President Biden on Brittney Griner’s Sentence

On August 4, 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden published a formal statement concerning the sentencing of U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner. Griner was just sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony and fined one million rubles. We’ve written about Griner’s case before (here and here), but to summarize, she could be spending the next decade locked up in Russia for accidentally bringing cannabis vapes into the country. President Biden’s statement is short, so I will copy the full text below:

Today, American citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney. It’s unacceptable, and I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates.  My administration will continue to work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue to bring Brittney and Paul Whelan home safely as soon as possible.

We all know that Griner’s harsh treatment has a lot to do with the United States’ support of Ukraine in its invasion by Russia. It seems unlikely that she would have received such a harsh sentence had this happened a year ago. But the fact remains that it’s still possible in Russia (and most of the world) to face a decade in prison for something anyone in most U.S. states can legally carry.

President Biden’s administration is working to broker a prisoner swap for Griner, so she may not serve her entire sentence in Russia. That’s by no means guaranteed, and Russia may get back a convicted arms dealer as a result.

We hope that President Biden can take what he’s learned in Griner’s case – that it is wrong to detain someone for cannabis possession – and focus more energy on making legalization happen here. As we have known for years, he has not been particularly fond of cannabis and not much has changed federally since he took office, despite all the promises.

Most of all, we hope that Griner will be quickly released and get to come home to the United States. What a travesty.

The post President Biden on Brittney Griner’s Sentence appeared first on Harris Bricken Sliwoski LLP.

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Behold: This US map reveals the top stoner movies in all 50 states

Want to know which stoner movie is the most popular where you live? Check out the data, and a handy map, from the good folks at Cycling Frog edibles.

The post Behold: This US map reveals the top stoner movies in all 50 states appeared first on Leafly.

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Russian Court Finds Brittney Griner Guilty in Drug Trial

A Russian court on Thursday found American basketball star Brittney Griner guilty of drug charges and sentenced her to nine years in prison, the culmination of a trial that has stirred tensions between Moscow and the United States.

Griner, who has been detained since February, appeared in the courtroom earlier in the day to appeal for leniency, as her attorneys and the prosecution delivered closing arguments.

The Russian prosecutor asked the judge presiding over the case to sentence Griner to nine-and-a-half years.

The guilty verdict, which was handed down around 11 a.m. on the East Coast in the United States, was widely expected and puts Griner’s fate “subject to diplomatic bargaining between Russia and the United States,” as The New York Times put it.

In recent days, Russian and U.S. officials have been discussing a potential prisoner exchange involving Griner and Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer currently serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States.

Last week, the Biden administration made an offer to Russia that would see the release of Bout, Griner, and Paul Whelan, an American who has been detained in Russia on espionage charges since 2018.

Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that Russia had rejected that offer, instead favoring a deal that would secure the release of two Russian prisoners.

The New York Times reported on Thursday that “officials in Moscow have said that a verdict in her trial was a necessary precondition for a possible exchange” for Griner.

Griner, a star for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, was traveling back to Russia on February 17 to complete her season for UMMC Ekaterinburg––for whom she plays during the WNBA’s offseason––when authorities found cannabis oil in her luggage. She was arrested and faced drug charges that carried a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

Her detention, which came mere days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has become another tension in the geopolitical strife between Moscow and the west. In May, the U.S. Department of State reclassified as “wrongfully detained.”

Griner pleaded guilty to the charges last month, but insisted that it was not her intention to break the law. Addressing the court on Thursday, she once again appealed for leniency.

“I want to apologize to my teammates, my club, my fans and the city of (Yekaterinburg) for my mistake that I made and the embarrassment that I brought on them,” Griner said, as quoted by the Associated Press, which noted that her voice was “cracking.” “I want to also apologize to my parents, my siblings, the Phoenix Mercury organization back at home, the amazing women of the WNBA, and my amazing spouse back at home.”

Griner also spoke warmly of her experience playing for Ekaterinburg since 2014.

“I had no idea that the team, the cities, the fans, my teammates would make such a great impression on me over the 6 1/2 years that I spent here,” she said, according to the Associated Press. “I remember vividly coming out of the gym and all the little girls that were in the stands there waiting on me, and that’s what kept making me come back here.”

