Cannabis Employment Law: The Class Action Lawsuits are Here

MedMen, a popular California cannabis retail company, has been hit with a class action lawsuit from former employees. Class action lawsuits are no joke. These lawsuits involve a few plaintiffs suing on behalf of multiple similarly situated plaintiffs. The claims, money, and other associated costs add up very fast.

In MedMen’s case, two former employees, Chelsea Medlock and Anthony Torres, allege that MedMen failed to pay them for all hours worked, failed to pay overtime wages, failed to provide mandatory meal and rest breaks, and failed to keep accurate records of employees hours worked. Medlock and Torres worsened the blow by bringing the lawsuit as a class action on behalf of all MedMen employees (current and former) from the last four years. If the class is “certified” by the Superior Court of the State of California, where it was filed, the class of plaintiffs could include thousands of employees.

Specifically, Medlock and Torres allege MedMen required them to perform work “off-the-clock” for which they received no pay. Medlock and Torres are seeking minimum wage, liquidated damages, interest and attorney fees for the unpaid time. Although Medlock and Torres have not made specific allegations in the complaint, Starbucks was recently ordered to pay an employee $102.67 for the time the employee spent locking up the store and setting alarms, without compensation. While this amount may seem small, if Medlock and Torres get their class certified, MedMen could be paying out a similar amount or something much greater, to thousands of employees.

Medlock and Torres also allege in their lawsuit that MedMen failed to pay employees required overtime wages. In California, employers must pay overtime rates to non-exempt employees who work in excess of eight hours per day. Medlock and Torres also allege they either were not provided the required meal and rest periods, or were not paid for the meal periods they had to work during. Medlock and Torres have not identified specific dates these alleged violations occurred, but if done over a significant period of time, the back wages and penalities owed will add up quickly.

In addition to their claims relating to their wages, the plaintiffs allege they were not provided accurate wage and hour statements as required by the California Labor Code and failed to provide accurate payroll records. Failure to provide accurate wage and hour statements can result in a penalty of up to $4,000 per employee.

Finally, Medlock and Torres allege that MedMen failed to timely issue final paychecks. Failure to issue final paychecks can result in penalty wages of up to thirty days of pay at the employee regular rate of pay.

In short, Medlock and Torres’s claims are numerous and serious. If they have merit, MedMen will have to pay pack wages and may be hit with treble damages, attorney fees, and interest. Of more important, if the class is certified, MedMen will have to pay those types of damages to potentially every employee they employed in California over the last four years.

Cannabis companies are growing. With growing businesses come more employees. More employees means a higher chance of litigation. For these reasons, if you are ever unsure whether your employment practices are compliant with state and federal law, it is best to have a cannabis employment attorney evaluate and provide advice. You may be able to stave off litigation, or, if you are hit with a lawsuit, you’ll have procedures in place to adequately fight it before it gets too far.

source https://www.cannalawblog.com/cannabis-employment-law-the-class-action-lawsuits-are-here/

World Health Organization Temporarily Withholds Marijuana Scheduling Recommendations

Last Friday, December 7, the World Health Organization (“WHO”) Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (“ECDD”), was scheduled to make a recommendation about the international legal status of cannabis. The WHO is a “specialized agency” of the United Nations, and the ECCD is a WHO committee consisting of experts in the field of drugs and medicines, that assesses the health risks and benefits of the use of psychoactive substances. Alas, the ECDD announced it would temporarily withhold the results of the assessment until January, declaring it needed additional time “for clearance reasons.”

Earlier this year, the ECDD released a preliminary report (“Pre-Review”) on the effects of the plant, which concluded that cannabis is a “relatively safe drug.” The Pre-Review also revealed that cannabinoids (“CBD”) offer numerous therapeutic benefits, including reduction of pain, promotion of sleep, and improvement of motor function for individuals affected by Parkinson’s disease. As a result, the ECDD made the recommendation to the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (“CND”), that pure CBD not be scheduled under any international drug treaty.

The Pre-Review results gave us and other reform advocates great hope that a more in-depth review would take place before the ECDD makes a final recommendation to U.N. Secretary António Guterres. Comprehensive scientific data on the effects and benefits of cannabis are hard to find. Indeed, the current status of cannabis as a strictly prohibited substance has forced researchers who wish to study the plant to overcome additional hurdles that do not exist for the study of other drugs. To this end, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams declared last week that the federal government should evaluate how it classifies the drug because the restrictive scheduling hinders research.

