Hemp Industry
As the legalization and regulation of the hemp industry unfolds, industry actors must navigate a wide array of legal challenges and respond to evolving—and often times conflicting—federal and state mandates.
Stites & Harbison’s Hemp Industry Practice has the necessary understanding of the legal issues impacting our clients operating in the hemp arena. Our clients include farmers, producers, distributors, lenders, investors, and suppliers of ancillary products and services.
Stites & Harbison’s Hemp Industry services include:
- Capital formation activities
- Commercial litigation and dispute resolution
- Corporate formation and structure
- Data privacy and security
- Drafting and negotiating of contracts/operating agreements
- Economic development and incentives
- Employment and employee benefit matters
- Environmental matters impacting air, land, or water
- Health care licensing
- Insurance coverage
- Intellectual property protection including trademarks, patents, and branding
- Investigations and enforcement
- Licensing agreements
- Licensing and permitting
- Partnerships and operating agreements
- Product liability litigation
- Real estate transactions including commercial leasing, construction, zoning, and land use
- Regulatory compliance (federal, state and local)
- Tax planning and advice
Our firm maintains the breadth of experience necessary to provide our hemp-related clients with the complex and diverse legal services required in their industry.
Contracts Being Tested by COVID-19
As the country takes action to slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, sporting events, concerts, and business conferences are being cancelled at an astounding rate. Each day that passes since the outbreak brings new cancellations, government containment efforts, and complex legal questions. The initial visible impact in the United States has been predominantly to the hospitality and entertainment industries, with cancellations significantly affecting venues, attendees, hotels, and caterers; however, the impact of the coronavirus is sure to touch contractual agreements across all industries moving forward. How exactly will the coronavirus affect contracts? The answer: it’s complicated.
State Comments on USDA’s Interim Final Rule Governing Hemp Production
The comment period for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Interim Final Rule (IFR) has closed. Over 3,000 comments were submitted by farmers, companies, hemp industry associations, and state agriculture departments. Given their regulatory experience and the uniformity of their pushback, it seems likely that the USDA will be most receptive to the comments from the state agriculture agencies.