President Joe Biden has faced growing pressure to secure Griner’s release.

Last month, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with Griner’s wife, Cherelle, after Griner sent the president a handwritten letter.

“As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever,” Griner said in the letter to Biden.

“I realize you are dealing with so much, but please don’t forget about me and the other American Detainees,” Griner continued. “Please do all you can to bring us home. I voted for the first time in 2020 and I voted for you. I believe in you. I still have so much good to do with my freedom that you can help restore. I miss my wife! I miss my family! I miss my teammates! It kills me to know they are suffering so much right now. I am grateful for whatever you can do at this moment to get me home.”

The post Russian Court Finds Brittney Griner Guilty in Drug Trial appeared first on High Times.

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Brittney Griner sentenced to 9 years in Russian prison for drug possession and smuggling

The WNBA star can appeal, but a prisoner swap now appears to be her best shot at freedom.

The post Brittney Griner sentenced to 9 years in Russian prison for drug possession and smuggling appeared first on Leafly.

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Cookies & Cream: Berner is first cannabis CEO to cover Forbes

Cash rules everything about mainstream America’s sudden acceptance of weed—and from boardrooms, to courtrooms, to living rooms, Berner is at the intersection of it all.

The post Cookies & Cream: Berner is first cannabis CEO to cover Forbes appeared first on Leafly.

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California Lawmakers Approve Bill Authorizing Safe Consumption Sites

The California Senate took new strides in the effort to control the steep increase in drug overdose deaths this week with the passage of legislation to authorize safe consumption sites in the state. The measure, Senate Bill 57 from Democratic Senator Scott Wiener, was passed by the Senate on Monday after receiving the approval of the California State Assembly a month earlier. The bill now heads to the desk of Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom for consideration.

“Every overdose death is preventable,” Wiener said after the legislation was passed by the state Assembly on June 30. “We have the tools to end these deaths, get people healthy, and reduce harm for people who use drugs. Right now, we are letting people die on our streets for no reason other than an arbitrary legal prohibition that we need to remove. SB 57 is long overdue, and will make a huge impact for some of the most vulnerable people in our community.”

SB-57 authorizes four local jurisdictions to operate overdose prevention programs, also known as safe consumption sites or safe injection sites, as a five-year pilot program. The legislation provides approval for such facilities in Los Angeles County and the cities of San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles. A statement from Wiener’s office noted that the city councils or board of supervisors in all four jurisdictions had requested to be included in the legislation.

Overdose Prevention Centers Save Lives

Safe injection sites offer places where people can inject or otherwise consume drugs under the supervision of trained healthcare professionals, who can intervene in the event of a drug overdose or other medical emergency. The facilities also offer other services including referrals to drug treatment, housing assistance, and HIV prevention services. Safe injection sites have operated successfully in Switzerland, Canada, and eight other countries for years, with no overdose deaths among people using the facilities recorded.

The legislation passed this week also includes protections for professionals who work at the authorized safe injection sites, exempting them from professional discipline, civil liability, and existing criminal penalties due to good-faith conduct and actions under the overdose prevention program. The Medical Board of California and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California would still be permitted to take disciplinary action against licensed medical professionals under the bill.

Wiener’s bill was passed as California and the nation continue to suffer the effects of an epidemic of overdose deaths, largely fueled by the opioid crisis and the introduction of fentanyl into the illicit drug supply. In May, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that 107,000 people died of a drug overdose last year, setting a grisly new record for drug-related deaths in the country. And in California, overdose deaths spiked by 83% from 2017 to 2020, according to CDC data.

Safe Injection Sites Opened in NYC Last Year

Late last year, civic officials in New York City announced that the city had opened the first publicly recognized overdose prevention centers. Since then, research published by the American Medical Association found that New York’s safe consumption drug sites have decreased overdose risk, encouraged people not to use illicit drugs in public and provided ancillary health services to people who use illicit substances. As in other safe injection sites around the world, no overdose deaths have occurred at New York’s facilities, leading city leaders to call for nationwide support for overdose prevention centers from the Biden administration.