Just as we need to look at criminal justice laws, rules and regulations, we need to look at health laws, rules and regulations, and that includes the scheduling system.”

This statement by one of the key officials of the Trump administration highlights a shift in the U.S. federal government’s strict position on the prohibition of cannabis. As we previously discussed, the federal government has repeatedly cited to obligations under international treaties to perpetuate the current ban on cannabis and its derivatives. Back in May, the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) concluded that CBD should be descheduled but felt forced to recommend rescheduling the plant to Schedule V of the Controlled Substance Act to comply with international treaties to which the U.S is a party. Nonetheless, the FDA specified that if treaty obligations were to no longer require control of CBD that its recommendation would need to be promptly revisited.

Accordingly, the potential recommendation by the ECDD to remove cannabis from international control would create wide-ranging implications for the global effort to legalize the plant, including in the U.S. But for now, we must wait patiently for the ECDD’s recommendation to the CND, which is scheduled to be discussed and to go up for a vote in March 2019. The delay is frustrating, although we are encouraged to see that the U.N. continues to take a hard look at cannabis. Sit tight.

source https://www.cannalawblog.com/world-health-organization-withholds-marijuana-scheduling-recommendations/

What the 2018 Farm Bill Could Mean for CBD in California

The federal 2018 Farm Bill is likely to become law in the very near future. If it does, it will redefine the hemp industry nationwide. We intend on writing more in the near future as to the specifics of the 2018 Farm Bill, but one interesting question is what effect it will have on California’s industrial hemp and CBD policies.

As anyone in the California hemp business knows, the Department of Public Health (“CDPH”) issued a FAQ policy guideline over the summer which took the position that industrial-hemp derived CBD in food products is unlawful. The FAQ justified this position in part because the federal Controlled Substances Act included industrial hemp as a Schedule I drug, and in part because the federal Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) had concluded that it was unlawful to place THC or CBD into food products.

The 2018 Farm Bill, if it passes, will essentially amend the Controlled Substances Act to take industrial hemp out of the definition of marijuana. In essence, this would make industrial hemp derived products lawful products. The question then is: Will the 2018 Farm Bill negate the FAQ?

The answer is probably not. Even though the Controlled Substances Act may be amended and some of the underlying support for the FAQ may be undermined, that won’t change the fact that the FDA has not concluded that CBD in food products is lawful. While the CDPH certainly could change its position, the de-scheduling of industrial hemp won’t necessarily change the FDA’s positions right away. In the meantime, it’s safe to conclude that the FAQ still stands.

Ultimately, the 2018 Farm Bill is likely to have far-reaching impacts throughout the industrial hemp industry. We’ll make sure to keep you updated along the way.

source https://www.cannalawblog.com/what-the-2018-farm-bill-could-mean-for-cbd-in-california/

Oregon Cannabis: Five Common Early Stage Mistakes

Running a cannabis business is difficult and many people fail. There are a myriad of reasons why these ventures bottom out, although owners tend to blame federal law issues first of all. It’s true that federal law creates a tough environment for cannabis businesses (banking issues, tax issues, branding issues, etc.), but federal prohibition also kept big money sidelined at first, giving small business a real head start. My personal view, after seeing many spectacular business failures and slow motion crashes over the past several years, is that most are some combination of the following: 1) a challenging legal and regulatory environment, 2) saturated markets, and 3) operator error.

A start-up cannabis business cannot control the first two items listed above, but should be able to navigate them. The third item is a different animal. Margin of error tends to be slim for most new ventures, and self-inflicted wounds are difficult to overcome. This blog post covers the five biggest mistakes we continue to see in early stage Oregon cannabis business, and gives suggestions to avoid them.

1. Failure to properly estimate license transition timelines

Because the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) “paused” review of applications submitted after June 15, 2018, most new market entrants are buying their way in through asset or stock sales from existing licensees. The OLCC has a small and overtasked team of change-in-ownership investigators who work with both buyers and sellers on these transactions. Recently, agency higher-ups have advised us that these changes can still happen in as quickly as four to six weeks. However, that almost never occurs. Four to six months seems more common.

