The Marijuana Lobby: Who Got the Work
Marijuana businesses and related trade associations spent more than $1.6 million in 2017 lobbying. Here's a look at some of the shops that got the work.
February 01, 2018 at 07:23 PM
3 minute read
Marijuana businesses and related trade associations, eager to shape emergency regulations governing California's new recreational market, spent more than $1.6 million in 2017 lobbying state policymakers, according to new disclosures released this week.
Advocacy spending in the cannabis space last year was nearly double the amount reported in 2016, growth fueled by growing dispensaries, specialty services and holding companies. Here's a snapshot of some of the top lobbying spenders:
Weedmaps ($242,000), the site for finding legal marijuana shops nearby and product reviews. The Irvine company gave $1 million to the successful campaign to pass Proposition 64, the recreational legalization measure, in 2016. Two firms lobbied for Weedmaps: California Strategies & Advocacy and Lang, Hansen, O'Malley and Miller Government Affairs.
FLRish Inc. ($210,000), the cultivation and dispensary venture-backed by Silicon Valley investors. Board members include Stephen DeAngelo, the co-founder of Oakland's Harborside Health Center; former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown; and former cut-flower executive Jeff Brothers. California Strategies & Advocacy lobbied for FLRish.
Privateer Holdings ($162,500), the seven-year-old private equity firm. Its portfolio includes Tilray, a Canadian-based medical marijuana research and production operation and Marley Natural, “the official cannabis brand of Bob Marley.” California Strategies & Advocacy lobbied on behalf of Privateer Holdings.
Cannacraft Inc. ($153,445), the Santa Rosa-based medical marijuana manufacturer. Platinum Advisors and RIA lobbied for Cannacraft.
Harborside Health Center ($130,000), one of the biggest and best-known dispensaries in the country. Milo Group of California lobbied for Harborside.
Eaze Solutions Inc. ($111,201), the San Francisco-based medical marijuana delivery startup. Eaze's lobbyist is Governmental Advocates Inc.
The trade group spending the most on lobbying in 2017 was the California Cannabis Industry Association, which represents dispensaries, labs, manufacturers and other marijuana-related businesses.
The lion's share of the lobbying work for the cannabis industry went to California Strategies & Advocacy, a large Sacramento shop with ties to the Yes on Proposition 64 campaign. The firm's roster of lobbyists includes Jason Kinney, who worked on the strategy to legalize recreational marijuana use and sales in California.
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Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
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