Blog Posts in 2016

Marijuana and Jeff Sessions: What the Attorney General Pick Might Mean for the Industry

Charles Feldmann

With the Senate confirmation hearings of Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Attorney General, less than a month away, advocates of marijuana legalization have pondered what his role as AG could mean for the burgeoning industry’s future—an industry that’s currently projected to hit $20.6 ...

3 Reasons Why You Should Invest in a Marijuana Business

Charles Feldmann

Marijuana is now legal in some form in twenty-eight U.S. states and the District of Columbia – more than half of the country. As more states legalize marijuana for either medical or recreational purposes (or both), marketers and investors are lining up to get a piece of what is currently a $7 billion industry. With more than 60 percent of ...

Anti-Marijuana Senator Jeff Sessions Selected as Attorney General

Charles Feldmann

Donald Trump’s transition team announced Friday morning that Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) is the president-elect’s nominee for Attorney General. Sessions, a “far-right” conservative, was the first senator to officially endorse Mr. Trump in February of this year. Although he’s known for his hard-line stance on ...

Distilling California's Adult Use of Marijuana Act (Proposition 64)

Charles Feldmann

By Gregory D. Thomas, Esq. Last week, California passed the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (“Act”) by a vote of 56% to 44%. Conventional wisdom dictates that legalized recreational marijuana in the United States’ most populous state and the sixth largest economy in the world will have a significant influence on how marijuana is ...

Medical Marijuana Cardholders Still Banned from Purchasing Firearms, Court Says

Charles Feldmann

By: Charles Feldmann, Esq. On August 31, 2016, the Ninth Circuit upheld a ban that prevents medical marijuana cardholders from purchasing a firearm. The case arose when Rowan Wilson, a Nevada medical marijuana cardholder, attempted to purchase one from a local dealer in 2011. Medical marijuana is legal in Nevada. However, the federal government ...

Court Says Colorado License Plates Not Enough to Search Vehicle

Charles Feldmann

By: Charles Feldmann, Esq. On August 23, 2016, the Tenth Circuit held that highway patrol officers involved in traffic stops cannot use the fact that an individual’s identification or license tags are from a state that has legalized marijuana as a justification to detain the person or search the vehicle for drugs. In addition, the court found ...

The Future of Marijuana Under President Trump

Charles Feldmann

By Charles Feldmann, Esq. Donald Trump’s election on Tuesday as the next U.S. president has left proponents of both recreational and medical marijuana wondering about the industry’s future after he takes office this January. In addition, the passing of four initiatives in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana (California, ...

California Voters Legalize Recreational Use of Marijuana

Charles Feldmann

Proposition 64 Legalizes Recreational Cannabis Use By: Charles Feldmann, Esq. Yesterday, Californians voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. By approving Proposition 64, California became the most populous state in the U.S. to pass such a law. After narrowly rejecting a similar measure six years ago, Californians voted to end ...

Marijuana Business Litigation - Special Considerations

Charles Feldmann

Cantafio & Song PLLC attorney Lisa Pittman, together with Attorney Lisa Dickinson of Dickinson Law Firm, PLLC in Spokane, Washington, are the authors of a new article which will soon be featured in an upcoming edition of the ABA’s TIPS Business Litigation Committee Newsletter. The article, entitled “ Medical Business Litigation – ...

Texas Hold'em: CBD License Application Fee Raised to $1,300,000

Charles Feldmann

By: Lisa Pittman, Esq. License application fees are now bigger in Texas. Specifically, the newly proposed license application fee to participate in the State’s inaugural medical marijuana program, under the Texas Compassionate Use Act (the “Act”), has been raised from $6,000 to $1,300,000. The Act is a statute that contemplates ...

What Licenses Do I Need to Open a Marijuana Dispensary in Colorado?

Charles Feldmann

By: Charles Feldmann, Esq. If you are like many entrepreneurs looking to capitalize on the burgeoning new legal marijuana industry, you may have several questions about how to open a marijuana dispensary. What local and state regulations will you have to comply with? Do you need a business license? Are licensing requirements different for medical ...

Anecdotes from the World of Marijuana (Ahead Of the November Elections)

Charles Feldmann

By: Gregory D. Thomas, Esq. The marijuana industry, and presumably those opposed to legalization of the plant, waits with bated breath on this coming November’s state election results. No doubt, there will be many compelling stories to come out of those results for months – if not years – to come. In the meantime, let’s look ...

Starting a Marijuana Business: What You Need to Know

Charles Feldmann

By: Charles Feldmann, Esq. The legal cannabis industry is currently exploding, offering entrepreneurs a wealth of opportunities for success. In fact, the value of the legal cannabis market has grown from $1.5 billion in 2013 to $2.7 billion in 2014– a 74% increase. With recreational marijuana already legal in four states and potentially legal ...

