Legally-Blunt is a Manzuri Law Publication that focuses on cutting-edge legal issues and is part of our educational mission.
CBD seems to be everywhere, from all over the news to local pet stores. Given its proliferation, it is easy to assume that CBD, particularly CBD derived from industrial hemp, is completely legal under state and federal law. But, it is not. According to the DEA, CBD remains a Schedule I Contro...
Written by Taylor Ulrich, J.D. Los Angeles International Airport recently published the current position of the Los Angeles Airport Police Department by updating its public cannabis policy on its website stating that the department “will allow passengers to travel through LAX with up to 28.5 g...
The Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) is cracking down heavily on illegal businesses, or so it wants you to think. As California entered its ninth month of operating in the regulated cannabis market, the BCC widely announced two enforcement actions on unlicensed businesses in the state, one agai...
On August 28, 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a piece of trailblazing legislation that is set to revamp California's cash bail system. Senate Bill No. 10, also known as the California Money Bail Reform Act, is set to go into effect on October 1, 2019. The new law passed in the Stat...
Written by Abraham Finberg, CPA and Simon Menkes, CPA Traditionally, deciding on the best entity for a business involves a comparison of the Corporation versus the LLC, with a few nods to Partnerships and Sole Proprietorships thrown in. However, if you decide to go into the cannabis business, ...
The two definites in life are death and taxes - even for cannabis businesses. As you may well know, when it comes to taxes, cannabis businesses don't have it easy. Enter tax code 280E. 26 U.S.C. §280E allows the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) to deny general business tax deductions - essenti...
Written by Elizabeth Kozlov On August 1, 2018, the Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulation (“DCR”) began accepting applications for Phase 2 priority processing for select cannabis businesses that were involved in non-retail cannabis activity prior to 2016. This is the second application wi...
Written by: Taylor Urlich For many years, California has been the “cool kid” when it comes to cannabis regulation. In fact, California pioneered the legalization of cannabis for medical use in 1996. But until this year the state's cannabis industry has been largely unregulated. At the start of t...
Last month, two California cannabis companies, Lowell Herb Co. and Bloom Brand, voluntarily recalled products, making retailers pull the affected products off the shelf. Are such recalls about to become common, or is this an isolated event? The Recalls The Bloom Brand recalled four product...
They're here. Proposed regulations from California's three cannabis licensing authorities were released last month, kicking off the long-awaited regular rulemaking process. These proposed regulations will be here to stay for the foreseeable future once adopted by the state, giving the cannabis ...
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...