Wine and Weed Symposium in Santa Rosa, CA: Join Us Thursday!

Our own Hilary Bricken will have the great pleasure of speaking at the 2nd annual North Coast Wine & Weed Symposium (presented by the Wine Industry Network) on Thursday, August 2, in Santa Rosa. While the Symposium will focus on a variety of topics covering the cross section of the wine and cannabis industries, Hilary’s panel will specifically cover “Rules, Regulations, and Policy Updates” in regards to the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (“MAUCRSA”) and its corresponding readopted emergency rules and the current proposed permanent rules.

The breakdown of Hilary’s panel is as follows:

The rules & regulations around cannabis continue to evolve at a rapid pace and can be drastically different from one county, or town, to the next. This session, with Hezekiah Allen, Executive Director of Cal Growers Association, Hilary Bricken, Partner, Harris Bricken, and Erin Carlstrom, Senior Counsel of Dickenson, Peatman and Fogarty, will provide an update and overview of the latest changes in regulations at the state level and local level, along with any expected changes to take place in the upcoming year.

We expect a lively and interesting discussion at this symposium: Although the wine and cannabis industries don’t always get along, these two industries have a lot more in common than you might think, and knowing the current status of California’s cannabis rules and laws as well as ongoing policy debates surrounding MAUCRSA, will no doubt have an impact on both industries.

For all your questions about wine and cannabis, as well as specifics regarding the regulatory challenges under MAUCRSA, we sincerely hope you can make it to the Wine & Weed Symposium!

source https://www.cannalawblog.com/wine-and-weed-symposium-in-santa-rosa-ca-join-us-thursday/

Canadian Branding and Marketing Regulations Will Impact Both U.S. and Canadian Cannabis Businesses

With implementation of Canada’s Cannabis Act (the “Act”) set for October of this year, many of our clients owning brands that will be sold in both the United States and Canada are beginning to wonder what the implications of new branding and marketing regulations will be. So far, more than 1,500 trademark applications for cannabis and cannabis-related products have been filed with the Canadian Trademark Office, and that number is certain to grow as legalization rolls out.

The Act, through its regulation of packaging, addresses many of the same concerns as certain state statutes in the U.S.: preventing false and misleading advertising and prohibiting advertising that is appealing to children. Some of the key prohibitions contained in the Act are on testimonials and endorsements, the use of real or fictional people, characters or animals, and branding or packaging that connotes “glamour, recreation, excitement, vitality, risk or daring.” Interestingly, there was discussion in the government’s Proposed Approach to the Regulation of Cannabis of implementing a plain packaging regime, something we’ve long suspected could be applied to cannabis.

The new regulations will require that all cannabis products be packaged in a manner that is tamper-evident, child-resistant, prevents contamination, and keeps cannabis dry. Packaging must be opaque. Pursuant to the Proposed Approach to the Regulation of Cannabis, licensed processors must label the package in which the cannabis product is contained in both French and English, and the following information would be generally required:

• Name and contact information of the processor who packaged the product;
• Product description;
• Product lot number;
• Product weight or volume, depending on the product class;
• Packaging date (and expiry date, if one has been set);
• Recommended storage conditions;
• THC / CBD content (expressed as the percentage of THC / CBD the product could yield, and by unit or dose, if applicable); and
• Inclusion of the statement: “KEEP OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN”.

Under the Act, it is prohibited to promote cannabis in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive, or that is likely to create an erroneous impression about its characteristics, value, quantity, composition, strength, concentration, potency, purity, quality, merit, safety, health effects or health risks. This aligns well with what we’ve seen in U.S. jurisdictions with regulated cannabis.

However, interestingly, the Act also prohibits promotion of cannabis brands using foreign media:

“It is prohibited to promote … cannabis, a cannabis accessory, a service related to cannabis or a brand element of any of those things in a publication that is published outside Canada, a broadcast that originates outside Canada or any other communication that originates outside Canada.”

This regulation could have serious implications for brands that are looking to position themselves not only in Canada, but also in other jurisdictions, including the U.S. The Canadian government has made it a priority to ensure that companies cannot evade the Act’s advertising and promotion restrictions by merely promoting the products abroad.