Charles Feldmann, Esq. to Speak at Upcoming Texas NORML Veterans Conference

Charles Feldmann

Charles Feldmann, Esq. will speak at the Texas NORML Veterans Conference Legal Panel at the Texas Capitol on the topic of “Texas Marijuana Laws and Interactions with Law Enforcement.” This event will take place on October 15, 2016. Veterans and patients are pushing for reform of medical marijuana laws in Texas so that they can benefit ...

The Greenhouse Effect: Pros & Cons of High-Tech Facilities

Charles Feldmann

By: Gregory D. Thomas, Esq. In the past several months, I have received a number inquiries about the possibility of starting greenhouse grow operations inside and outside of Colorado. While most of these inquirers were already set on a greenhouse cultivation operation versus an outdoor or warehouse facility, it was clear that very few of these ...

Update: Marijuana to Remain Schedule I Substance, but Research Encouraged

Charles Feldmann

By: Charles Feldmann, Esq. After much speculation in the midst of historic momentum to legalize marijuana, Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg recently replied to petitions to remove marijuana from its Schedule I status. On August 11, 2016, Rosenberg announced via correspondence to petitioners that – at least ...

Douglas County Commissioners Adopt New Marijuana Regulations

Charles Feldmann

By: David Feeder, Esq. On August 9, 2016, the Douglas County Commissioners adopted a new Ordinance (No. O-016-002) that regulates the growing, cultivation and processing of marijuana (“Marijuana Activity”) in unincorporated territory of Douglas County. The Ordinance limits the location where Marijuana Activity can be conducted through ...

New Study Suggests that Medical Marijuana Has Potential as Alzheimer's Treatment

Charles Feldmann

By: Charles Feldmann, Esq. A recent study conducted by Nature Partner Journals found that medical marijuana could potentially be a useful treatment for Alzheimer’ disease. The study revealed that THC stimulates the removal of toxic amyloid plaque in the brain, a common characteristic of the neurodegenerative disease, thus preventing the death ...

The Political Status of Marijuana: A National Update

Charles Feldmann

By: Gregory D. Thomas, Esq. In an April blog, I discussed trends in marijuana legalization and reclassification in the United States. Since then, the states of Ohio and Louisiana have legalized marijuana in one form or another, bringing the total number of states where medical marijuana is legal to twenty-six – a majority. Four of those ...

V.A. Medical Marijuana Amendment Struck from Budget Bill

Charles Feldmann

By: Charles Feldmann, Esq. An amendment to a budget bill that would have prohibited Veterans Affairs from spending money to enforce its anti-medical marijuana stance disappeared from the bill’s final version last week, leaving many proponents of the measure outraged. Currently, the V.A. prohibits its doctors from recommending – or even ...

Ohio Medical Cannabis Legalization: A Possible Tipping Point?

Charles Feldmann

By: Charles Feldmann, Esq. Last week, Ohio Governor and former Republican presidential candidate John Kasich legalized medical marijuana in the seventh most populous state in the country. In doing so, Kasich has not only given a huge boost to the cannabis movement, but also cleared the way for a new medical marijuana market and numerous business ...

Recreational Marijuana Hurdles in Colorado

Charles Feldmann

By: Gregory D. Thomas, Esq. Despite the many positive advances recreational marijuana has made since Amendment 64 was passed in 2012, the following represent several significant legal and political hurdles that stand in its way, according to the Marijuana Business Daily: 1) While marijuana (recreational and medical) has grown exponentially into a ...

The Ganjula Gauntlet: Skiing, Snowboarding and Smoking

Charles Feldmann

By: Charles Feldmann, Esq. Last winter, there were an estimated 7.1 million visits to one of Colorado’s twenty-five ski resorts. [1] This year, with the increase in snow and boost in the economy, that number is bound to increase. And with the passing of Amendment 64, Colorado is becoming famous, or rather infamous, for it’s recreational ...

Marijuana Policy Q&A With Charles Feldmann

Charles Feldmann

Former DEA Task Force Commander and marijuana business law attorney Charles Feldmann was recently interviewed by Marijuana Business Daily (follow the link to read the full Q & A session). In the interview, he shared that he used to work as a task force commander for the feds when he was an agent between 1996 and 2001. Later, he also worked as a ...

The New Colorado Marijuana Business Investor Options Bill: Frequently Asked Questions

Charles Feldmann

By: Charles Feldmann, Esq. What’s the law about? In an effort to increase sources of capital for MJ business owners, on January 1, 2017, non-Colorado residents may invest in MJ business companies – a major change from the previous law, which stated that only individuals who had been residents of the state for 2+ years could have ...