The National Cannabis Bar Association (NCBA) returns to NCIA’s Cannabis Business & Summit Expo to provide a full day of Continuing Legal Education* on July 25, 2018. This year NCBA is proud to present six important topics crucial to providing legal assistance to established cannabis businesses and entrepreneurs to operate compliantly in a highly regulated environment, including securing state and local authorizations and operating under their regulations, meeting environmental requirements, procuring insurance coverage, conforming with FDA requirements and fulfilling the ethical requisites in this ever-changing field. Attendees will leave with the tools necessary to help guide their clients through this shifting landscape and prepare for a new national cannabis economy.
*MINIMUM OF 6 CLE CREDITS ARE AVAILABLE IN CALIFORNIA, with credit applications pending in Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Colorado
9:00 – 11:00 Securing State and Local License and Permits
Legal cannabis operators must secure state licenses and local permits, and operate under substantial compliance obligations to remain on the right side of the law. But where does this process start? Our attorneys will take you through determining the path: picking a jurisdiction in which to operate, making contact with members of the government to help navigate the bureaucratic process at both the state and local levels, what is required to obtain authorization to operate on a local level, how local regulations interact with state law, and who you need in your corner to make it all happen. Let us take you through everything you need to know about procuring your necessary state and local licenses, permits, and authorizations.
Process: Working with local government to obtain ; Applying for state licenses; How lawyers and consultants work together; Government relations on a local and state level.
Michael Chernis, Chernis Law Group
Corinne Celko, Emerge Law Group
Jaime Lewis, Coldwater Consulting
Josh Kappel, Vicente Sederberg
Henry Wykowski, Wykowski Law
11:15-12:15 Environmental Law
Description: Environmental regulations have become a significant point of emphasis in legal cannabis markets. Contamination from the historical illegal market has struck fear in environmental activists and agencies designed to protect our water tables and other natural resources, and has dictated a strict tone going forward. From water conservation and riparian rights, to the intersection of cannabis contamination testing standards with prohibition on certain chemicals for environmental reasons, explore the current status of state-level environmental regulations, any federally applicable standards, and the future of compliance in environmental law at different verticals of the cannabis industry.
Corinne Celko, Emerge Law Group
Joanna Hossack, Clark Neubert LLP
Aaron Johnson, JohnsonRovella, Retterer, Rosenthal & Gilles, LLP
1:00 – 2:15 Making Health Claims Under FDA Scrutiny
Do you know what your employees are claiming about the health benefits of the products they are selling for you? You should. he FDA keeps a close eye on health claims made in the US, by not only advertisements seen on a wide scale, as well as claims made by specific employees. If you want to stay off the radar of the federal agency that perhaps may play the biggest role in regulation of the legal cannabis market going forward, make sure you know what they allow and what will raise a red flag you don’t want to wave. Learn the lessons from other industries, including the alcohol industry, to make sure you stay on the right side of this powerful federal agency.
Rebecca Stamey-White, Hinshaw & Carmichael
Diane Romza-Katz, Thompson Coburn
Emily Leongini, Arent Fox
Mary Shapiro, Evoke Law
Shawn Hauser, Vicente Sederberg
2:30 - 3:45 Insurance: Spotlight on California
Using examples from California’s existing and growing insurance market for the cannabis industry, explore the general principles that apply in every jurisdiction. The California Department of Insurance has approved certain carriers and policies, creating some opportunity to pursue standardized insurance policies that create certainty over individualized policies. At the same time, individualized policies are often necessary to address a set of risks that are not covered under accepted policies, and play an important role in risk management. Join lawyers, brokers, and Camille Dixon, the head of the California Department of Insurance to explore the benefits and limits of existing policies and the future of the insurance market focusing on California as an example.
Jason Horst, Horst Legal Counsel
Camille Dixon, California Department of Insurance
Stephanie Moriarty, Abe Insurance
James Marek, Stratton Agency
Shay Aaron Gilmore (Moderator), The Law Office of Shay Aaron Gilmore
4:00 - 5:00 pm Ethics - Competency: Legal Knowledge and Preparation
This special credit (one hour) ethics panel will consider how a lawyer can acquire the requisite knowledge and skill to 4 address a particular issue or opportunity in the cannabis industry. Issues such as the relative complexity and specialized nature of the matter, the lawyer's general experience, the lawyer's experience in the cannabis industry, the preparation the lawyer is able to give the matter, and whether it is feasible to refer the matter to a lawyer of established competence in the cannabis field, will be discussed.
Phil Cherner, Law Office of Phil Cherner (ret.)
Sean McAllister, McAllister Garfield, P.C.
