Shay to Moderate Panel at BASF Third Annual Cannabis Conference

Shay will moderate a panel titled California Cannabis Enforcement as part of the Bar Association of San Francisco’s Third Annual Cannabis Conference on November 17, presented online by the BASF Cannabis Law Section. Shay’s panel includes Nicole Elliott from the California Governor’s Office, as well as staff counsel from the California Department of Food & […]

California Announces Additional $30 Million for Social Equity

On Tuesday, California supplemented its October 2019 grant of $10 million, with an additional $30 million in grant funding for local programs focused on support of individuals in California’s legal cannabis marketplace who are from communities negatively impacted by cannabis criminalization. A majority of this $30 million — at least $23 million — is earmarked […]

California Judicial Council Adopts Emergency Rules

This week, the rule-making arm of the California Court System, the California Judicial Council, adopted temporary emergency rules, including $0 statewide bail for misdemeanors and lower-level felonies during the COVID-19 pandemic. These rules also include stays on eviction and foreclosure proceedings, as well as broad authority for all California state courts to require remote court […]

Shay to Moderate Panel of Cannabis Regulators at BASF Cannabis Conference

On October 30, at the Second Annual Bar Association of San Francisco Cannabis Conference, Shay will moderate a panel discussing the municipal cannabis equity programs in San Francisco, Oakland, and Los Angeles and will be joined by Marisa Rodriguez, Director of the City and County of San Francisco’s Office of Cannabis, Greg Minor, Assistant to […]

The War Rages On with a Marijuana Arrest Every 48 Seconds

According to data released by the F.B.I., the total number of persons arrested in the U.S. for violating marijuana laws rose again in 2018 for the third consecutive year to 663,367, far eclipsing the total number of people arrested for the commission of all violent crimes (521,103). Ninety percent (90%) of those arrested for cannabis-related […]

Hemp-CBD is on the Brink of Legalization in California

The 2018 Farm Bill legalized Hemp in the U.S. While we are still waiting for the FDA’s regulations around hemp-CBD, California is about to pass AB 228 which would circumvent the issue on a state level. As of right now, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) prohibits CBD from being added to products in […]

Cannabis Banking Expands in 2019

The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) tracks financial services for the cannabis industry through Suspicious Activities Reports (SARs). As of March 2019, there are 493 banks and 140 credit unions actively servicing cannabis businesses. It is an increase of 55 banks and 27 credit unions since the prior quarter. Once the Secure and […]

Hemp-Derived CBD

While hemp has been legalized with the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, the legal manufacture and sale of CBD products derived from hemp suffers from a lack of regulation. Although hemp was legalized, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) still has jurisdiction over CBD, and while the FDA has taken public comment, the FDA […]

Government Raids Unlicensed Cannabis Farms

On June 5, 2019, the National Guard, US Drug Enforcement, FBI, and many other agencies raided farms in Anza Valley in Riverside County. Roughly 140,000 plants and 3,000 pounds of processed marijuana were seized. Warrants were served on 118 locations and eight individuals were arrested. It is a reminder that cannabis businesses need to be […]