HSI), such as Delta-8 THC, by the Attorneys General of California and Nebraska, as well as warning letters issued by the FDA, to stop the marketing and sale of HSIs. Add to those, recent enforcement actions by the Attorney General of Connecticut against seven HSI manufacturers/sellers, which claim they have violated the CT’s unfair competition laws by marketing and selling unregulated cannabis products.
The key point of all of the above actions is the unregulated nature of HSIs, which creates public safety concerns. As the CT AG explained: “Cannabis is legal for adults in Connecticut, but it’s not a free-for-all—retailers must be licensed and legal cannabis products must comply with strict safety standards. . . None of these products have been subject to Connecticut’s rigorous testing standards or contain appropriate warnings. Some are sold in dangerous and misleading packaging designed to appeal to children. These products are designed to deceive consumers into believing they are safe, tested, and regulated—that is false. ”
HSIs can be just as intoxicating, if not more so, than cannabis products regulated under a state’s medical or adult-use cannabis laws and regulations. However, in many states HSIs are not regulated and thus may not have undergone safety testing or be accurately labeled, posing health and safety risks to consumers. While, as I have previously written, the cannabis and hemp industries may debate whether the 2018 Farm Bill legalized HSIs, there should not be any real debate about the need for product safety or the right of states to protect their citizen consumers.
Webinar Replay: The Hemp Loophole and 2023 Farm Bill
A replay of The Hemp Loophole: The Legal Landscape and the Impact of the 2023 Farm Bill webinar is now available.
Why Hemp-Synthesized Intoxicants Need Uniform Regs
Dylan Anderson and Seth Goldberg authored the Law360 article “Why Hemp-Synthesized Intoxicants Need Uniform Regs.”
They write, “The next time you find yourself at a gas station loading up for a road trip on your snack or energy drink of choice, you may notice a surprising offering at the counter: products made from cannabis that have an intoxicating effect, but that are not governed under a state’s recreational or medical marijuana laws and regulations.” Read the full article.
Did Congress Intend to Legalize Intoxicating Hemp Products in the 2018 Farm Bill?
The 2018 Farm Bill legalized “Hemp,” defining it as “the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.” The .3% delta-9 THC threshold distinguishes hemp from marijuana, which remains a federally unlawful Schedule I controlled substance, based on the psychoactive effect of delta-9 THC.
Today, consumers can walk into convenience stores, gas stations, and the like, or shop online, and purchase an array of cannabis products that have the same psychoactive effects as delta-9 THC in federally unlawful Marijuana, i.e., delta-9 THC at greater than .3% on a dry weight basis, but, because they were manufactured using “derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers” found in Hemp, their manufacturers claim they are legal. These products, which contain delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC, and other chemical compounds, are the result of chemical processes that convert the Hemp “derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers” into compounds that are the functional equivalent of the delta-9 THC in federally unlawful Marijuana.
Manufacturers of delta-8 products believe the 2018 Farm Bill does not prohibit the conversion of the “derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers” in Hemp into an intoxicating compound, which begs the question: did Congress really intend to legalize intoxicating compounds created from Hemp “derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers” that are functionally equivalent to the delta-9 THC in federally unlawful Marijuana? It would seem that the .3% delta-9 THC distinction between Hemp and Marijuana is about psychoactive effect, not about a particular chemical.
Adult Use Cannabis – the United States Virgin Islands passes adult use cannabis legislation!
In case you might have missed it with your year end festivities, the U.S. Virgin Islands became the latest U.S. region to legalize adult-use cannabis. Once regulations are finalized, the rules will allow residents and visitors to purchase medical and/or recreational cannabis products from licensed dispensaries. The bill was signed by Governor Bryant and is now effective.
The legislation also includes provisions proposed by Senators Sarauw and Bolques and automatically expunges cannabis possession charges in the territory.
Medical cannabis was previously approved in 2019 but the legislature continues to work on the applicable rules and regulations for the program.
It is estimated by Commissioner Richard Evangelista that it will likely be another 18-24 months before the government can finalize the applicable regulations for medical and adult use.
Sarauw said that even now, with adult-use reforms now heading to the governor’s desk, “we have done absolutely nothing to move cannabis forward.”
At the moment, current rules decriminalize the possession of up to an ounce of cannabis in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Key Take Away – the USVI has now officially approved adult use cannabis which will likely spark (sorry, could not resist) multiple businesses and business lines to look to establish operations in the Territory. Grow, manufacture, dispensing and businesses supporting these operations are sure to continue their thought processes as to how to engage and become licensed pending final rules to be issued by the Department of Licenses and Consumer Affairs.
Duane Morris has an active Cannabis Team to help organizations and individuals plan, respond to, and execute on your cannabis and hemp initiatives. We would be happy to discuss your proposed project and how these new rules might apply to you. For more information or if you have any questions about this post, please contact Brad A. Molotsky, or Tracy Gallegos, Seth Goldberg, or Paul Josephson who co-head the Cannabis Group or the attorney in the firm with whom you in regular contact .