Money-Saving Licensing Tips for Startups
A Discussion with Nacha on Proposed Rulemaking Regarding Fraud - Payments Pros: The Payments Law Podcast
CFPB's Section 1071 Final Rule (Part 3): Potential Problem Areas – The Consumer Finance Podcast
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: Perspectives on Counseling on the Creation of Consumer Finance Products, with Guest Joseph Schuster, Managing Director and Senior Counsel, Goldman Sachs
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: Recent Federal and State Debt Collection Developments
Medical Spa Start-Ups: What Providers Need to Know
Patent Licensing Tips and Takeaways
A Changed Legal Landscape? Analyzing California’s New Cannabis Laws
Obtaining a Recreational Marijuana License from Your Local Municipality
Mergers and Acquisitions in Healthcare: Getting Your House in Order
Nota Bene Episode 72: Space Law: License, Launch, Finance, Insurance, and Responsible Space Stewardship with Brian Weimer
Meritas Capability Webinar - Legal Cannabis and the Health Care Industry
On July 28, 2025, the New York State Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) revealed that they have taken inconsistent and positions with respect to measuring distances between dispensaries and sensitive locations in close...more
The Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management is set to conduct its second lottery for Minnesota Cannabis Retail Licenses. On June 5, 2025, the OCM held its first round of lotteries, conducting social equity applicant lotteries...more
A federal judge in Oregon has struck down the requirement that cannabis companies enter into a labor peace agreement (LPA) as a condition of obtaining or renewing a license. See Casala v. Kotek, D. Oregon, May 20, 2025....more
On the heels of the 2018 Farm Bill, some states have opted to regulate hemp-derived cannabinoid consumer products. One of the early movers in this area is the State of Minnesota. The regulations in Minnesota for hemp-derived...more
Nearly nine years after voters authorized the regulated sale of adult use cannabis in Massachusetts, the Joint Cannabis Committee is addressing the challenges (and that’s an understatement) the industry is facing with a very...more
Minnesota Adult Use Cannabis Update - We assisted multiple clients in completing and submitting their adult-use cannabis license applications to the Office of Cannabis Management (“OCM”), and we continue to monitor how and...more
Tennessee enacted new legislation governing HDC - hemp derived cannabinoids, the state’s term for legal CBD and hemp that contains less than 0.3% THC. The new law does not take effect until January 1, 2026...more
Alabama has enrolled legislation regulating the sale of consumable products (including beverages, edible products, and topical creams) containing THC or CBD derived from hemp, and has designated the Alabama ABC Board as the...more
At Ward and Smith, we are closely monitoring these developments to help our clients with the potential impacts on their businesses. Below is an overview of what stakeholders in the hemp industry need to know about this...more
“Compromise” sometimes gets a bad rap. And history teaches us that there can be bad compromises. But as your resident glass-is-half-full contributor who has also been closely following debate over access to consumable hemp...more
Although the prospect of an expanded recreational market has been on the horizon since 2022 when Rhode Island legalized recreational cannabis, Ocean State residents continue to endure limited access to such products, which...more
Massachusetts is making tactical moves to position itself as an East Coast leader in the cannabis industry with the introduction of social consumption regulatory reforms. The state’s cannabis industry has achieved major...more
The US Virgin Islands (“USVI”) is finally inching closer to launching a dual medical and adult-use cannabis program. Earlier this week the USVI Office of Cannabis Regulation (“OCR”) announced that applications for cultivation...more
What if I told you that you could get a license to test medical cannabis in Alabama this July? Now is that something you might be interested in? Lost amidst the torrent of confusing messages and general circus surrounding...more
On January 22, lawmakers in Colorado introduced SB25-076, (the act) which aims to address concerns surrounding the availability of intoxicating products (including regulated cannabis products) within the state, especially to...more
In an effort to address a variety of concerns that have arisen over the past several years related to “lab shopping” for the most favorable cannabis test results, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (the...more
The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) began accepting applications for cannabis consumption area endorsements on January 2, 2025. The Commissioners adopted the Notice of Application Acceptance for cannabis...more
On Thursday, the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management announced its intent to adopt expedited rules without a public hearing. According to the OCM, the expedited rules are “designed to regulate the adult-use cannabis,...more
In the wake of a prior statement disavowing a schedule that had been widely circulated and purported to outline the Office of Cannabis Regulation’s (“OCR”) timeline for opening cannabis license applications, on December 16,...more
The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (the “Commission”) voted on December 17, 2024 to release its initial draft amendments to the Social Consumption Establishment regulations and accept informal public comments on...more
As expected, today the Kentucky Office of Medical Cannabis’ online application portal went live. The office is now accepting applications for cannabis business licenses through the online portal, which will remain open until...more
Sahan Journal reports, after discussion with the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management, that the “preliminary rules are expected to be published at the end of 2024, followed by a 30-day public comment period. Then, the...more
Ohio voters have spoken. In a statewide referendum, 57% of Ohio voters approved the legalization of adult-use cannabis production and sales, making Ohio the 24th state to greenlight an adult-use market. As the nation nears...more
Governor Kathy Hochul’s determined efforts to combat illegal cannabis operations in New York have gained even more momentum with a new multi-agency initiative authorized as part of the 2024 Budget. The State aims to curtail...more
Both Houses of the New Jersey Legislature just passed a law that would allow anyone – including operators already holding other licenses in the State of New Jersey – to obtain ownership in up to seven (7) diversely-owned...more