Our team has been instrumental in the transition of the U.S. cannabis industry into the commercial mainstream.
Formed at the very outset of the creation of the state-level legal cannabis industry, Husch Blackwell’s Cannabis practice is a national leader in the field, serving the first regulated cannabis markets of Colorado, then California, and now advising clients wherever state law permits. We provide to leading industry participants sophisticated transactional, finance, and regulatory legal counsel, including mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings (public and private), debt and equity financings, corporate restructuring, federal and state regulation, intellectual property, tax, employment, and other general corporate issues.
Partnering with our clients, our team has lived and breathed the challenges they face on a daily basis. Operations and processes that many businesses take for granted—such as commercial banking, business insurance, leasing, and access to capital markets—are challenging in the cannabis space, and we have assisted dozens of enterprises develop the necessary legal framework to operate their businesses and manage risk. The experience of our cannabis law practice is a valuable resource for all of our cannabis clients, including medical and retail centers and cultivators, manufacturers of infused products, testing facilities, marijuana technology companies, landlords, private equity funds, credit unions and security companies.
Members of the Husch Blackwell cannabis law team have helped clients navigate the complex and ever-changing regulations governing the state legal cultivation and sale of marijuana, industrial hemp and cannabidiol (CBD). Additionally, the entire firm serves as a resource when the team is dealing with highly complex and novel legal issues on behalf of cannabis clients.
Marijuana
Husch Blackwell has one of the largest and most experienced teams in the nation dedicated to the marijuana industry, with 80 attorneys nationwide. Our clients include not only the nation’s largest cannabis companies, but also large multinational companies making their first forays into cannabis.
Led by a USA Nationwide Tier 1 lawyer in Cannabis Law in the 2021 Chambers USA legal directory, our team is a recognized leader in the industry with members dedicated to the practice of cannabis law, not merely a collection of attorneys who happen to have handled a few related deals and cases. Additionally, our team tackles marijuana regulatory matters across the nation – including California, Colorado, Missouri and New York.
In the Marijuana industry, we regularly represent medical and adult-use marijuana stores, medical and adult-use marijuana cultivations, manufacturers of marijuana-infused products, marijuana testing facilities, marijuana technology companies, industrial hemp farms and processors, landlords, private equity funds, public companies (U.S. and Canada), credit unions and security companies. Additionally, we counsel investors for these companies.
CBD & Industrial Hemp
Following passage of the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, there are new fields of opportunity for growers, manufacturers and investors in the industrial hemp and CBD industry; however, it is still a highly regulated area of operation, owing to its historical association with marijuana. Our experienced team stands ready to help industry participants adapt to changes in federal law, as well as the patchwork of state-level laws applicable to the cultivation and production of industrial hemp and related products.
Our dedicated team provides the full complement of services to CBD and industrial hemp producers and retailers from the earliest startup stages through ongoing business concerns. Because our team is industry-focused rather than practice-specific, we are widely regarded as thought leaders and regularly publish, speak and advocate for favorable legislation on behalf of our clients.