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On Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to place the Cannabis Tax Measure for unincorporated parts of the county on the Nov. 8 ballot. If the measure passes, it would give the county the ability to tax cannabis businesses located in...
Dear Clients and Colleagues: In recent months, there has been a significant increase in Internal Revenue Service audits of cannabis businesses in California and elsewhere. The reasoning is likely a combination of cannabis businesses being high-value targets given the nuances and challenges of IRS Regulation 280E, and the fact that the IRS is gaining bandwidth as the impact of COVID on…
Published July 22, 2020, by John Schroyer Months of anger over prized marijuana social equity licenses in Los Angeles boiled over recently, when the California Minority Alliance (CMA) accused a Black cannabis executive and his company of exploiting other minorities through “predatory” business deals. The CMA made the accusations against 4thMvmt in an email to the L.A. City Council and…
Published June 22, 2020 | By John Schroyer, MJBizDaily In a series of recommendations to the Los Angeles City Council, L.A.’s Department of Cannabis Regulation proposed an immense overhaul of its marijuana business licensing structure and social equity program. The DCR’s proposals are set to be taken up Tuesday by a City Council committee. The recommendations, if adopted, could be far-reaching for many marijuana entrepreneurs hoping…
By Michael Chernis, December 17, 2019 The path towards a legal adult-use cannabis market in Los Angeles has been littered with obstacles and challenges, and in November 2019, another roadblock emerged, as the City announced an audit to its commercial cannabis program and suspended further licensing pending that audit. After processing license application for certain pre-existing cannabis operators in Phases…
By Michael Chernis, December 12, 2019. Upcoming Deadline Extended for Phase II Applicants: All Phase II applicants: rest easy for the holidays, but plan and prepare big for the new year. Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulation (DCR) on December 11, 2019 has granted every Phase II applicant who has not yet received Temporary Approval for Non-Retailer Commercial Cannabis Activity…
By Michael Chernis, Esq., Chernis Law Group P.C., Santa Monica, California Cannabidiol (CBD) is the new rage in the alternative treatment of various health conditions. It is increasingly associated with treating serious illnesses, and alleviating ordinary symptoms of illnesses, without creating the high or psychoactive effect of its cannabinoid sister THC. And, unlike THC products, which will practically always violate…
By Sam Reisman Law360 (October 21, 2019, 6:07 PM EDT) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection will likely continue to seize lawful hemp shipped from foreign countries, a hemp importer said in a brief filed Monday in California federal court, giving renewed urgency to its proposed class action seeking an injunction against federal authorities. California-based Innovative Nutraceuticals told that court that its putative…
By John Schroyer On Jan. 10, California’s legal cannabis industry is expected to get even smaller. Medical marijuana collectives and cooperatives will become illegal without a state license that day, per guidance that the Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) issued in January 2018. Cannabis industry experts have suggested the impact of the deadline has already made its mark on the…
Broadly defined, litigation is the process of resolving a dispute between opposing parties through the court system. In business, any relationship–with vendors, suppliers, employees, customers, or competitors–is subject to misunderstanding and miscommunication that can result in litigation. In the burgeoning legal cannabis industry, the opportunity for such occurrences is greatly pronounced. Matters most often turning up in litigation involve issues…