Los Angeles Lawyer July/August 2018
BANKING, LENDING, AND INSOLVENCY RESTRICTIONS RELEGATE THE LEGITIMATE CANNABIS INDUSTRY IN CALIFORNIA TO AN ALL-CASH BUSINESS, VULNERABLE TO CRIME
A 92-year-old landlord who leased a storefront to a marijuana dispensary will receive a new hearing after a court dismissed her bankruptcy caseon the grounds that acceptance of rent payments from the dispensary disqualified her from bankruptcy relief.
In a prior post, we examined whether state-licensed marijuana businesses, and those doing business with marijuana businesses, can seek relief under the Bankruptcy Code.
Can marijuana businesses receive federal copyright protection?
Yes. The requirements for registration with the U.S. Copyright Office are that the work is original, creative and fixed in some form of expression. These requirements do not prevent a marijuana business from registering its works, such as pamphlets, instructional videos or even artwork.
Can marijuana businesses receive any patent protection?
Last week, the DOJ sent a letter to trustees who handle consumer bankruptcy reminding them that marijuana is a federally illegal drug and warned them not to handle any money from the sale of marijuana-related property.
Have you ever wanted to start your own marijuana cultivation and distribution business? Do you see billboards on the highway advertising pot-growing seminars and think, “Maybe I should go?” Does the grass seem greener on the other side?
Recreational marijuana is legal in two states—Washington and Colorado—and medical marijuana is legal in another twenty-one states. Colorado alone has over 500 marijuana dispensaries and that number is on the rise. However, as the marijuana industry continues to grow, federal law still prohibits the use of marijuana. So what happens when a marijuana business becomes insolvent? Does it have the right to avail itself of the protections of the Bankruptcy Code?
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night – and certainly not a batch of freezing rain and ice that’s currently paralyzing the greater Baltimore-Washington area right now – stays your trusty editors from the swift completion of their appointed rounds; namely, bringing you the weekly roundup of
The legalization under state law of the marijuana business in Colorado through Amendment 20 (medical marijuana) and Amendment 64 (recreational marijuana) (Amendment 20 and Amendment 64 shall be referred to collectively as the "Colorado Amendments") raises serious issues for banks whose customers or borrowers are involved in the marijuana business in Colorado. The Colorado Amendments do not affect federal law that defines marijuana as a Class 1 controlled substance.