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Commercial Real Estate Cannabis Toolkit (National and Select States)
Practical Law Toolkit w-040-4754 (Approx. 17 pages)
Commercial Real Estate Cannabis Toolkit (National and Select States)
by Practical Law
| Maintained • USA (National/Federal) |
Resources to assist commercial real estate owners, landlords, and tenants on legal issues raised when commercial real estate is used for a cannabis-related business (CRB). This Toolkit includes links to Practice Notes, Standard Documents, Standard Clauses, Checklists, Articles, Videos, and additional Toolkits. These resources provide an analysis of common concerns for real estate owners, operators, or tenants regarding owning or leasing a CRB.
Owning or leasing commercial space for a cannabis-related business (CRB) poses unique legal challenges. Federal law prohibits knowingly opening, leasing, renting, using, or maintaining any place to permanently or temporarily manufacture, distribute, or use any controlled substance, including cannabis (21 U.S.C. § 856(a)(1)). Though a rare occurrence, the federal government can prosecute people who are otherwise protected under state cannabis laws, subjecting defendants to fines, prison time, or both. The property owner may encounter issues whether they use the property for their own CRB or lease the property to a CRB. Issues also arise for tenants operating a CRB.
This Toolkit includes links to resources that provide guidance to help property owners, landlords, and tenants navigate these issues as well as other general commercial real estate issues involved with operating a CRB.
For a chart that lists the status of the legalization of cannabis in key states, see Box, Legal Status of Medical and Recreational Cannabis in Key States.
Cannabis Resources
Legal Status of Medical and Recreational Cannabis in Key States
State | Legal Status of Medical and Recreational Cannabis |
California | Legal for both medical and recreational cannabis (Cal. Health & Safety Code §§ 11362.5 and 11362.7 to 11362.9 and Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 26000 to 26325). |
Florida | Mixed. Medical Cannabis is legal (Fla. Admin. Code Ann. r. 64-4.002 to 64-4.213; § 381.986, Fla. Stat.). Recreational cannabis is not permitted. |
Illinois | Legal for both medical and recreational cannabis (410 ILCS 130/1 to 410 ILCS 130/999; 410 ILCS 705/1-1 to 705/999-99). For an overview of Illinois cannabis laws, see Practice Note, Illinois Cannabis Regulation: Overview. |
Massachusetts | Legal for both medical and recreational cannabis (M.G.L. c. 94I, §§ 1 to 8; 935 Code Mass. Regs. §§ 501.001 to 501.900). For an overview of Massachusetts cannabis laws, see Practice Note, Massachusetts Marijuana Regulation: Overview. |
New Jersey | Legal for both medical and recreational cannabis (N.J.S.A.24:6I-1 to 24:6I-56; N.J.A.C. 17:30A-1.1 to 17:30A-13.11; N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10; N.J.S.A. 24:6I-31 to 24:6I-56; N.J. Const. art. IV, § 7, ¶ 13; N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10)). |
New York | Legal for both medical and recreational cannabis (N.Y. Cannabis Law § 1 to N.Y. Cannabis Law § 139). For an overview of New York cannabis laws, see Practice Note, New York Cannabis Regulation: Overview. |
Pennsylvania | Mixed. Medical cannabis is legal specified (35 P.S. § 10231.103, 35 P.S. § 10231.301, and 35 P.S. § 10231.304). Recreational cannabis is not permitted. |
Texas | Both medical and recreational cannabis are not permitted. However, Texas law permits a registered physician to prescribe low-THC cannabis (typically medical-grade CBD oil) that has no more than 1% THC to treat certain listed medical conditions (Texas Compassionate Use Act, Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. §§ 487.001 to 487.256 and Tex. Occ. Code Ann. §§ 169.001 to 169.005). |