Even a non-cannabis business sale can be delayed by many things, from diligence issues to lease negotiations to ironing out terms in final agreements. In the Oregon cannabis industry, administrative vetting and disclosure requirements must be added to that list. Delays are almost always on the buyer side, stemming from initial business structuring, filling out OLCC business structure and individual history forms, submitting fingerprints, etc. Buyers should create realistic timelines to avoid hemorrhaging cash during this phase, and should strongly consider working with someone who has navigated the change-in-ownership process before. It’s a singular process and there is definitely some art to it.

2. Paying lawyers to expedite your OLCC application

This is a bad idea, and many people do it. Whether for new applications (pretty straightforward) or change-in-ownership (harder) many new businesses spend significant money on lawyers to guide them through the application process. Our Portland office philosophy has always been not to blow through client retainers on ministerial work: We want people to succeed so we can work with them for years. For that reason, we have trained licensing paralegals who push these applications through efficiently and expertly. Attorneys only come in for unusual situations. The bottom line here is that new businesses should save their legal budgets for work that cannot be done by non-lawyers.

3. Starry-eyed forecasting

You are not going to sell your marijuana for $2,000 a pound in Oregon. Forget it. You also do not have a strain of marijuana that you will patent and license one day to big pharma. You are not the only person trying to run down hemp for distillate, and, closer to home, you should not budget a six-figure salary for yourself or anyone else in the early stage. Although the market challenges have been well publicized, too many people believe that an OLCC marijuana license is tantamount to a license to print money. It’s not. All of this means that it is crucial to dial in your research and expectations before starting out – especially if you are taking on investment and the legal risk attached to that.

4. Employment issues

For whatever reason, employment practices are often subpar with cannabis businesses. There are a couple of important things to note here. The first is that employee actions, even if unauthorized, can lead to license revocation in Oregon. This means you must ensure your employees are well versed in compliance, and you have to watch them. The second thing to note is employment law is complex and seems to change as often as cannabis licensing rules. We have a host of new employer requirements coming online January 1, 2019 in Oregon, for example. Whenever there is a dispute, courts and administrative bodies tend to favor employees, so it’s important to keep your team in order.

5. Bad (or no) business agreements

You do not need a tall stack of complex documents to start a cannabis business. You do need the basics, though, and those agreements should be solid. If you are renting property, get a tailored industry lease. If you are organizing an LLC, get an operating agreement that covers matters important to your business– management, distributions, protocol when someone jeopardizes the OLCC license, etc. If you have a white label agreement, ensure that all processes and intellectual property ownership are properly delineated. Etc.

Starting a business can be expensive, and people tend to skim on legal. But nearly all of the cannabis litigation matters my firm is currently handling stem from defective contracts, and from people operating informally in that sense. Reasonably tailored contracts should be a part of any new business plan, and they should not break the bank. These contracts will set both guidelines and expectations for the business, and they operate like insurance when things go wrong.

source https://www.cannalawblog.com/oregon-cannabis-five-business-mistakes-to-avoid/

Mistletoe And Winter Rose Used In Mesothelioma Treatment

It is very common for people recently diagnosed with a disease, especially a rare one like mesothelioma, to explore every single possible treatment out there. Complementary and alternative treatment like dieting, herbs, supplements, and acupuncture, are also available.

Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy have been the primary mesothelioma treatments, unfortunately, none of these treatment plans are expected to cure patients with this disease.

It was recently reported for one specific woman, two-holiday plants like mistletoe and winter rose helped her to control the pleural mesothelioma she was diagnosed with. She used extracts of these plants, which possibly have extended her life and improved her wellness.

Stories like this woman can give hope to other people diagnosed with mesothelioma. If you are considering an alternative method to retake the control of your life, this story might help you and your doctor. A West Virginia mesothelioma lawyer at our firm can help you in your search for alternative mesothelioma treatment, even if you have been diagnosed with stage 4 mesothelioma.

Conventional vs alternative treatment

The clinical case was reported in 2017 in the Journal of Thoracic Disease, which tells the story of a German woman of 64 years of age who was diagnosed with stage 3 epithelioid pleural mesothelioma. Samples of the tumor were sent to the German mesothelioma registry for confirmation.

The patient refused to be treated with conventional treatment such as radiation therapy, chemotherapy, surgery and pleurodesis, a procedure to remove excess fluid in the lungs.

