DLA Piper has launched a global cannabis law practice, adding to the ranks of firms to have expanded their capabilities into the growing sector.

The firm said in a statement that the decision to formalise the cannabis practice comes following a "number of large cannabis regulatory advisory mandates" as the industry looks to take advantage of billion-dollar deals happening in the sector.

The group will sit within the wider life sciences sector at the firm, and will be headed up by Toronto-based corporate partner Robert Fonn and London senior associate Dylan Kennett.

They will be supported by a team of 70 other lawyers and support staff in more than 15 countries across the firm's network.

Kennett said in a statement: "With the likes of Canada leading the way in liberalising cannabis in a considered manner, it was only a matter of time before other countries looked to Canada's example on how best to similarly regulate their own markets."

Several other firms have bolstered their cannabis law offering as part of a trend that has accepted and deregulated cannabis in jurisdictions outside of the U.S. in more recent years.

Earlier this month, Ince Gordon Dadds hired a cannabis law partner from specialist firm Mackrell Turner Garrett to kickstart its own practice, with the likes of Allen & Overy, Hill Dickinson, Arnold & Porter, DAC Beachcroft and Memery Crystal having also expanded their offerings in the area.