Civil RICO & State Cannabis Regulation

When we founded MadisonJay, we wanted to help this exciting, dynamic industry grow. That means not only helping our clients, but also helping to address some of the most significant challenges the industry faces with creativity.

As part of our commitment to thought leadership in this space, our cofounder Michael Cooper recently published an academic legal article regarding one of the most serious threats to this industry in Volume 18, Issue 2 of the UC Davis Business Law Journal.

As an increasing number of business operators have learned the hard way, there is a proliferation of civil RICO lawsuits against state-legal businesses in this industry. Michael examined a leading case in this area, and highlights a key defense to these costly claims. He also detailed the constitutional protections that these state-legal industries may possess, and the potential for any federal “crackdown” to backfire as states dynamically alter their state cannabis markets to withdraw them from federal interference. In turn, such a withdrawal places further limits on federal influence on state cannabis markets, potentially frustrating the very objectives of individuals launch such a crackdown.

You can read the piece in full here.