Sponsorship by Canadian cannabis companies will also be prohibited (perhaps even if a particular brand is only sponsoring events or individuals abroad):

“It is prohibited to display, refer to or otherwise use any of the following, directly or indirectly in a promotion that is used in the sponsorship of a person, entity, event, activity or facility:

• A brand element of cannabis, of a cannabis accessory or of a service related to cannabis; and
• The name of a person that
  • Produces, sells or distributes cannabis,
  • Sells or distributes a cannabis accessory, or
  • Provides a service related to cannabis.”

Clearly, the implications of Canada’s cannabis advertising regulations will be far-reaching once they are implemented in October. For brands that intend to have a presence in both the U.S. and Canada, it will be particularly important to ensure that no advertisements or promotions produced in the U.S. run afoul of the Act, as they could ultimately jeopardize the license(s) in Canada and open the responsible individuals up to liability. Having an understanding of how Canada’s rules will impact your brand, if you intend to expand beyond the U.S., will be critical in the coming months.

source https://www.cannalawblog.com/canadian-branding-and-marketing-regulations-will-have-far-reaching-implications-for-cannabis-businesses/

Oregon Industrial Hemp: Back to the Basics

In the past year, we have seen a remarkable uptick in individuals and businesses pursuing Oregon industrial hemp production, processing and sale. This accelerated interest has coincided with the CBD craze, and fortunately, Oregon has been working steadily to build out its hemp program over the past year or two. Today’s blog post answers some questions commonly fielded by our Oregon cannabis lawyers, and summarizes the state of the state with regard to hemp.

What is the latest, as far as program rules?

The rules have undergone steady revision for a few years now. The most recent changes are shown in the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s (“ODA”) proposed rule changes, which should take effect very soon. These updates will stem from bills passed by the legislature earlier this year, which we wrote about back in March. A few of the biggest pending changes include the requirement that industrial hemp and seed can only be transferred to another ODA registrant or qualifying Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) licensee (in accordance with certain OLCC rules), and that any hemp sold to a consumer has to be tested by an OLCC licensed lab.

How easy is it to get a hemp handler’s permit?

It’s not quite as easy as it used to be, but it’s not bad, and it’s still faster and cheaper than getting an OLCC license. In our office, we have paralegals process these applications, and both grower and handler registrations often issue in a month or less when the client is organized.

Who can ODA permittees sell to, in the OLCC system?

ODA handlers can only sell to OLCC processors with a current OLCC endorsement to receive ODA hemp. Those processors can then move the industrial hemp products along the supply chain, to OLCC wholesalers and retailers.

I’m an ODA hemp handler. How do I get an OLCC hemp certificate?

You can’t right now. OLCC stopped accepting applications for the certificates back in April. Once the ODA proposed rule changes are final (hopefully very soon), OLCC should start issuing these applications once again. As to OLCC processors, those entities can still apply for hemp endorsements to add to their licenses.

Once I get an OLCC hemp certificate, how do those sales work?

You will have recordkeeping requirements for all hemp and related products transferred into the OLCC system. This means you will have to log information in the METRC Cannabis Tracking System, like OLCC licensees. Note that hemp products in METRC are not subject to tax, unless they are later mixed with marijuana. Note also that once you transfer hemp to an OLCC processor, it has to stay in the OLCC system. This means you cannot take it back and sell it outside of METRC.

Can I legally ship Oregon industrial hemp to other states?

Oregon does not restrict such sales, but the state does not create a safe harbor from federal law, either. In fact, the new rules will provide that no one participating in the Oregon hemp program is immune from federal law enforcement, even if they are not shipping hemp interstate. So what does federal law say about shipping industrial hemp and CBD interstate? It’s complicated.

Can I apply for an ODA permit on the same tax lot as my OLCC marijuana production? 

Yes, you can. But OLCC is going to require an approved “control plan” describing how the two production facilities will be separated, and ensuring that no industrial hemp winds up on the OLCC premises.

Can I get a bank account?

Yes. Maps Credit Union has announced it will begin servicing both plant-touching and ancillary hemp businesses on August 1. There may be other options in the pipeline as well.

Where can I find more information on all of this?

Aside from checking this blog, the best place to go are the relevant portions of the ODA and OLCC websites. Unlike OLCC, the ODA hasn’t done a great job of aggregating information in FAQ format or issuing bulletins, so you may have to actually read through the administrative rules (fun!), or call ODA itself with questions.

source https://www.cannalawblog.com/oregon-hemp-back-to-the-basics/

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