The woman decided to consult a general practitioner with the qualification to administer mistletoe (Viscum album) and winter rose extracts (Helleborus niger). She received monthly injections and infusions of mistletoe extract for 50 months, while winter rose extract was received periodically, but not every month.

She also received medications and other alternative therapies to help her with emotional distress, disease´s symptomatology, and other resulting chronic conditions like insomnia and hypothyroidism (low thyroid function). If you or a loved one have been recently diagnosed in Ohio or West Virginia, an Ohio mesothelioma lawyer or a West Virginia mesothelioma attorney at our firm can help you.

Clinical case results

The woman´s performance and general health improved in the first 6 weeks of alternative treatment with mistletoe and winter rose extracts. The mesothelioma tumors decreased in size and many of her symptoms disappeared, including her cough.

For 38 months, the disease stabilized, she continued to live for 56 months (nearly 5 years) after being diagnosed. During the major part of that time, she felt well. She never received conventional treatments plans.

Usually, for mesothelioma patients with similar characteristics, approximately 17% of these will live only for 2 years after being diagnosed and just 4% will still be alive 5 years after the diagnosis.

Taking into consideration the previous statistics, the fact that this patient lived for 4 years and 8 months without receiving any kind of conventional treatment is impressive.

Plants give medical inspiration

Therapies based on herbs are now a big part of many diseases´ treatment plans, including cancer´s. More than 50% of cancer medications are made from plants substances, either by using their extracts or modifying their chemical structure into a drug.

Even simple plants like garden flowers are becoming more and more important. A recent study showed that the natural substances found in daffodils have anticancer benefits, giving the possibility of using them, one day in regular cancer treatments.

According to some mesothelioma patients, the use of moringa tree leaves, which include high levels of protein, antioxidants, calcium, and iron, have increased their life expectancy and general health.

Considering all the options after a mesothelioma diagnosis

Deciding what to do after being diagnosed with mesothelioma is a personal choice. Talking with your oncology team, obtaining second opinions, asking about clinical trials options, and knowing more about conventional and alternative treatment options can help you make your decisions.

Complementary and alternative medicine can give new hope to mesothelioma patients due to the lack of an existing cure. Studies show that this type of medicine can help mesothelioma patients in a number of ways, by giving a sense of control, improving quality of life, and helping manage symptomatology and side effects.

Search for cancer centers that offer integrative oncology

Integrative oncology is the combination of conventional and, complementary and alternative cancer treatments. These days, more and more cancer centers are offering this option to the patients.

If you are receiving treatment at a large cancer center, ask the mesothelioma specialists that are managing you if there is a certified and qualified doctor who can advise regarding alternative treatment or you if need to find someone on your own. A West Virginia asbestos lawyer can be a valuable resource for anyone diagnosed in our state.

Besides these treatments, many large treatment centers offer a vast number of supportive therapies such as nutrition and dieting consultations, acupuncture sessions, massages, psychotherapies, among others. As mentioned above, you will have always the option to pursue these on your own.

The alternative methods used specifically in the German woman’s mesothelioma case are already available in Germany. However, in the United States, the use of mistletoe extract is not approved but may be available in certain clinical trials.

Regimens based on complementary and alternative treatments are not proven to cure mesothelioma, but these may increase the chances of having a better and longer life. The important thing is not to demoralize and keep searching for the best treatment for you. Speak with a West Virginia asbestos lawyer about your options for compensation if you have been diagnosed with any stage of mesothelioma.

The post Mistletoe And Winter Rose Used In Mesothelioma Treatment appeared first on Goldberg, Persky & White P.C..

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source http://gpwlawwv.weebly.com/blog/mistletoe-and-winter-rose-used-in-mesothelioma-treatment

Breaking News: Industrial Hemp Legalization is Happening!

After a long last, it’s finally happened. The 2018 Farm Bill has made it out of conference and has been approved by the Senate. It currently awaits approval from the House, which is expected this week. If Donald Trump signs the 2018 Farm Bill before the current legislative session ends on December 21, industrial hemp will be legal under U.S. federal law. Though we still are likely a few years out from full marijuana legalization, it appears that 2019 is going to be the “Year of Hemp” if Washington D.C. can make this happen before the deadline. Now, we’ll turn to the long awaited hemp-related text of the 2018 Farm Bill, as agreed to by the House and Senate. A copy of the full 2018 Farm Bill is available, via the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, here.

