It’s that time of year again. Our annual round-up featuring some of the most read content on Budding Trends in the past year. This year’s edition has a little something for everyone: marijuana, hemp, mushrooms, state law, federal law, banking, intellectual property, and more!
Before we dive right in, we want to plug our January
Sportscaster Jim McKay famously said that “our greatest hopes and worst fears are seldom realized.” When the federal government enacted a law that, on its face, would essentially eradicate the consumable hemp industry in America, my first reaction was great sadness for those I had gotten to know in the industry and those millions of
The Traveling Wilburys – perhaps the musical supergroup most aligned with the mood and spirit of the Budding Trends blog – tell us that it’s all right to live the life you please. The state of Alabama, however, has determined that the End of the Line for unregulated consumable hemp is January 1, 2026.
As
It’s not always bad news when cannabis operators interact with the federal government. After all, the federal government largely allows marijuana companies to operate in an overwhelming majority of states without federal interference even though marijuana is classified as a Schedule I substance under federal law.
But there does seem to be a common theme
As the hallowed cannabis holiday for stoners-turned-business-entrepreneurs falls upon us, we find ourselves in the shifting sands of change in the cannabis industry as usual. Not surprisingly, many states have seen legislation brought to the table, decisions made at the courts, and commentary presented by politicians that will directly impact cannabis businesses, medical marijuana dispensaries
Anyone who thought that the momentum towards federal liberalization of marijuana would be a straight line found themselves with a cold dash of water to the face. Late last week Republican senators filed a bill, entitled the “No Deductions for Marijuana Businesses Act,” which would preserve a punitive federal tax policy that bars cannabis
Raising capital is always fraught with risk and uncertainty for any company. Those risks and uncertainties are magnified exponentially when it comes to raising capital for cannabis companies. Cannabis companies and potential investors must consider a hornet’s nest of complex, often contradictory rules and regulations arising from the existing inconsistencies between federal law and the
As you read along here, try this mantra: Trust your eyes. Don’t allow yourself to be gaslit.
You may recall from our previous post that we think the United States Supreme Court could overrule the marijuana provisions of the federal Controlled Substances Act if it was presented with the right case. That case is now
They say the first step is admitting you have a problem. My name is Whitt, and I’m a recovering litigator. I’ve spent years sending ugly letters and playing a zero-sum game with strangers, and it generally didn’t lead to a bunch of happy days at the office.
But ever since we started our Cannabis Industry
Good news, bad news if you’re a cannabis operator that owes money to a creditor. But probably bad news for the rule of law.
A federal appellate court has ruled that a cannabis operator is obligated to repay his debts to an ex-business partner, but it raised questions about whether the money used to repay