Joe Rogoway California Cannabis Lawyer

ABC Enforcement Actions, Penalties, And Appeals Before The Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board

Legal Considerations for Enforcement Actions, Penalties, and Appeals before the Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board

Introduction California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (“ABC” or “Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control”) Licensees are subject to a range of enforcement actions for various statutory and regulatory violations. Indeed, one of the three pillars of the ABC mission statement is enforcement and the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control engages in a variety of programs to “protect the public” by

Joe Rogoway February 11, 2023

TTB Wine Bottle Certificate of Label Approval (COLA) Requirments

Before any bottle of wine (inclusive of cider and mead) can be introduced into commerce in the United States, it must have an affixed label which has received either a Certificate of Label Approval (COLA) or COLA Exemption from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).

Joe Rogoway August 24, 2022

California Craft Brewery, Microbrewery, Tap Room Licenses

Licensing Considerations For California Craft Breweries, Microbreweries and Brewpubs

In 2021 craft beer accounted for over a quarter of the total U.S. beer sales. Underlying this affinity for craft beer are a variety of regulations and licensing requirements which govern the industry.

Joe Rogoway August 3, 2022

Petitioning the TTB for the Establishment of a New American Viticultural Area (AVA)

Establishing a New American Viticultural Area (AVA) by Petitioning the TTB

An individual or entity, including any industry member, or any person or entity on behalf of an industry member, may file a petition to establish a new American Viticultural Area (AVA).

Joe Rogoway July 18, 2022

Type 02, Type 17/20, and Type 85 Licensing Considerations for California Wineries

The California Department of Alcohol and Beverage Control offers an extensive catalog of licensure and permitting options for wine industry businesses; this post highlights the ABC licenses most relevant to California wineries.

Joe Rogoway July 11, 2022

Lake County’s Revised Cannabis Ordinance Needs a Different Approach

Recently, a new draft MAUCRSA implementation cannabis ordinance (“Draft Cannabis Ordinance” or “Draft Ordinance”) was released by the County of Lake, California (the “County” or “Lake County”). Though the Draft Cannabis Ordinance is merely the first step in what will likely be a lengthy effort by Lake County staff, stakeholders, and the Lake County community at large to draft cannabis

Joe Rogoway June 16, 2022

The California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”), is perhaps the most significant legal regime impacting commercial cannabis activities in the State of California.

CEQA: State and Local Environmental Review in California’s Cannabis Industry

Solution: Local jurisdictions should conduct Programmatic Environmental Impact Reports (PEIRs) for their respective permitting programs, then, ministerially permit all commercial cannabis activities including cultivation.

Joe Rogoway June 10, 2022

What Senate Bill 1148 (SB 1148) Provides: Statutory CEQA Exemption for State Cannabis Licenses

SB 1148 Should be Amended to Include Local Cannabis Permitting Programs in the Statutory CEQA Exemption

What Senate Bill 1148 Provides: Statutory CEQA Exemption for State Cannabis Licenses Senate Bill 1148 (“SB 1148”), a pending bill in the California State Senate, would provide that the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) would NOT apply to the issuance of a state cannabis license if the local jurisdiction has filed a notice of exemption or a notice of determination

Joe Rogoway May 18, 2022

Your Guide to California State Cannabis Enforcement Actions and Discipline

The original post was published on May 7, 2020. It has since been updated by Firm Partner Blair Gue to reflect the changes in the regulatory bodies governing California’s cannabis industry. You can access the archived original post here. The below is a brief description of the process involved in an administrative enforcement action brought by the Department of Cannabis

Joe Rogoway March 15, 2022

California’s Legal Cannabis Farms Use Less Water and Produce More Value Than Any Other Agricultural Activity.

It’s Time to Stop Scapegoating Legal Cannabis Farms.

California’s commercial cannabis laws, as established through the Medicinal and Adult Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA), have always contained the acutely problematic provisions of so-called local control as well as the express exclusion of cannabis from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) exemptions endowed to all other agricultural crops. This has created an unworkable dynamic for California’s legal

Joe Rogoway August 25, 2021

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