Some key provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill remain. “Industrial hemp” still means parts of the cannabis plant, whether growing or not, with less than 0.3% THC on a dry weight basis. Cannabis with more than 0.3% is still considered marijuana and is still classified as a schedule I substance. Additionally, the 2014 Farm Bill’s hemp provisions will continue for a year after the 2018 Farm Bill is signed. That means that the agricultural pilot programs that we know and love will stick around for a little bit longer.

However, the new version of the Farm Bill differs significantly in that industrial hemp is explicitly defined to include “all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers” of industrial hemp. Technically, this isn’t necessarily a change in the sense that industry stakeholders (including yours truly) have long interpreted the 2014 Farm Bill to make derivatives and cannabinoids from industrial hemp legal. Now that interpretation has been codified into US law.

The CSA will also explicitly exempt “hemp” from the definition of marijuana. That means that the CSA will acknowledge two different types of cannabis, hemp and marijuana. Hemp is an agricultural commodity. Marijuana is a controlled substance. The problems that plague the marijuana industry including the lack of access to banking, bankruptcy, and federal intellectual property protections should no longer impact businesses dealing solely in industrial hemp. This distinction will also likely lead to increased research by the FDA and other agencies, and remove any question as to whether industrial hemp producers are subject to IRC 280e, which prohibits the taking of deductions related to the trafficking of Schedule I or II controlled substance.

The questions of the interstate transfer of industrial hemp is also addressed. Section 10114 of the 2018 Farm Bill states the following:

TRANSPORTATION OF HEMP AND HEMP PRODUCTS. — No State or Indian Tribe shall prohibit the transportation or shipment of hemp or hemp products produced in accordance with subtitle G  of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (as added by section 10113) [the provisions on industrial hemp] through the State or the territory of the Indian Tribe, as applicable.

This is a major development as the 2014 Farm Bill did not require states to make any distinction between hemp and marijuana. The new provision means that states that don’t adopt an industrial hemp program cannot interfere with the transportation or shipment of industrial hemp. Though this may not go so far as to require each state to allow the sale of industrial hemp or hemp products, including Hemp-CBD, it does prevent states from interfering with the distribution of industrial hemp.

The 2018 Farm Bill also gives Indian tribes the authority to regulate industrial hemp. This is an important change as the Menominee tribe, who’s territory falls within the state of Wisconsin had its initial hemp crop destroyed by DEA agents. A Federal Court ruled that the 2014 Farm Bill required that hemp be cultivated in  compliance with state law and therefore, because Wisconsin had not implemented an agricultural pilot program to research industrial hemp, that the Menominee tribe could not legally cultivate hemp. The 2018 Bill explicitly gives tribes the ability to implement programs allowing the cultivation of industrial hemp.

One of the reasons the 2014 Farm Bill’s hemp provisions have been so murky is that no federal agency was given regulatory authority over hemp. The 2018 Farm Bill addresses this by appointing the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA will oversee a state or tribe’s regulatory authority over industrial hemp. The state or tribe will submit a plan to monitor  and regulate the production of industrial hemp and the USDA will have 60 days to review the plans. Plans must track the land where hemp is cultivated, procedures for testing hemp and disposing of non-compliant hemp, and indicate how the state will enforce against violations of the 2018 Farm Bill.

The 2018 Farm Bill covers penalties for violations of approved state or tribal plans and breaks them into the following categories:

• Negligent Violations occur when a hemp producer unintentionally violates a state or tribal plan for hemp cultivation by failing to provide a legal description of the land where hemp will be cultivated, failing to obtain the required license or authorization from the state or tribe, or produces cannabis with more than 0.3% THC. Producers who commit a negligent violation shall enter into and comply with a plan established by a state or tribe to correct the violation. The corrective action plan must include a date by which the producer corrects the violation and require that the producer periodically report to the state or tribe on compliance for no less than two years. Producers who commit negligent violations will not be subject to criminal or civil enforcement action beyond agreeing to submit to a corrective action plan. However, if a producer commits three negligent violations within a five-year window
• Other violations occur when a hemp producer acts with a “culpable mental state greater than negligence.” Other violations could cover things like intentionally growing THC-rich marijuana under the guise of industrial hemp or completely disregarding the industrial hemp rules. Other violations will be referred to the Department of Justice or the “chief law enforcement officer of the State” where the industrial hemp is grown.