But opening safe injection sites has been a challenge in many communities because of provisions of federal law that prohibit providing a location for the use of illegal drugs. Shane Pennington, an attorney with the law firm Vicente Sederberg LLP, said that action on authorizing safe consumption sites across the country is needed at the federal level.

“The Biden administration promised to bring harm-reduction strategies to the fight against the U.S. overdose epidemic. Safe consumption sites are one such strategy that mountains of evidence proves saves lives,” Pennington wrote in an email to High Times. “The fact that the Federal government is inexplicably dragging its feet in implementing that strategy should not cause the states to do the same. Safe consumption sites save lives. I hope the Governor signs the California bill into law and other states pass similar life-saving measures as soon as possible.”

The post California Lawmakers Approve Bill Authorizing Safe Consumption Sites appeared first on High Times.

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Five Cannabis Corporate Governance Mistakes

Many folks in the cannabis industry – especially legacy operators – have little to no experience with corporate governance. I don’t mean to say that they don’t know how to run a business; they likely do. What I mean when I refer to corporate governance is the actual process of adhering to governance agreements, getting required votes, papering corporate actions correctly, and so on. This is an issue in a regulated market where operators are essentially forced to contend with organized entities that must be governed appropriately.

Last year, I looked at why corporate governance is important. In that post I talked about some common corporate governance mistakes. Today I want to get into detail on some of the common corporate governance mistakes our cannabis lawyers routinely see in the industry.

#1 Overissuing stock

Entities are formed by submitting documents to a state agency. In California, for example, the filing of articles of incorporation creates a corporation. Depending on the state and entity type, the incorporator or organizer must identify how many shares of stock the company can issue in this initial filing. If the entity wants to issue more stock than the initial filing authorizes, it must amend the initial filing.

The problem is that cannabis companies often ignore their initial authorization caps and issue stock above and beyond the cap. This is a huge problem! It could mean that the additional stock is unauthorized and even invalid, exposing the company to liability from the persons holding the unauthorized stock. There is a very simple way to resolve this: keep an eye on stock caps and amending articles of incorporation to allow more stock. Unfortunately, for many cannabis companies, this basic corporate governance feature often gets overlooked.

#2 Improperly creating multiple classes of equity

Similarly, let’s say a corporation’s articles only authorize common stock but the board decides to issue preferred stock. If the corporation doesn’t amend its articles – which happens a lot – the issuance is put into question. That will be true even if the corporation has amended its shareholder agreement or other governing documents.

#3 Not getting required votes

Most corporate decisions require a majority vote. When drafting a startup’s governance documents, the owners routinely ask to make certain decisions subject to unanimous or super majority (2/3 or 3/4 depending on how you define it) votes. Usually higher thresholds are reserved for big-picture things. But not always! If the company is supposed to get super majority approval to take on new debt over $100,000 and doesn’t get the approval, the company will be in hot water with the owners and possibly the lender.

#4 Keeping bad records

This is probably the biggest issue we see on a regular basis: founders form a company and hire a law firm to prepare a clean set of corporate cannabis governance documents. They pay their lawyers, put the docs in a file cabinet, and never look at them again. Over the years they replace the board of directors, appoint new officers, and even issue new shares without papering any of it. Then, a time comes when they need to execute a deal that requires good governance.

It is a whole lot easier to pay a lawyer to draft up simple and short governance documents or assist with consents or resolutions on an ongoing basis than it is to dig out of a compliance cleanup nightmare like this. It’s also a whole lot cheaper and faster, and doesn’t delay inking a deal.

#5 Not having a shareholder agreement

This is another big one and applies to corporations. Shareholder agreements are agreements among shareholders to govern a corporation. They generally are not necessary but as a company grows, it would be crazy not to have one.

Lots of founders put shareholder agreements on the backburner until they are necessary, but at that point it may be too late. If a company wants (or needs) a shareholder agreement to close out a deal but one shareholder refuses to sign, all bets are off and the deal could be killed.

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These are only just a few examples of cannabis corporate governance mistakes, but they are mistakes we see on a routine basis. We’ll continue to cover more on cannabis corporate governance, so keep reading.

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