Susan Ameel

New Yorkers might believe that legalizing cannabis sales will not impact their daily lives. More often than not the smell of cannabis is on every street in New York City. And over the last year, tacky green vans emerged that seemingly offer cannabis products for sale — but no one...

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation announced the recipients of the first adult-use retail licenses last week. The five (5) same site adult-use licensees currently operate medical marijuana dispensary operations in Mundelein, Naperville, Joliet, Canton, and...

The California Senate Appropriations Committee failed to move AB-228 out of the committee during its final hearing of the 2019 legislative session on August 30, 2019. The Committee’s action means that the sale of CBD products will remain illegal in California until at least the 2020...

The New York State Department of Health issued a health advisory to inform state residents that using vaping products that contain THC can be dangerous. New York indicated that ten (10) residents between the ages of 18 - 49 were hospitalized after they used vaping products that contained THC...

CannTrust Holdings Inc (NYSE: CTST) announced this week that Health Canada is investigating compliance violations at its manufacturing facility in Vaughan, Ontario. The company’s board of directors has initiated an internal investigation to determine the root cause of the problem and...

By Susan Ameel, co-founder and partner of Global Regulatory Risk Advisors. Humboldt County continues to step up enforcement against illegal growers. Over the past year, the Humboldt County Code Enforcement Unit in California has actively identified illegal grow operations using satellite imagery....

By Susan Ameel, co-founder and partner of Global Regulatory Risk Advisors. Governor Steve Sisolak signed a new law into effect that requires the state to publicly disclose an extensive amount of information about marijuana businesses. The law requires the state to disclose the names of the...

By Susan Ameel, co-founder and partner of Global Regulatory Risk Advisors. The United States is witnessing the rise in state power. The states are uniting to fight the federal government, lead social causes such as global warming, and they are driving innovation. We are also witnessing the rise in...

By Susan Ameel, co-founder and partner of Global Regulatory Risk Advisors. The Florida Legislature passed a bill to implement a hemp program in the state in accordance with the 2018 Farm Bill on the last day of the legislative session, May 3, 2019.  The new law will require the Department of...

By Susan Ameel, co-founder and partner of Global Regulatory Risk Advisors. The Department of Justice (DOJ) updated its guidance to help prosecutors to evaluate corporate compliance programs.  Prosecutors rely on this guidance when evaluating business organizations during an investigation,...

By Susan Ameel, co-founder and partner of Global Regulatory Risk Advisors. Entrepreneurs start businesses to make money. At some point, the entrepreneur may want to sell or go public, for a variety of reasons. A company that has an inadequate risk and compliance program may find it difficult to do...

By Susan Ameel, co-founder and partner of Global Regulatory Risk Advisors. The Mayor of DC, Muriel Bowser, revealed the city’s legislation to legalize and tax the sale of recreational cannabis. DC’s legislative act is designed in a way that only small businesses will be able to comply...

By Susan Ameel, co-founder and partner of Global Regulatory Risk Advisors. Governor J.B. Pritzker announced the Illinois has reached a deal that will legalize marijuana sales by January 1, 2020.  We expect the Illinois Legislature to move quickly and pass the legislation by June. Illinois will...

This week, cannabis news was dominated by two big acquisitions. The largest was announced by U.S. vertically integrated multistate cannabis operator Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (OTC: CURLF), which said it would buy Cura Partners, owners of the Select cannabis brand, for approximately $950 million in...

By Susan Ameel, co-founder and partner of Global Regulatory Risk Advisors. The Washington state legislature presented Governor Inslee with a bill that would allow marijuana licensees to provide consumers with more information on a product label. The new law would allow licensees to...