Legal Insights

The City of Los Angeles’ Social Equity Program Eligibility Verification Process Opens Today
Rogoway Law Group

Los Angeles’ Social Equity Program Eligibility Verification Process Opens Today (May 28, 2019)

The City of Los Angeles’ Social Equity Program (SEP) Eligibility Verification Process opens today and will be open for 60 (sixty) days. Potential Social Equity Applicants MUST complete the SEP Applicant Eligibility Verification Process in order to be eligible to apply for SEP Priority Processing for Phase III Storefront Retail and Delivery licenses. All those that become verified during the SEP

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Here is what you should do when facing an IRS Audit.
Rogoway Law Group

I’m being audited by the IRS. What do I do?

Receiving a letter from the IRS, any letter, can be a fear inducing experience. But receiving a letter informing that you are under audit and requesting – nicely at first – that you produce all books and records for the year(s) under review can be particularly devastating. It’s possible that you contemplated an audit for items of tax that you

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Is it legal to sell CBD products in the United States?
Rogoway Law Group

Federal Regulation of Hemp: Next Steps From The FDA

On December 20, 2018, the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 was signed into law, which removed hemp from the Controlled Substances Act and ensured that hemp is no longer an illegal substance under federal law. You can find more information on the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 here. FDA’s Potential Regulatory Pathways for Hemp-Based CBD On April 2, 2019, the

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LLCs & Corporations: Formation & Entity Structure Considerations
Hilary St. Jean

Formation & Entity Structure: Important Considerations for Startups

Decisions, decisions! Businesses often wonder where to start in connection with pulling together corporate paperwork for initial operations, including as to how they should structure their businesses and what entity type to choose. Many new entrepreneurs don’t have a broad understanding of how different types of entities operate and why it’s important to consider a variety of factors when choosing

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The Growing Value of Domain Names in the Cannabis Industry
Josh Zetlin

The Growing Value of Domain Names in the Cannabis Industry

Domain names represent one of the most important, yet often overlooked, components of any cannabis company’s branding efforts. At a basic level, domain names allow consumers to find websites through easy-to-recall names (e.g. “www.rogowaylaw.com”) rather than the all-numeric IP addresses (such as “192.0.34.65”) assigned to each computer on the Internet. Each domain name is made up of a series of

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3 Important Learnings from the 2019 California Cannabis Control Summit
Rogoway Law Group

3 Important Learnings from the 2019 California Cannabis Control Summit

The 2019 California Cannabis Control Summit, a gathering of municipal officials from across the state, focused on the various regulatory and enforcement challenges brought forth in the first year of California’s cannabis legalization through the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA). This year’s summit, held in Sacramento, brought together a wide array of municipal officials – mayors

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Capitalization Basics for Cannabis Startups
Hilary St. Jean

Capitalization Basics for Cannabis Startups

Startup founders often become swept up in the day-to-day on early product development and business development or other matters and may forget to pay adequate attention to initial company ownership and equity rights matters. It is nonetheless essential to document all equity issuances intended in real time, including documenting founders’ capitalization as soon as possible after entity formation.   A

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Did the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (the “Farm Bill”) legalize CBD?
Josh Zetlin

So, did the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (the “Farm Bill”) legalize CBD?

For years most only associated cannabis with THC, the most famous – and psychoactive – of the approximately 113 phytocannabinoid chemical compounds in the cannabis plant.  Lately, however, cannabidiol, otherwise known as CBD, has grabbed much of the attention from its psychoactive counterpart. These days it seems like new CBD-infused products hit our shelves every day. People can now buy

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Mediation and Other Forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution for Cannabis Businesses
Rogoway Law Group

Mediation and Other Forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution: A Perspective for Cannabis Businesses

Recently I attended an informative program on mediation hosted by the San Francisco Bar Association (the “BASF”). In this blog, I share a handful of the panelists’ excellent observations and offer up a few thoughts of my own about the value of well-managed alternative dispute resolution, especially mediation, to cannabis operators. What is Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”)? As you probably

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