Shay Gilmore Law

06/13/2026

🚨 NEW BLOG POST 🚨 ⚖️🌿

California ran 22,000+ h**p inspections 🔍 and violations dropped to almost nothing 📉 — a single violation across the first months of 2026. ✅

Sounds like the crackdown worked, right? 🤔

I don't buy it. 🙅‍♂️

Here's the catch: 👇 ABC only counts the doors it licenses. 🚪 A clean record there tells you how the LICENSED behave — not whether the trade still exists. 🕵️

The intoxicating h**p beverage 🍹 market didn't disappear. It just relocated to the channels nobody was inspecting. 🚚💨 And the state knows exactly where it went. 💰

That's why 2026 📅 dates really matter:

🔹 A new Civil Enforcement Unit built to hunt out-of-state online sellers 💻
🔹 Online marketplaces facing penalties up to $250,000 per violation 💸
🔹 ABC + the Department of Cannabis Control merging under one roof 🏛️ — closing the exact loophole this trade was built in 🔒
🔹 A federal redefinition of "h**p" 🇺🇸 landing this November that's fatal to most current inventory ⏳

Two doors closing on roughly the same schedule. 🚪🚪

If you hold a h**p beverage brand 🍾 — or have money in one 📈 — "Farm Bill legal" isn't a position anymore. It's an expiration date. ⏰

📖 I break down where the trade went, the enforcement apparatus being built to follow it, and the 3 paths forward before the window closes.

👉 Read the full analysis (link below)! 🔗

💬 Questions about your h**p or cannabis business? Let's talk. 📞

🌱 **pLaw 🌿 ☀️ 🍹 ✅

California's h**p beverage enforcement numbers look like a win. A clear-eyed look at where the trade moved—and the July 1, 2026 shift.

06/08/2026

Join me on June 11 for a look at regulatory compliance and tax for California cannabis operators, especially in the wake of the April 2026 rescheduling order. Co-presented by Taxation Section of the California Lawyers Association, New Lawyers Section of the California Lawyers Association, and California Lawyers Association Cannabis Practitioners Group, this program offers 1 hour of CLE credit for licensed California attorneys.

06/03/2026

🌱⚖️ Cannabis and h**p are the same plant under two different bodies of law — 📜 and in 2026, both sides are shifting at once, ↔️ in opposite directions.

🏛️ Federal rescheduling eased the § 280E tax penalty for medical ma*****na, 🌿 while a new 📆 November 2026 redefinition narrows what counts as "h**p." ✍️ I break down what it means for how California operators 🏢 structure, 👥 disclose ownership, and ✅ stay compliant.

📖 Read the full analysis 👇

https://shaygilmorelaw.com/california-cannabis-h**p-280e-entity-choice/

**pLaw 🌱⚖️

How ma*****na rescheduling and Section 280E reshape entity choice, ownership, and compliance for California cannabis and h**p businesses.

05/25/2026

🌿 Federal ma*****na rescheduling is here — and the clock is ticking for California cannabis operators.

On April 22, 2026, the DOJ issued an order moving state-licensed medical ma*****na from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. It's one of the most significant shifts in federal cannabis policy in decades.

My latest post covers exactly what California operators and investors need to know before the June 29 hearing:

✅ What the rescheduling order actually does — and doesn't do
✅ §280E tax relief: what's already in effect and what's still pending IRS guidance
✅ The DEA registration application process, broken down for California operators
✅ California's emergency rulemaking (DCC-2026-03-E) and A/M license separation
✅ The litigation risk that could unwind the whole thing
✅ A practical 30-day checklist before the federal hearing

If you're a cannabis operator, investor, or just following this space closely — this one is worth reading carefully.

🔗 Read the full post here: https://shaygilmorelaw.com/california-cannabis-rescheduling-june-29/

05/15/2026

Check out my quote in yesterday's article from Cultivated News about DEA registration for medical cannabis.

The DEA is preparing to open applications for cannabis growers, manufacturers, testing labs and distributors as the federal government moves toward rescheduling medical cannabis to Schedule III.

05/13/2026

Five rulemakings. Three agencies. One two-year countdown.

That's the California cannabis and h**p regulatory landscape right now — and none of it requires a courtroom.

Two DCC rulemaking proceedings just closed their public comment windows. A third takes effect July 1. A December 2025 court ruling has put METRC track-and-trace reform in motion. And the AB 8 implementation rulemaking — which will require h**p extractors to hold DCC licenses by January 2028 — is confirmed in the DCC's own budget documents to begin this year.

Here's what every California cannabis and h**p operator needs to understand:

🔹 What the multipack cannabis goods and pesticide rulemaking proceedings mean for your operations
🔹 Why the METRC court ruling almost certainly triggers a new rulemaking
🔹 The AB 8 two-year countdown — and why waiting for implementing regulations before starting the DCC licensing process is a real risk
🔹 What on-site consumption endorsement regulations look like right now (spoiler: incomplete)
🔹 Why administrative law counsel delivers its highest value before any enforcement action begins

New blog post is live at the link below. 👇

Cannabis attorney Shay Gilmore analyzes DCC rulemakings — pesticide testing, multipack goods, METRC reform, AB 8 implementation, and more.

05/04/2026

12 active California cannabis bills. One critical deadline: May 15.

From a potential ban on disposable vapes to new due process rights for dispensaries facing DCC enforcement — the 2026 California legislative session is shaping up to be one of the most consequential in years for licensed cannabis retailers and operators.

We just published a comprehensive breakdown of every active bill, where each one stands today, who's supporting or opposing it, and what you need to know before the Assembly Appropriations window closes.

If you're a California cannabis operator, investor, or compliance professional — this one's for you. 👇

🔗 shaygilmorelaw.com https://shaygilmorelaw.com/california-cannabis-bills-2026-dispensaries-retailers/

04/26/2026

Big federal news for California cannabis operators — and the details matter more than the headlines suggest.

The DOJ just rescheduled medical ma*****na to Schedule III, which means real 280E tax relief for California M-license holders starting January 1, 2026. But there's a hard DEA registration deadline around June 22, 2026, new federal compliance obligations, and a bifurcated legal landscape that leaves adult-use operators behind — for now.

We've put together a full legal breakdown of what this means for California licensed operators and investors.

The DOJ's April 2026 order reschedules medical cannabis to Schedule III. Here's what California M-license operators and investors must do before June 22, 2026.

04/14/2026

The past several weeks produced a different kind of cannabis news: not regulatory frameworks or legislative updates, but specific events in specific jurisdictions and deal rooms that show what 2026's structural pressures actually feel like when they land. Nine licenses lost. Fuel costs up 60%. A Delaware IP lawsuit every licensor should read. Here's the analysis.

A California cannabis attorney's field report: local enforcement, Iran fuel costs, M&A deal structures, and national pricing data. Read the full analysis.

04/04/2026

California's AB 8 may block physicians and ACOs from the new CMS h**p-CBD Medicare benefit. Attorney Shay Gilmore breaks down the conflict and what stakeholders need to know.

California's AB 8 zero-THC rule blocks most h**p products from the new CMS Substance Access BEI Medicare pilot. Attorney Shay Aaron Gilmore analyzes the legal conflict and what ACOs, h**p businesses, and healthcare providers must do now.