Welcome back to Higher Law, our weekly briefing on all things cannabis. I'm Cheryl Miller, reporting for Law.com from Sacramento, where it's supposed to hit 107 degrees this afternoon. So let's cut to the chase so I can return to quiet whimpering next to the AC vent.

This week we're looking at:

• Marijuana heading south • Lessons to be learned from Curaleaf's regulatory woes • An expanded pot practice in LA • The race to cash in on marijuana lobbying

Thanks for reading. Send those tips and feedback to [email protected]. You can also reach me at 916.448.2935. Follow me on Twitter @capitalaccounts.

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Q&A: Bradley Arant Jumps Into Cannabis

Last month, Birmingham-based Bradley Arant Boult Cummings became the latest Am Law 200 firm to launch a cannabis practice. With Bradley Arent's roots running deep in the South, only four of its 10 offices are located in states where some type of marijuana use is legal.

I recently talked to Whitt Steineker, co-leader of the firm's cannabis industry team, about the firm's decision to represent cannabis clients. Our interview is edited for length and clarity.

Higher Law: How does a nice Southern firm like Bradley get involved in cannabis law?

Steineker:: Our geographical footprint is pretty much in the southeast but we view ourselves as having a national practice in most of our practice groups.

We think there's a benefit to being one of the first to market in our geographic footprint. We certainly think that's something that could be to our advantage and more importantly to the advantage of people who are interested in the space and who want to learn more.

We've been amazed at the number of people who we've talked to once they were aware that it was a service that we were providing.

And then the Farm Bill—we were going to do this probably before the Farm Bill—but the Farm Bill really sent this into overdrive on the hemp side.

Have all the states where Bradley has offices adopted rules or guidance for bar members in the cannabis practice?

It varies. The District of Columbia has. I know Florida has. Alabama has not, as of yet. I don't believe Mississippi has. That's something we monitor. We make sure that anything we're doing is in compliance with any professional rules but also any guidance that's put out by the state bars.

Was there any concern about what other Bradley clients might think about the firm launching a cannabis practice?

We had a long dialog that spanned a number of months about whether we wanted to get into this space and, if so, how we wanted to go into this space and how we wanted to market it. And I think I reached the conclusion that I think was shared by our management that there was a need in this industry for high-level strategic legal services to our existing clients and to potential clients. And we felt like we were able to offer the same type of thoughtful, conservative advice to people either in the cannabis industry or dealing with the cannabis industry that we were to any of our other clients.

What's the biggest issue on your plate right now?

It's really trying to stay as current as you can to manage some of the uncertainties that are in both the marijuana and hemp space. Trying to make sure your clients understand the areas with growing certainty about what is allowed. And also make sure, probably more importantly, that they understand where there is still a great deal of uncertainty.

Even with the Farm Bill and the opening up of hemp, even with that, we have to tell people all the time there are caveats and guidance documents coming out from different state and federal agencies all the time that everybody needs to be aware of. It's taking the time to stay on top of that, to fully understand that and then to communicate that with clients. That's really important because it drives any of the counsel we offer people in the space.

 

 

'Mistakes Snowball': A Curaleaf Critique

Vince Sliwoski at Harris Bricken's Canna Law Blog has an interesting take on the recent troubles faced by Curaleaf, the Massachusetts-based cannabis operator who drew a warning letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last month over dubious claims about the healing powers of CBD.

That attracted the inevitable securities class action. Then last week the state of Massachusetts slapped Curaleaf with a $250,000 fine for failing to get regulators' OK before changing its ownership structure.

"As you read, keep in mind that Curaleaf claims to be the 'world's largest cannabis company by revenue and the largest in the U.S. across key operating metrics,'" Sliwoski writes. "And then marvel at how ham-handed this whole thing is."

There are two lessons to be gleaned from this episode, says Sliwoski. "First, mistakes tend to snowball," he writes, noting that a quickly addressed FDA warning letter led litigation. "Second, when it comes to state compliance, it is generally notbetter to ask forgiveness than permission."

