Licensing

• Assist with applications to comply with state regulatory requirements for marijuana cultivation, processing, laboratory testing, and dispensing
• Compile, edit, and draft supporting documentation in support of dispensary, infuser, and craft grower applications, with a specific focus on matters of security, employment, sales and disposal
• Represent dispensaries and craft growers in local zoning hearings regarding operational approval
• Represent dispensaries and cultivators in court and administrative hearings regarding licensure

Regulatory Counseling: State and Federal

• Provide analysis and guidance on the 2018 Farm Bill and recent state and federal legislative initiatives
• Advise recreational and medical marijuana facilities on state recreational adult use and medical marijuana regulatory requirements, including ownership issues, background check requirements, testing requirements, siting and location requirements
• Provide guidance on FDA and state positions on CBD product marketing, advertising, and sales
• Provide guidance on FDA and state marketing, labeling, and approval requirements for foods, cosmetics, and dietary supplements
• Counsel on state and federal laws, including current USDA and USDOT rules on transportation, warehousing, storage and distribution, product placement, labeling, and promotion of hemp and CBD products

Corporate: Formation, Ownership, and Transactions

• Assist with corporate formation and advise on corporate structure for entities in the recreational and medical marijuana and CBD industries
• Prepare contracts related to recreational adult use and medical marijuana sales, including purchasing and laboratory services contracts
• Assisted Illinois’s largest independently owned dispensary owner in sale to national operator
• Draft master service agreements for dispensary operators and represent national MSOs in acquisition and negotiation of operating agreements with local recreational dispensaries
• Evaluate merger/acquisition opportunities for recreational and medical marijuana entities
• Assist with agreements related to purchase, storage, distribution, and re-sale of CBD products

Retailers

• Contribute regulatory guidance and ROI analysis of strategic opportunities involving cannabis products
• Provide operational support with contracts, indemnity agreements, vendor endorsements, insurance requirements, warranty agreements for CBD products, and workforce training
• Assess the impact of CBD product sales on retailers’ other business and professional licenses
• Assist with point of sale strategies for CBD products, including in-store product placement and signage

Real Estate Services

• Evaluate and assist with state and local zoning requirements, public health considerations for medical marijuana facilities and CBD retailers
• Negotiate purchase and lease agreements for location of medical marijuana facilities

Litigation: Advocacy and Administrative Review

• Representation of medical marijuana license holders in challenge to the state process for review and award of licenses
• Provide representation in administrative appeals for unsuccessful license applicants
• Representation of clients with regard to forfeiture of commercial property
• Respond to claims for product liability, failure to warn, and misbranding

Employment

• Counsel owners of medical marijuana companies with various employment matters including non-compete clauses and employee terminations
• Assist employers of all kinds with respect to marijuana workplace issues (hiring, testing, policy updates, discipline and enforcement)

Financing

• Due diligence and guidance in identifying investment opportunities in marijuana related entities
• Advise ownership groups with respect to changes in ownership interests/stake

 Patent & Trademark

• Evaluate opportunities and strategies for securing protection of intellectual property, including preparing trademark applications using proven state-based filing techniques and patent applications related to innovative technologies from seed to sale opportunities in the cannabis industry
• Drafting and implementing internal/external protocols to ensure trade secrets and other intellectual property rights are established for enforcement and defense