California’s Intoxicating Hemp Approach in Context: How the State’s Rules Compare to the Rest of the Country
When § 781 of P.L. 119-37 takes effect, the federal intoxicating-hemp market that the 2018 Farm Bill inadvertently opened will close. California’s AB 8 is the state’s answer — and, for operators here, the only legal off-ramp. This post explains how the three laws fit together and what cannabis and hemp businesses need to do before the deadline arrives.
How California Retailers Are Splitting One A-and-M-Designated License into Two Under the DCC’s Emergency Rule
California’s June 4, 2026 emergency rule lets a dual-designated A and M retailer hold each license in a separate entity on the same premises. Here’s how.
How a Distressed California Cannabis Business Restructures When Bankruptcy Court Is Out of Reach
Distressed California cannabis firms can’t file federal bankruptcy—even after 2026 rescheduling. How workouts, ABCs, and receiverships work under state law.
Beyond Rescheduling: Who Keeps the “$1.6 Billion” in 280E Relief — the U.S. Treasury or Large Operators?
Rescheduling won’t settle 280E — the unpublished IRS guidance will. Who keeps the disputed $1.6 billion, why prior-year refunds carry real risk, and what California operators should weigh before filing anything.
What the Enforcement Numbers Don’t Show: California’s Intoxicating Hemp Beverage Market and the July 1 Consolidation
California’s hemp-enforcement numbers look like a win. Read as Holmes’ “bad man” would, they map where the intoxicating hemp beverage trade moved — and how fast the July 1, 2026 consolidation closes in on it.
While Rescheduling Unifies Some Federal Tax Treatment, California Cannabis and Hemp Keep Diverging Along the THC Line
Marijuana rescheduling now unifies some federal tax treatment, but California cannabis and hemp keep diverging along the THC line. This post walks operators and investors through what the shift means for entity choice, Section 280E, ownership disclosure, exits, and staying compliant — and why the cannabis-hemp divide is widening even as one federal tax answer emerges.
The April 22 Rescheduling Order: What We Know, What We Don’t, and What to Watch Before June 29
The April 22, 2026 rescheduling order moves state-licensed medical marijuana to Schedule III — but leaves adult-use cannabis in Schedule I, creates contested treaty-compliance mechanisms, and opens a June 27 DEA registration deadline that demands immediate attention from California dual A/M operators. Here is what we know, what remains genuinely uncertain, and what to watch before June 29.
Recent and Expected California Cannabis & Hemp Rulemaking to Govern the Licensed Supply Chains for Years to Come
California cannabis and hemp operators face five active or anticipated rulemakings in 2026 — covering multipack cannabis goods, pesticide residue testing, cultivation requirements, METRC track-and-trace reform, and AB 8 implementation. California cannabis attorney Shay Aaron Gilmore breaks down each DCC rulemaking proceeding, the AB 8 two-year countdown to hemp-DCC licensing integration, and why administrative law counsel delivers its highest value before any enforcement action begins.
Where the Law Meets the Ground: A Spring 2026 Field Report for California Cannabis Operators and Investors
California’s spring 2026 cannabis landscape is being shaped by ground-level events that demand immediate attention from operators and investors: nine Santa Barbara County licenses revoked over odor compliance failures, geopolitical fuel price shocks stress-testing distribution contracts across the state, a wave of M&A deals introducing new joint venture and earnout structures, and pricing data from Michigan and the East Coast confirming that California’s price compression is structural — not temporary. California cannabis attorney Shay Aaron Gilmore analyzes what it means for your business.
Environmental Remediation Bill for Unlawful Cannabis Cultivation Heads to Senate Hearing
Illegal cannabis cultivation has emerged as a major threat to wildlife throughout California due to the rampant use of pesticides, habitat destruction, and water diversions associated with the trespass grows overlapping the habitats of sensitive species. In counties where cannabis cultivation is prohibited, like Siskiyou County, illicit cannabis farms have devastated wildlife. Representing California’s North […]
Over a Dozen Cannabis Bills Move Forward in California Legislature
To survive in the 2024 California Legislative Session, May 24 was the deadline for bills to be passed out of their chamber of origin (Assembly or Senate), and it appears over a dozen cannabis bills have crossed this threshold by the May 24 deadline. These bills include: These bills must now make it through the […]
Medicinal Cannabis Retail Premises Remain Prohibited Throughout Most of California
More than a year after Governor Newsom signed SB 1186, the Medicinal Cannabis Patients’ Right of Access Act, and over six months after the Department of Cannabis Control announced $4 million in grants to 18 local jurisdictions under the Local Jurisdiction Retail Access Grant (LJRAG) program, sixty-percent (60%) of California’s local jurisdictions continue to prohibit […]
California Adopts Emergency Regulation to Clarify “Gross Receipts” for Cannabis Excise Tax
On November 27, 2023, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration proposed Emergency Regulation 3802 for immediate adoption to address issues identified by the Department related to calculating “gross receipts” for purposes of applying California’s 15% cannabis excise tax. To take immediate effect, the Department adopted Regulation 3802 to address: (1) the issue regarding […]