The 2018 Farm Bill will prohibit “any person convicted of a felony relating to a controlled substance” under state or federal law before, on, or after the date when the Farm Bill passes to produce hemp under the 2018 Farm Bill or participate in a state or tribal hemp program for a period of 10 years following the date of conviction. This prohibition will not apply to any person lawfully growing hemp with a license, registration, or authorization under a 2014 Farm Bill agricultural pilot program prior to the 2018 Farm Bill enactment. In addition, anyone who makes a false statement on an industrial hemp application will also be banned from the industry.

Finally, the 2018 Farm Bill would also extend federal crop insurance coverage to industrial hemp, meaning that the feds will actually insure a cannabis crop. Hemp producers can also apply for USDA certification and grants, as with other agricultural commodities.

Expect us to write more on this in the near term. This is an important day in the history of cannabis reform and will have a major and positive impact on the cannabis industry.

source https://www.cannalawblog.com/breaking-news-industrial-hemp-legalization-is-happening/

California Cannabis Cultivation: CDFA Accepts All Changes to Proposed New Rules (and Then Some)

This past Friday, California’s three agencies charged with writing and enforcing cannabis regulations—the Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC), the Department of Public Health (DPH), and the Department of Food and Agriculture (DFA)—made public their respective proposed final regulations, which are currently pending a 30-day review by the Office of Administrative Law before becoming law. Some of the most significant and controversial changes appear in the BCC’s proposed final regulations, which govern a variety of licensees such as retailers, distributors, testing laboratories, and microbusinesses, and which we will be writing about in the coming days.

As for the DFA, which issues and enforces rules for cannabis cultivators, the proposed final rules are substantially the same as the modifications the agency proposed back in October. While “substantially the same” might sound innocuous, it amounts to acceptance of the October modifications, many of which were significant. Below are some initial takeaways.

Cultivation license “stacking.” It looks like the “stacking” work-around for the acreage cap is going to be permanent. Remember the controversy surrounding the state’s decision not to limit accumulation of small cultivation licenses by a single licensee so as to essentially create a loophole to the 1-acre cap, to the benefit of big farms. However…

Shared facilities limitations. It also looks like the DFA’s proposed modifications regarding shared spaces between licenses are also going to be permanent, creating a challenge for license “stackers”. As we explained here, what the DFA was proposing (and which now appears likely to become final) was restricting the ability of a single licensee holding multiple licenses from being able to use shared facilities for its various licenses. And whereas the areas excluded from shared use under the October modifications included immature plant-growing areas, processing or packaging areas, and administrative holding areas, it looks like we can now add to that list areas used for storage of harvested cannabis, which is an item that was removed from the allowable list of shared usage areas this time around (although there is some ambiguity in how that particular regulation could be interpreted).

What this means overall is that things are going to be more difficult for licensees holding more than one license (especially of the same type), as they will now have to arbitrarily create various dedicated areas on the cultivation premises to serve each specific license, even if they’re the same kind of license with the same kind of operation in every respect.

Structures on site.  There is an interesting difference in the BCC proposed final rules compared to the DFA rules when it comes to the permanency of structures on the licensed premises. The BCC is aiming to require that all structures included as part of a BCC-licensed premises would have to be permanently affixed to the land, and this would specifically exclude things like shipping containers, mobile trailers, and non-affixed modular structured. We had suspected that the DFA might follow suit in its final proposed rules, especially because such structures are popular for cannabis farms, but it has not—no such explicit restriction appears in the DFA’s proposed final regulations.

Ownership, Financial Interests and Disclosure. There is also an interesting difference between ownership and financial interest holder disclosure requirements between the BCC and DFA proposed final rules. We previously wrote about how the BCC’s proposed final rules could sweep some landlords into the definition of “owner” or “financial interest holder” depending on the landlord’s relationship with the tenant. But another important difference between the BCC and DFA rules that we thought would be reconciled in the final rules but apparently will not be is the extent to which entities (as opposed to persons) that qualify as “owners” or “financial interest holders” of BCC licensee must undergo vetting and disclosure all the way up the chain of entity ownership, whereas there is no such explicit requirement for DPH or DFA licensees. We will be writing more on this specific difference in the coming days. Stay tuned.

source https://www.cannalawblog.com/california-cannabis-cultivation-cdfa-accepts-all-changes-to-proposed-new-rules-and-then-some/