Cannabis Practice Group
JMBM's Legal Cannabis Group provides clients with all the resources and benefits of a full-service law firm on business matters involving legal marijuana and cannabis-related substances. Although medical or recreational cannabis has been legalized in California and more than half of the other states, businesses still have trouble finding experienced lawyers with mainstream law firms to represent them.
JMBM's Legal Cannabis Group was formally established to meet this need. We channel the Firm's resources to provide business and legal advice to the legal marijuana and cannabis industry or those doing business with it. We focus on the needs of business and property owners, developers, investors, lenders, commercial landlords and tenants, growers and producers, processors, dispensaries and sellers, and creators of new cannabis products. We can help on critical government approvals, compliance and permits as well as on "bread and butter" business structures, contracts, securities offerings, leases, intellectual property and financing. We handle all kinds of litigation (from routine to bet-the-company matters), labor and employment, tax.
For a more detailed listing of our services, please see below.
Regulatory, Licensing and Permitting
- Licensing, procurement and compliance issues for all cannabis-related matters
- Products warnings, labeling, packaging
- State Truth in Advertising compliance (California Business & Professions Code)
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
- US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) compliance
- Litigation involving cities, counties and other regulatory bodies
Land Use & Real Estate
- Zoning and jurisdictional issues
- Commercial leasing (which often contain cannabis-restrictive provisions) and related legal issues
- Conditional use permits
- Special use permits
- Land use planning
- Landlord-tenant issues
- Litigation involving cities, counties and regulatory bodies.
- Water rights and utility issues
- ADA issues for retail sites
- Civil asset forfeiture risk
- Seizure concerns
- Real estate acquisitions for grower, processor, and dispensary properties
Corporate
- Business entity formation
- Purchase/sale of cannabis-related businesses
- Corporate governance
- Operational plans
- Licensing and regulatory compliance
- Commercial contracts
- Partnership agreements
- Financing (see section on Financing)
- Investor agreements & relations
- Mergers & acquisitions
- Shareholder agreements
- SEC issues
- Licensing
- Advertising: State and Federal (including FTC)
- Manufacturing, sale, and licensing of processing equipment
Patents & Trademarks
- Evaluation of potential patent infringement claims, freedom to operate and patent validity opinions
- Preparation of patent applications for cannabis products and related packaging and delivery systems
- Evaluation of chemistry issues involving cannabis-related ingredients such as CBDs
- Litigation of patent matters in the federal courts and before the Patent Office
- Preparation of cease and desist letters and responding to them
- Worldwide trademark and patent portfolio management
- Evaluation of trademarks, service marks, trade dress, logos, tag-lines, slogans and other branding issues
- Copyright protection and enforcement
- Acquisition of intellectual property and evaluation of intellectual property assets in mergers and acquisition transactions
- Developing strategies to protect trade secrets
- Employment agreements involving intellectual property
- License agreements
- Internet issues including domain names and other media handles
Financing
- Valuation matters
- Commercial loans
- Venture capital and business financing arrangements
- Direct investments/Special purpose vehicles
- Debt collection
Banking
- Banking depository and payment relationships
- Financial services and monetary issues
- Banking law compliance
- U.S. Department of Treasury and other federal regulations
Employment
- Background checks
- Drug testing issues
- Policies and handbooks
- Employment litigation
- Non-compete/non-disclosure agreements
- ADA issues (medical marijuana)
- Harassment and Discrimination claims
- Wage and hour advice and counseling
- HIPAA
- OSHA
Privacy and Data Security
- Data privacy
- HIPAA
- Data breach plans
- California Consumer Privacy Act compliance
- California Marijuana Privacy Rules
Environmental Law
- Environmental review & compliance
- California Proposition 65
- Soil & water issues
- Agricultural issues such as pesticide, herbicide, fungicide use
- Structuring of alternative energy sources for the operation of cultivation facilities including solar, geothermal and co-generation facilities
Government Relations
- State licensing
- State, local and federal regulatory compliance
- Representation before local & state agencies and legislative bodies
- Regulatory actions and appeals, Administrative Procedure Act (APA)
- Challenging statutes and administrative decisions in the courts
- Public and community relations
Litigation
- Full range of commercial and regulatory litigation issues
- Shareholder disputes
Taxation
- Federal and state tax planning and advice for business
- Personal and estate planning for individuals
- Sales or exchange of capital assets
- Depreciable business property
- IRS filings and audits
- IRS Section 280E (controlled substances) mitigation strategies
Workouts, bankruptcies and insolvencies
- Bankruptcy and Insolvency
- Debtor-Creditor rights
- Workouts
- State court receivership
ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)
JMBM's lawyers are committed to the success of every client. We are committed to solving problems and helping you achieve your goals. Please call us to discuss your needs and how we can help.
Disclaimer: It is a federal crime to sell, distribute, possess, or use marijuana or cannabis-related substances, regardless of any state law that purports to authorize these activities. No business or legal advice we provide is ever intended to guide or assist our clients in violating federal law regarding such substances. Instead, we are only advising you regarding compliance with relevant state laws on such matters. At times, federal officials have seemed to defer enforcement of federal law prohibiting marijuana and cannabis, under certain circumstances, such as when the relevant activities are conducted in accordance with state law. This policy of restraint to enforce federal law could change at any time. Compliance with state laws does not constitute compliance with federal law, nor is it a defense to violations of federal law if federal officials choose to prosecute.