Higher Law asked the FDA for Curaleaf's written response to the agency's warning letter. The FDA declined our request, saying "disclosure could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings."

We asked Curaleaf general counsel Todd Goffman for a copy. A spokeswoman responded by referring us to a July 26 company statement saying Curaleaf had removed certain statements, flagged by the FDA, from its website and social media.

"Additionally, Curaleaf Hemp advised FDA that a number of the products mentioned in the FDA letter had previously been discontinued," the company's statement said.

 

 

Who Got the Work

• The Rimon Law Group is expanding its cannabis and hemp team with the addition of five attorneys from the Frontera Law Group. Partners Justin Keller and Lukian Kobzeff and associates Alexandra Brown, Paul Castillo, and Patrick Devine have joined the firm's Los Angeles office, the firm announced. My colleague Xiumei Dong has more here.

• Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck said it has launched a cannabis and industrial hemp practice group. The practice will be co-chaired by Denver-based partner Melissa Kuipers Blake in the Denver office and partner Amy Steinfeld in Santa Barbara, California. Brownstein Hyatt already has an active federal lobbying practice representing cannabis clients in Washington, D.C.

• David Branfman of Branfman Mayfield Bustarde Reichenthal in Solana Beach and Elizabeth Rest of Crown in San Francisco have been named chair and vice chair of the California Lawyers Association's Cannabis Intellectual Property Law Interest Group. The group plans to offer monthly telephone call-in meetings on the first Thursday of each month as well as live seminars and webinars.

 

 

In the Weeds…

>> Lobbyists are racing to cash in on the cannabis boom. "K Street is rushing to capitalize, highlighted this week by the highest-grossing firm, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, launching a new Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Industry Group," The Hill reports. Brownstein Hyatt joins Akin Gump and Squire Patton Boggs as a major firm lobbying on cannabis issues. [The Hill]

>> CBD is everywhere. But is regulation keeping up with demand? "In the gray area between state and federal regulations, and in the shifting used to describe (and sometimes conflate) cannabis, marijuana and hemp, dubious promotions have proliferated." The FDA has publicly cracked down on unsubstantiated medical claims about CBD. Still, questionable advertising has some researchers comparing CBD to snake oil. [The New York Times] >> The CBD craze is getting out of hand, says Scott Gottlieb. The former commissioner of the FDA argues for a quicker path to oversight of CBD than the agency's traditional rule-making process. Congress should clarify that the FDA doesn't need to issue broad regulations on CBD but can instead rely on petitions from individual producers, he suggests. CBD could be added to food but only if the products meet minimum guidelines. [The Washington Post]

>> Hey feds: ease up on marijuana-legal states. That was the message this week from the American Bar Association's House of Delegates, which approved a resolution urging the federal government to make the Controlled Substances Act's marijuana provisions inapplicable to operators complying with state laws. [ABA Journal]

>> Will pot and privacy issues clash in Massachusetts? New rules under consideration by the Cannabis Control Commission would require anyone delivering marijuana in the Bay State to wear a body camera. Delivery vehicles would also have to be equipped with GPS trackers and lock boxes. [WCVB]

 

 

The Calendar: All the Things

Aug. 17-18 - The CannaGrow Expo will take place in Palm Springs, California. Expected speakers include Kimberly Simms of the Law Offices of Kimberly Simms; Travis Bliss, IP attorney at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney; and Dana Cisneros, an attorney at Cannabis Corporate Law Firm.

Aug. 20 - Duane Morris hosts the webinar "Cannabis 204: The Roundup of State Cannabis Legislation." Presenters include partners Neville Bilimoria, Paul Josephson and Martin Shulkin.

Aug. 21 - Sheppard Mullin presents the webinar "Cannabis Regulation Is the New Frontier in Real Estate and Land Use Control." Presenters are firm partner Whitney Hodges and associate Stephanie Sweat.