Cannabis-Related Contract Enforcement: A Solution Presents Itself?

One of many concerns regarding the cannabis industry is the federal courts' refusal to enforce cannabis-related partnership agreements, loan agreements, and various contracts related to business formation and operation. While there are a few state courts in Colorado that have rejected arguments that agreements related to cannabis should be void automatically as a violation of federal law – these instances have been few and far between, occurring only at the trial court level and none have been subject to an appeal. But it appears that the solution to the issue of agreement enforceability may have finally presented itself: specific mandatory arbitration agreements and choice-of-law provisions.