Cannabis & Hemp

Our firm offers legal advice and services to cultivators, manufacturers and retailers in all aspects of the cannabis industry.

The interplay between federal, state and local law requires careful navigation and our firm is able to assist clients in this evolving and complex space.

We are positioned to assist our clients in such matters as:

• Licensing for cultivation, production and retail facilities for medical and/or adult-use (as permitted by state law);

• Joint venture and multi-participant investment structuring and agreements;

• Ownership and organizational structuring, including entity selection and formation, function and asset allocation among subsidiary and affiliated entities;
• Buy-sells and ancillary member/partner/shareholder agreements;
• Select taxation related issues;
• Distribution and supplier agreements;
• Real estate matters including purchase/sale, lease, sale leaseback and related agreements;
• Employment agreements;
• Coordination with co-counsel on trademark and intellectual property rights; and
• Zoning and other land use approvals.

Many communities are initially resistant to hosting cannabis operations. Experience in building consensus within the community, combined with our team’s intimate knowledge of the industry, is critical to building a proactive, strategy-driven approach to the licensing process and a necessary pre-requisite to moving forward in a multi-faceted regulatory environment.

Utilizing our extensive knowledge of the industry, as well as contacts with other professionals in the cannabis community, our firm is in a position to help our clients assemble a team of professionals to deliver thoughtful and thorough state and local licensing applications. This includes providing detailed presentations to governmental agencies and community groups, as well as rounding out their team roster with professionals whose specialized expertise is integral to bringing their projects to fruition.

We also provide guidance and assistance to those with ancillary involvement. Landlords, tenants, property owners, lenders, property managers, real estate brokers and other service providers all have questions and concerns as to their rights and obligations. The interplay between existing loan agreements and funding requirements, title and commercial insurance policies, leases, management agreements, restrictive easement agreements, condominium regimes, and a host of other existing legal structures must be reviewed and their impact evaluated. Our firm can assist our clients in working through these issues.

The cannabis space is an exciting new frontier for entrepreneurs, real estate professionals and investors with explosive opportunity; but it is also one that requires careful and thoughtful navigation. Our firm can assist you in working through the issues and charting the course.