You Want an I-502 License from the Liquor Control Board.
If you want to obtain an I-502 license for production, processing, or retailing, you should first read the proposed draft rules released by the Liquor Control Board (LCB) on May 16, 2013. At this point, I-502 stakeholders should consider starting their application planning now. Canna Law Group is here to help you do that. But before you undertake your planning, here are just a few of the basics you need to know based on the initial draft rules:
The proposed rules contain a full page of definitions of “sensitive use areas” relative to the 1,000-foot distance rule;
A “lot,” encompassing weights for flower, trim, and “plant matter”; All applicants must be at least twenty-one (21) years of age;
No license will issue for locations on Federal lands;
No limits (yet) on either the number of production licenses or the maximum amount of production allowed under a single license;
Confirmation that production and processing licenses are available for the same facility, along with the creation of a hybrid “producer/processor” license to accomplish that;
There’s a (very short) 30-day application window when rules go effective, likely from September 1-31, 2013;
There are extensive requirements for security equipment (including 24-hour surveillance) and seed to sale traceability software, as well as insurance;
There are also requirements that license applicants and financiers (those who contribute more than $10,000 to operations) submit information on their criminal and financial histories;
Applicants must produce for the LCB an affidavit from their proposed landlord that the property they want to use will, in fact, be used for I-502 operations; Submission of an (extensive) “operating plan” demonstrating applicants can meet I-502 compliance at all three levels of licensing (this includes a mandatory submission of architectural design and spatial drawings of the building);
With the implementation of a criminal conviction point system, an accumulation of at least eight (8) points can render an individual ineligible for license receipt;
And there is a prohibition on the sale of hash (unless it’s infused into other cannabis products).
If you have questions about I-502, don’t hesitate to contact the Canna Law Group today.
The Safest and Quickest Way to Set Up and Run a Legitimate Cannabis Business in Washington State.
You want to help people in pain by providing access to medical cannabis, or you want to sell, grow, test, or process cannabis under I-502. Doing this though will bring you into a legal world of fuzzy lines and gray areas, where crossing the law can mean a failed business or even jail time.
We understand this world as we have been working with many of the leading cannabis businesses, growers, and testing facilities in the State, helping them set up and operate so as to best avoid legal problems.
If you want to Set-Up a Medical Cannabis Facility, You Should Incorporate as a Not For Profit.
When it comes to cannabis in Washington State, if you’re not set up legally, you run the very real risk of being charged criminally.
You can operate a business to grow or distribute or test medical cannabis in Washington State so long as you adhere to relevant state and local regulations. There are many such regulations. Not-for-profit incorporation is one of them.
You will find many benefits to operating as a non-profit corporation: you’ll enjoy the legal protection a corporation can offer, you’ll have easier access to financial funding not available to individuals. Most importantly, you’ll be operating legally under state law.
Operation of Your Cooperative.
We have the medical cannabis experience you need. Though Washington State’s revised medical cannabis regulations are new, we were developing our business forms to comply with them before those regulations were even enacted. Once enacted, we had our state-of-the art medical cannabis forms ready to go. We have worked with dozens of medical cannabis businesses in Washington State to enable them to comply with the new laws by tailoring our forms to their business.
We customize our forms for your medical cannabis business and by doing so, we maximize your ability to operate legally and free from governmental interference. We work with Aaron Pelley, a leading Washington State criminal cannabis attorney, to ensure that our clients are doing their utmost to remain on the right side of Washington’s criminal laws.
Interaction with Your Local Government.
In addition to the business-side legal work we do for our medical cannabis clients, we also assist them in working with the local governments in the cities and counties in which they operate. We have on multiple occasions convinced cities here in Washington not to impose moratoriums that would have shut down our clients’ businesses. In other cases, we have convinced cities that our clients were operating within all of the applicable laws.
But if a city cannot be convinced to allow our clients to operate, we will litigate to make sure they can remain open.
State Law Compliance.
We’ve developed a streamlined process that helps you get up and running quickly with reduced risk.
We structure your business to build an “affirmative defense” for you. Everything we do, we do to minimize your chances of being on the wrong side of the law.
We keep you abreast of the shifting regulations so you stay compliant. Don’t settle for firms that only offer to set up legal entities. We offer regular audits and up to date consulting so you can remain in compliance with ever-shifting State and local laws, rules and regulations.
We have the expertise and resources to give you aggressive representation in court should you need it. We are a team of experienced business attorneys and civil litigators working with one of the most successful criminal cannabis defense attorneys in Washington State. We can be your tool to fully comply with State law to keep you open and operating.
