Cannabis Reclassification Would Likely Boost Cash Flow, Opening Doors For CRE Moves

This week’s announcement that the Department of Justice recommended cannabis be reclassified as a lower-risk substance is a long-awaited move toward legitimacy coveted by thousands of marijuana businesses in states where recreational use is legal.

The cannabis sector’s access to commercial property remains dependent on banks, said Robert DiPisa, a New Jersey-based member of the real estate department at law firm Cole Schotz and chair of its cannabis law group.
“Don’t forget, the banks drive the issues down onto the landlords, who are then forced to draft for and solve these issues in the leases with these tenant operators,” he said. “The banks are the ones dictating the language that they need in the agreements.”
And many of those banks still view the cannabis industry from a pre-legalization perspective, DiPisa said, pointing out there hasn’t been a civil asset forfeiture action against cannabis companies in over a decade.

Click here to read more.