Archive

Can New York’s Illegal Cannabis Dispensaries Be Stopped? Governor Hochul Proposes a Solution

By Michelle Bodian, Elliot Choi
May 12, 2023

New York City has seen a proliferation of illicit and unregulated cannabis stores since the Marihuana Regulation & Taxation Act was signed into law on March 31, 2021. To date, enforcement efforts have been limited; however, that could all change with the passage of the Governor’s 2024 budget. Read this article to learn key aspects of the budget provisions concerning the illicit cannabis market.

Revised New York Adult-Use Cannabis Regulations: What You Need to Know

By Michelle Bodian, Elliot Choi, Brandon Kurtzman, Charles Alovisetti
May 11, 2023

On May 11, 2023, New York’s Cannabis Control Board voted to approve the revised adult-use cannabis regulations. The Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) has indicated adult-use cannabis applications will open up in the fall, meaning these revised regulations will function as our roadmap. This article outlines key changes in the revised regulations.

[Webinar] Restructuring Options in Cannabis: Out-of-Court Workouts

Mar 15, 2023

Cannabis businesses facing insolvency can't access federal bankruptcy courts, but they do have restructuring options. One of those options is an out-of-court workout between lenders and borrowers. Watch this Vicente LLP session to learn the practical issues around out-of-court workouts and cannabis companies.

Raising Private Capital in the Cannabis Industry

By Charles Alovisetti, Elliot Y. Choi, and Sahar Ayinehsazian
Sep 29, 2022

Charles Alovisetti, Elliot Y. Choi, and Sahar Ayinehsazian write for the Bloomberg Law, reflecting on the challenges and journey of raising private capital in the cannabis industry

The Battle to Allow Smokable Hemp in Texas

By Shane Pennington
Sep 13, 2021

Texas has allowed hemp cultivation and state-based manufacturing, distribution, and retail sale of hemp and consumable hemp products since 2019—but only if the products weren’t intended for smoking. This prohibition on a product with such high value for hemp farmers—and soaring consumer demand—was sure to make waves.

sxsw

Aug 25, 2021

Vote for the panel "Sue 'n the DEA: Breaking the 50-Year NIDA Monopoly," featuring Shane Pennington to be included in SXSW 2022!

Psychedelics As Medicine: Right To Try Case Versus DEA

By Shane Pennington
Aug 9, 2021

In what could be a groundbreaking case for psychedelic medicine, VS counsel Shane Pennington is part of a team working on an exciting and very important Ninth Circuit challenge to the DEA's refusal to accommodate state and federal right to try laws.

Litigation Funding for Cannabis and Hemp Businesses

By Jennifer Cabrera, David Kramer
Nov 30, 2020

As anyone who has been involved in a legal dispute knows, litigation can be very costly. Thankfully, litigation funding is an option and lenders are increasingly willing to lend to cannabis and hemp businesses.

Cannabis Litigation vs. Arbitration

By Jennifer Cabrera
Nov 20, 2020

While it’s best to avoid litigation and arbitration in the first place, disputes happen and are occurring more frequently in the maturing cannabis sector. Here's a primer on both.

Raising Private Capital in the Cannabis Industry

By Charles Alovisetti, Elliot Choi, Sahar Ayinehsazian
Sep 18, 2020

Raising private capital continues to be a challenge for the nascent cannabis industry, but there are proactive steps companies can take to maximize the chance of a successful raise.

Guide to Closing Cannabis Transactions Between Private Companies

By Charles Alovisetti, Elliot Choi, Ben Leonard, Jeremy Shaw
Aug 6, 2020

Conducting a closing is one of the more stressful tasks for junior and even senior attorneys. When a deal is ready to close, most of the principals and businesspeople are finished with their work, but lawyers are not out of the woods yet.

US Cannabis and International Treaties

By Amber Lengacher, Elliot Choi
Jun 15, 2020

While often overlooked, the Single Convention has important implications on cannabis reform, including purportedly requiring the US to maintain cannabis on Schedule I of the CSA.