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Out of the Shadows - Cannabis Going Mainstream

Blog Post

November 21, 2023

The following text is an excerpt from the Akron Beacon Journal, published on November 17, 2023:

Stephen Lenn of Akron law firm Brennan Manna Diamond discusses business opportunities for people investing or operating in Ohio's marijuana market.

Read the full article here (content may require a paid subscription).

The discussion was also broadcast on NPR's WKSU on November 23, 2023. Read their comments here.

See the full transcript of Steve's remarks here.

Posted by Brennan Manna Diamond

Cannabis industry Cannabis Law Stephen A. Lenn Akron Roundtable

Invitation to Banks & Family Office/Ultra-high Net Worth Investors Exploring Cannabis Lending to Join Our Informal Institutional Cannabis Lenders Community

December 2, 2022An update on the latest developments in the cannabis banking/lending space by subject matter expert, BMD Scottsdale/Phoenix Office Managing Partner Stephen Lenn Posted by Stephen Lenn Blog Post, Client Alert

Community Banks: Collaboration, not isolation, is the key to protecting/ enhancing the cannabis business you pioneered

August 26, 2022As we prepare for the plenary session of the informal institutional cannabis lenders community announced in my previous article, I am pleased to advise that participants now include 5 of the best-known dedicated loan funds; a select group of commercial banks ranging in size from single state community banks to mid-size regionals making cannabis loans into the mid-8 figures; and, a syndicator of credit union cannabis loans. Posted by Stephen Lenn Blog Post

Non-compete Agreements are Under Fire: What Employers Need to Know

August 4, 2022Non-compete agreements are an ongoing topic of dispute. Employers and their advocates point to the efficacy of non-competes in protecting proprietary information. Employees and their advocates argue about worker mobility and that employers unduly burden workers’ ability to seek better jobs. The Biden administration has put forth its position, and state legislatures have introduced bills addressing the enforceability of non-competes. Here is what you need to know: Posted by Member Joshua R. La Bouef and Associate Andrew Freibert 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. Posted by Brennan, Manna & Diamond 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. Posted by Stephen Lenn