Resources

Client Alerts, News Articles, Blog Posts, & Multimedia

Everything you need to know about BMD and the industry.

Institutional Cannabis Lenders Community Holds First Meeting

Blog Post
July 28, 2023

BMD Attorneys Stephen Lenn and Brandon Pauley have organized the Institutional Cannabis Lenders Community (ICLC), which is a community of institutional lenders including banks, credit unions, dedicated cannabis loan funds and family office/ultra-high net worth investors and are excited to announce that the group recently held its first meeting. The more than 20 participants in the ICLC, which was organized to enhance relationships among institutional cannabis lenders and provide forums for evolving best practices, includes four of the major cannabis loan funds, more than a dozen banks and credit unions, and a cross section of other organizations that are involved in institutional cannabis finance activities.

The initial virtual meeting was held on July 19th. The meeting topic was best practices for “Internal Revenue Code Section 280E for Lenders.” The presentation was offered by James B. Mann, a preeminent 280E tax attorney who was lead counsel for Harborside and argued its appeal in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals of an adverse 280E U.S. Tax Court ruling (Patients Mutual Assistance v. Commissioner). James advises companies with respect to cannabis-tax related topics.

During the presentation, James offered insights for the cross section ICLC constituencies that were represented on the call regarding:

  • The need for lenders to understand and take steps that may be available to mitigate the potentially significant consequences of 280E tax lien priorities
  • Cannabis tax planning issues relevant to lenders
  • Cannabis 280E due diligence, including Federal tax return red flags

At its organizational meeting in Scottsdale this past March, ICLC (Institutional Cannabis Lenders Community) participants determined to target 2 virtual and 2 in person meetings, the latter scheduled around major cannabis conferences many participants would be attending. The next in person meeting is scheduled for September 26th in Chicago the day before the Chicago Benzinga Capital Conference. The meeting will be held at the conference hotel, the Chicago Marriot Magnificent Mile.

If you are interested in participating in the ICLC or attending the upcoming meeting, contact Steve Lenn, salenn@bmdllc.com, or Brandon Pauley, btpauley@bmdllc.com.

Cannabis LawICLCStephen A. LennBrandon Pauley
Blog Post

BMD’s Jason Butterworth Quietly Engineers Some of Akron’s Most Impactful Projects

May 18, 2022Jason Butterworth, a team member of BMD’s Business & Corporate practice, focuses his practice on finance, real estate, and tax credit law.Client Alert, Blog Post

Explosive Growth in Pot of Gold Opportunity for Bank (and Other) Cannabis Lenders Driving Erosion of the Barriers

May 13, 2022Our original article on bank lending to the cannabis industry anticipated that the convergence of interest between banks and the cannabis industry would draw more and larger banks to the industry. Banks were awash in liquidity with limited deployment options, while bankable cannabis businesses had rapidly growing needs for more and lower cost credit. Since then, the pot of gold opportunity for banks to lend into the cannabis industry has grown exponentially due to a combination of market constraints on equity causing a dramatic shift to debt and the ever-increasing capital needs of one of the country’s fastest growing industries. At the same time, hurdles to entry of new banks are being systematically cleared as the yellow brick road to the cannabis industry’s access to the financial markets is being paved, brick by brick, by the progressively increasing number and size of banks that are now entering the market.Blog Post

Celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

May 1, 2022In recognition of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI Heritage Month), Brennan Manna and Diamond is proud to recognize the contributions and achievements of our AAPI members.Blog Post

Fluresh Cannabis’ Bank Loan: Moving Into the Mainstream

April 18, 2022The announcement by Fluresh, a vertically integrated Michigan based cannabis business, of the closing of loans from a federally insured commercial bank totaling almost $50 million represents an important landmark for both Fluresh and the cannabis industry writ large. For Fluresh, perhaps as important as the bottom-line benefits of lower cost financing, the fact that its operations and financials passed muster with a substantial commercial bank can be regarded as an important rite of passage. For the industry, it reflects its inexorable movement out of the shadows and into the mainstream. This substantiates the view that, whether or not any of pending the federal legislation is enacted, bank lending to the cannabis industry will continue to accelerate.Blog Post

Out of the Shadows | An Investor Summit Recap

February 9, 2022After a COVID hiatus of more than 2 years, I rejoined the institutional cannabis investment speaker circuit, offering the closing remarks at the Kahner Global Cannabis Private Investment Summit in Coral Gables, Florida. My remarks addressed how banking developments are increasingly impacting cannabis investment, operating and financial strategies and decisions, for both plant touching and the growing array of ancillary businesses serving the industry.
Older posts
Newer posts