Legally-Blunt is a Manzuri Law Publication that focuses on cutting-edge legal issues and is part of our educational mission.
By Abraham Finberg, CPA and Simon Menkes, CPA Great news! A publicly traded company from Canada through a reverse merger (whatever that means) wants to buy you out. All they need are your audited financials! Now what? Of course the only audits you ever had were sales tax audits. Weren't th...
A few months ago, Daniel Boyd McMonegal of West Coast Organix was charged with money laundering after selling marijuana in illegal online markets. West Coast Organix was a cannabis business in San Luis Obispo County awarded a local land use permit for their business. At the time, the nonprofit ...
There is no one reason why many cannabis retailers saw their inventory plummet on July 1 – but one major factor is a lack of licensed testing labs. While business is good for cannabis retailers, the lack of supply is not just from customer demand - it is from a lack of licensed cannabis testing...
It's been a few weeks since we hit the ominous July 1 date that marked the end of California's transition period to the regulated market. Cannabis businesses are now required to have all products pass certain testing standards before putting them on retail shelves. In addition, products must meet...
Recently, the Los Angeles City Council adopted a handful of ordinances and made several recommendations to the City Attorney and other departments to strengthen current regulations. Here's what you need to know:
As the demand for Cannabidiol (CBD) continues to skyrocket, CBD products now line the shelves of Whole Foods and can be added to beverages at your local coffee shop and juice bar. While it seems the CBD craze is everywhere, the legality of CBD is a whole other story. Due to different laws in diff...
Written by Elizabeth In late May, 2018, a bipartisan coalition, including Republican U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado and Democratic U.S Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, introduced SIL18725 or “The STATES Act,” a proposal to amend the Controlled Substances Act to end the federal ban on...
Summer 2018 is starting out with a bang for California. We are halfway through the first year of legalization and not only are the state regulations still changing, but the transition period – allowing for businesses to operate in a laxer regulatory environment – is ending on July 1. This one-two...
Written by Taylor Ulrich, J.D. The use of police force in facilitating arrests has long been a topic of great debate and controversy. Current law weighs heavily in favor of police officers and unjustifiably affects minorities. As a result, arrests for non-violent crimes and benign violations...
The end of the transition period is looming. Regulations which eases packaging, labeling, and testing requirements and allows medicinal and adult-use licensees to conduct business with each other regardless of license types is about to get more strict, or is it? The underwhelming first-quarter c...
Step 1: Apply for and obtain a state cannabis event organizer license. Cannabis Event Organizer License Application Instructions for Completing the Cannabis Event Organizer License Application Step 2: Find a compliant location for your event. At this time, licensed cannabis events can onl...
Since Proposition 64 passed in November 2016, one practically cannot go a week without seeing a report on the news about concerns about people driving while impaired after using cannabis. The evening news often shows California Highway Patrol and local police discussing some new gadget that th...
In anticipation of this weeks 4/20 festivities, the California Bureau of Cannabis Control (the “Bureau”) issued a warning Tuesday that businesses holding retail licenses to sell cannabis could face strict penalties if they get caught participating in an unlicensed temporary cannabis event. So, ...
With the passage of Proposition 64 in California, cannabis possession is legal for many and a new adult-use industry is growing before our eyes. However, there is one large group in California for whom cannabis remains risky to dangerous, legally speaking: immigrants, both documented and undocume...
Whats better than legal weed? Free legal weed. Previously, with patient appreciation days, free product samples and a joint with purchase, there seemed to be so many different ways to get a bigger bang for your buck. These days, legal free weed is harder to come by as California laws put the kib...
At the California cannabis advisory committees marathon meeting last month in Los Angeles, a hot topic of debate was how to deal with statutory recommendations for the states cannabis laws. As a reminder, the advisory committee is tasked with advising the states licensing authorities, i.e. the...
LA will be making some big changes in the next 6 weeks. Currently up for consideration are the following amendments 1. Disclosure of Management Companies Required. On February 28th, the City Council adopted a report by the Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee recommending ...
The spring season marks fresh starts and renewed energy, making it an appropriate time to reflect on how California has done so far in its new era of cannabis regulation. As of early March, the Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC), CalCannabis, and the Manufactured Cannabis Safety Branch had approved...
The cannabis industry in the United States is estimated to reach $22.6 billion by 2021. But despite the headway that individual states have made in the U.S., its Canada thats really led the way as the premier cannabis market. After they created access to capital, financing and banking with fede...
Historically, law enforcement has used an officers belief that a vehicle or person smells like cannabis to justify a search. Defendants faced an uphill battle to attack such searches, since they were based on the officers subjective impression of a smell. Officers would also use the sight of ca...
Friday marked the deadline for introducing bills in Sacramento, and based on those that have been introduced, it appears that some members of the Legislature are wary of Californias licensing authorities intent to create robust regulations. With the fall also bringing another election cycle for...
Written by: Abraham Finberg, CPA For sometime now, cannabis businesses have formed various corporate entities to ease some of the challenges associated with operating in the legal gray area. Although there are legitimate and practical reasons for doing so, this practice is sometimes unnecessar...
Amidst the celebrations following the passage of Proposition 64, criminal justice advocates both new and seasoned looked with pride upon one particular part: conviction relief for many cannabis offenses. Proposition 64 reduced or eliminated criminal penalties for cannabis cultivation, sales, poss...
With the emergence of a new industry comes new taxes enforced by new tax laws. Beginning January 1, 2018, two new cannabis taxes took effect...
Californias legislators recently returned to Sacramento after spending about four months working with constituents in their respective districts. With elections coming up again this fall and only one year left in the legislative session, several representatives worked quickly to introduce bills ...