Intellectual Property: With marijuana laws varying from state to state, trademark and licensing issues become tricky terrain to navigate, especially when cannabis companies want to expand their brand. Establishing a multistate presence isn’t easy, for instance, when goods that are unlawful under federal law need to be transported from one state to another. “There are the traditional challenges with trademarks, but multiplied by a hundred,” says the National Cannabis Bar Association’s president and executive director, Shabnam Malek, an IP partner with Brand & Branch in San Francisco.
Tax: Since many marijuana businesses are cash-intensive, they will have a higher chance of being audited by the Internal Revenue Service, says Rachel Gillette, a Colorado-based marijuana attorney. Another tax issue facing cannabis business is a tax code provision that bans most deductions and tax credits given to businesses selling Schedule I and II controlled substances, including marijuana. “I’ve had many clients needing me to navigate them through, for example, a $70,000 tax bill they can’t pay,” Gillette says. “The law is constantly changing, so we’re all dealing with a learning curve.”
