Cannabis

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Back in February, I discussed administrative litigation in Oregon and the types of violations Oregon cannabis businesses can be hit with. But what about settlement? Like in civil litigation, administrative litigation can be settled with the right tools and right team of lawyers on your side. As a quick refresher, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) is the agency tasked with implementing and enforcing the recreational marijuana rules. The OLCC can and does conduct random…
We’ve written previously about some common issues landlords run into when leasing to cannabis businesses (see links at the bottom of this article). Now that we’ve seen almost a year’s worth of emergency regulations, and the state has released its proposed final regulations, we’ve also seen a variety of cannabis leasing issues crop up. Here are a few of the most common ones. Insurance This is a frequent problem. Sometimes it’s an issue…
I’ve worked on many celebrity licensing and endorsement deals, and my firm’s cannabis intellectual property lawyers have received countless inquiries from companies looking to partner with one celebrity or another. And while the best of the deals can be very lucrative (and interesting) for everyone involved, plenty of them fizzle out for one reason or another. Often, the excitement over the prospect of partnering with a celebrity can blind businesses to the bigger intellectual property…
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Cannabis prohibition under U.S. federal law is nonsensical and causes many problems, from oppressive taxation to civil rights violations. Under international law, however, things may be even worse. Fortunately, it was reported this week that the United Nations (U.N.) will finally take a closer look at cannabis prohibition this fall. It was also reported that the World Health Organization (W.H.O.), an agency of the U.N., has recommended that cannabidiol (CBD) no longer be controlled…
Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. At the risk of turning this into the “Week in Oklahoma Weed,” here’s the latest on what happening in the Sooner State. Signatures submitted for Oklahoma recreational marijuana ballot measure (Marijuana Business Daily: News, 10 August 2018) A group that wants to legalize recreational marijuana in Oklahoma has submitted signatures to qualify the measure for a statewide…
We have received an unusually high number of inquiries from clients and commentators concerning the patent infringement action filed by United Cannabis Corporation (UCANN) against Pure Hemp Collective Inc. late last month.  (See United Cannabis Corp. v. Pure Hemp Collective Inc., Case No. 1:18-cv-01922-NYW (D.Colo).)  For those not paying attention, the case involves allegations that Pure Hemp’s tinctures, gel capsules, vape pens, and other cannabis products infringe one or more claims of UCANN’s patent…
Last year, the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 1057, which transferred cannabis labeling authority from the Oregon Health Authority (“OHA”) to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (“OLCC”). The new rules, which became operational on August 15, 2018, merged the OHA rules with those of the OLCC and further clarified the labeling and packaging regulations. Overall, this is a good thing. Although the new regulations do not drastically differ from those under the old…
“U.S.-listed shares of Canada-based Canopy Growth Corp. soared almost 30% Wednesday, after liquor seller Constellation Brands Inc. said it will invest another CAD $5 billion, or about $4 billion, in the diversified cannabis company.” What does this mean? Investment continues to be poured into Canadian marijuana companies listed on US stock exchanges (See Tilray listing on NASDAQ).  This most recent investment is likely do to the already $700 million return that Constellation has…
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John Shaeffer writes: On July 30, 2018, United Cannabis Corporation (“UCNN”) filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court in Colorado against Pure Hemp Collective Inc. (“Pure Hemp”) alleging that Pure Hemp infringed U.S. Patent No. 9,730,911 (“the ‘911 Patent”), which is entitled Cannabis Extracts and Methods of Preparing and Using Same.  The ‘911 Patent issues on August 15, 2017, based on an application filed on October 21, 2015. As is typical in a patent…
On August 10, 2018, the District Court for the District of New Jersey granted an employer’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit for disability discrimination, finding that neither the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“NJLAD”) nor the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act (“CUMMA”) require an employer to waive a drug test. By way of background, the plaintiff, Daniel Cotto (“Cotto”), a forklift operator, hit his head on a forklift and was subsequently asked by…