Jennifer Benda, a Partner in Fox’s Denver, CO office, is an experienced tax attorney who handles tax controversy and income tax planning and compliance matters. She has significant experience assisting companies in the cannabis industry with tax planning, transactional matters, IRS examinations, and other tax compliance matters. Over at Fox Rothschild’s Tax Controversy and
One Toke Over the Line: Employer of Marijuana Workers Seeking FLSA Overtime Defends By Asserting Its Business Is Illegal
It is not often when an employer defends a FLSA lawsuit by asserting that it is in an illegal business and therefore immune to suit. Sound funny? Well, that is precisely what a Colorado employer that furnishes security services to legal cannabis growers/sellers has pressed on the Tenth Circuit. The employer’s theory is that the
Tax Controversy For Cannabis Businesses
Jennifer Benda wrote a recent blog on tax controversy in the cannabis business space. This is an important issue for anyone in the business. Check it our here.
California Revised its Contract Law to Protect Cannabis Contracts (Effective January 1, 2018)
Jack Praetzellis writes:
California law requires all contracts to have a “lawful object”. Previously, this posed a problem for contracts involving cannabis since cannabis-related contracts are largely unlawful under federal law. On January 1, 2018, California enacted Civil Code Section 1550.5. That Code Section explicitly states that cannabis-related contracts have a lawful
Six Months In And the Boom and Bust Has Already Hit Florida’s Medical Marijuana Industry
As I’ve posted before, here and here, Florida has struggled with its roll out of Amendment Two (medical marijuana) with delays in issuing licenses, processing patient i.d. cards, etc.
Now comes news that Tetra Health Company, a California based company which quickly opened several medical marijuana clinics in Florida, is now, just a
ABA Panel Tackles Venture Investing in Cannabis Companies
Venture capital is playing a growing role in the country’s emerging legal cannabis industry. Attorneys Emily J. Yukich and Matthew R. Kittay of Fox Rothschild’s Emerging Companies & Venture Capital Practice will conduct a panel discussion with industry insiders during the American Bar Association Business Law Section’s annual meeting in Chicago.
The Angel Venture
Proposition 65 & California Cannabis Businesses
Cannabis business owners in California should take note if they are unaware that Proposition 65 applies to them. Among other requirements, Proposition 65 (aka the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986) requires that businesses refrain from knowingly and intentionally exposing individuals to any of the chemicals contained on a state-published list of
Florida Considers Going Unlimited With Medical Marijuana
In November 2016, Florida voters overwhelmingly approved, with more than 70% voting yes, expanded medical marijuana by passing Amendment 2.
Now comes the tough work of implementing Amendment 2. One bill, Florida Senate Bill 614, proposes to throw out the current medical marijuana system (created in 2015 to grow, process and distribute low-THC
What Can The Maryland Experience Teach Us?
The Maryland House of Delegates this past week censured one of its members for using his legislative position to influence the medical cannabis regulators in favor of his client for who he was a paid consultant. The 138-0 resolution was the result of Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics finding that the actions violated the spirit