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Cannabis

The emerging cannabis industry has unique legal needs due in part to the conflict between state and federal laws surrounding cannabis business practices. Lathrop GPM’s Cannabis team offers clients across the entire supply chain the regulatory and legal experience necessary to help meet your needs for comprehensive and proactive legal advice.

Our clients in the cannabis, CBD and hemp industries benefit from our ability to tap into the resources of a national, full-service law firm, including intellectual property (particularly trademarks and patents), licensing, regulation, acquisitions, litigation, franchising, health law, environmental, real estate, and many other areas of legal focus*. We have office locations around the country, including seven locations where cannabis is legal under state law for adult recreational and medical use - Colorado, California, Illinois, Massachusetts , Minnesota, Missouri and Washington, D.C. Our team of multidisciplinary attorneys is committed to providing leading -edge guidance specific to your location. Entities we have advised in the cannabis industry include:

  • Agricultural companies
  • Agricultural chemical companies
  • Agricultural input companies
  • Biotech companies
  • Cannabis farms
  • Commercial real estate companies
  • Companies acquiring cannabis, CBD or hemp-related businesses
  • Dispensaries / retail cannabis entities
  • Marijuana-infused product entities
  • Entrepreneurs
  • Food & beverage manufacturers
  • Franchisors 
  • Cultivators and cultivation entities
  • Health and wellness companies focused on hemp and cannabis products
  • Health care providers
  • Hemp Farms
  • License applicants 
  • Medical marijuana companies
  • Plant-based nutrition / additive companies
  • Private investors including venture capitalists and angel investors, both focused on the hemp industry and with more diversified investments
  • Product producers 
  • Professional services companies doing business with cannabis-industry businesses, including marketing agencies
  • Restaurants
  • Scientists
  • Seed companies
  • Veterinary / pet-treat nutrition companies

Comprehensive Legal Services

We assist our clients in various capacities – from advising on business transactions to counseling on trademarks and advertising compliance, handling litigation matters, licensing, regulatory compliance, and leading state lobbying efforts*. Some areas in which we serve cannabis, hemp and CBD-related clients’ legal needs include:

  • State license applications; administrative appeals; litigating license denials
  • State regulatory issues for licensed cultivation, marijuana-infused product manufacturing, dispensary and transportation entities
  • Regulatory issues for health care providers, including prescription, licensure, medical insurance, and Medicare Conditions of Participation
  • Trademark prosecution and counseling for cannabis, hemp and CBD industry companies
  • Environmental issues, including advising agricultural input companies on Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) registration
  • Corporate and Finance
    • Drafting operating agreements
    • Acquisitions
    • Structuring entities
    • Financing options and banking-relationship advice for cannabis-industry businesses 
    • Bankruptcy ramifications for cannabis-related businesses
    • Representing private investors and angel investors in their cannabis-industry investments
    • Formation and capitalization of cannabis-related businesses
    • Formation of cannabis-focused venture capital funds
    • Securities 
  • Real estate lease negotiations for cannabis-industry retail locations
  • Franchise representation (including creation of franchise disclosure documents, franchise agreements and registration of franchise in several states) for companies with nationwide dispensary networks
  • Lobbying, public policy and regulatory matters

Our firm’s practice with respect to marijuana-related activities is subject to and may be limited by the applicable Rules of Professional Conduct and federal, state and local laws. Marijuana-related practices or activities, including without limitation, the manufacture, importation, possession, use or distribution of cannabis/marijuana are illegal under federal law. Accordingly, the firm’s services are strictly limited to the confines of relevant state and local laws and regulations relating to medical marijuana, retail marijuana, and adult use marijuana. The firm’s services are not intended to assist in any way with violation of any applicable law. Please also note that the firm also does not provide advice or representation regarding the federal, state or local tax consequences of engaging in any business in this industry.

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