Cannabis

We appreciate the opportunities presented by the emerging cannabis industry and are committed to helping clients navigate the complexities of federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Our dedicated legal team develops creative and agile business solutions that allow businesses, lenders, investors, cultivators, processors, caregivers, transporters, landlords, and others to address current contradictions between agencies and jurisdictions, without limiting future options when those contradictions are resolved. Foley has played a key role in some of the highest profile transactions in the industry to date.

Foley’s Cannabis Industry Team advises clients on best practices regarding corporate formation and finance, joint ventures, tax strategies, industry-focused compliance programs, patent and intellectual property protections, real estate leasing, multistate licensing, SEC compliance, and in connection with government investigations involving the Department of Justice, the SEC, and other enforcement authorities.

Our attorneys serve as insurance counsel for both cannabis businesses seeking coverage and insurers weighing risk management concerns, and as employment counsel for non-cannabis companies managing drug-testing policies that address their staff’s off-duty usage. Our team is particularly mindful of the health care industry’s interest in marijuana, and regularly advises hospitals and long-term care facilities on legal compliance during patient care.

Value We Deliver

• Multidisciplinary team harnessing decades of experience to produce predictive solutions in the absence of precedent
• Collaborative approach to counsel, designed to address challenges with our clients’ business goals in mind
• Experienced representation in handling a variety of interactions with the FDA, DEA, DOJ, EPA, and other federal, state, local, and tribal governing bodies
• Skilled representation in property leasing negotiations for dispensaries
• Intellectual property counsel, including patent protection, for biomedical and other products
• Practical risk management and mitigation counsel
• Legal and IP due diligence, including FTO reviews
• Zealous advocacy in litigation and government investigations
• Advise employers on duties toward employees, job applicant drug testing, and ADA compliance in connection with medical and recreational cannabis use.
• Advise health care providers on their roles as caregivers to patients using medical or recreational cannabis, including policies and procedures and liability/risk issues

Core Areas of Counsel

• Banking & Finance
• Capital Markets
• Corporate & Securities
• Government Investigations
• Health Care
• Insurance
• Intellectual Property
• Labor & Employment
• Legal & Regulatory Compliance
• Private Investment Funds (Sponsors and Investors)
• Real Estate & Land Use
• Tax
• White-Collar Criminal Defense