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New York Cannabis

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New York State’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA)

The imminent passage of New York State’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) will legalize and regulate the cultivation, production and sale of cannabis and cannabis products for adult use in one of the most populous American states. The new law will expand New York State’s existing medical cannabis program and through the implementation of social equity programs, address the collateral consequences of the past criminalization of cannabis.

The passage in 2014 of the Compassionate Care Act opened up the New York market to medical marijuana, and as the popular movement to legalize cannabis for adult use works its way through state legislatures across the country, Harris Bricken is helping businesses navigate rapidly evolving regulation and policy and enter markets in the first wave.

 

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The Future of New York’s MRTA Legislation

Our New York office, led by Simon Malinowski, provides legal counsel on a full range of New York cannabis law issues. Simon helped create Harris Bricken’s cannabis practice way back in 2010, and he very quickly became a thought leader on cannabis licensing and documentation. Among other things, our New York City office helps cannabis clients with company formation and structuring, transactional agreements, intellectual property rights, corporate governance, taxation, licensing, and the acquisition and leasing of real estate.

As the market matures, we expect increasing activity in mergers and acquisitions, receivership matters, litigation and general corporate issues, with which we have extensive experience in other U.S. jurisdictions, where since 2010 we have provided counsel on cannabis-related transactional, litigation, regulatory and licensing matters.

New York’s MRTA legislation is expected to allocate revenue generated from legalization of cannabis to investment in communities that have been disproportionately impacted by past criminalization of cannabis. State regulators are expected to direct revenue to public education; job creation, skills development and training; social justice and reentry services for impacted communities; substance use disorder services and mental health services; and other community-based supportive services.

It is also expected that regulators will award 50 percent of adult-use cannabis licenses to individuals in communities that have been disproportionately impacted by past criminalization of cannabis, communities of color, minority- and women-owned business, disadvantaged farmers and service-disabled veterans. Funds are expected to be available for business mentoring, application process assistance, incubator, capital and other social equity programs that will support the long-term success of social and economic equity applicants.

Following the passage of the MRTA, the opportunity for industry growth in New York State, with its population of nearly 20 million, is enormous, and our cannabis attorneys are excited about the prospect of helping our clients build durable legal frameworks for long-term growth and success.

 

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CANNA LAW BLOG

An intelligent, timely resource for the cannabis industry

Beyond advising individual businesses, our cannabis attorneys are committed to fortifying, defending, and building credibility for the industry as a whole. Harris Bricken’s cannabis business lawyers are more than legal strategists—they are thought leaders: forward-thinking bloggers, educators, writers, and speakers.

They regularly write articles for legal journals and frequently post to our acclaimed and widely followed Canna Law Blog. We speak to business and trade groups, academic institutions, and government bodies on a variety of cannabis legal issues, and our cannabis lawyers are frequently quoted by global, national, and local media outlets. We also have compiled (and are forever adding to) a Cannabis Glossary, to help with industry terminology.

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High Dive: Are We Creating "Big Marijuana"?

Hilary explains the far-reaching impacts of the Washington States historic 502 initiative, legalizing marijuana for recreational use. She explores the complex issues pertaining to big business entering into the marijuana industry.

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Get in Touch with Our Cannabis Law Team

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Our Clients' Successes

“Harris Bricken expertly guided us through the formation of our company. They continue to assist with necessary registrations and compliance with numerous regulations. They were able to promptly answer all our many questions and provide understandable options, explanations and practical advice. We expect to continue to use Harris Bricken on a regular basis as our company expands. They were also able to introduce us other professional experts. We would not hesitate to recommend Harris Bricken to any companies in need of legal advice.”

user icon Three Continents Foods LLC

This law firm was a huge help as our company went through the process of commercial licensing in the California cannabis industry.  They have helped us with a variety of legal issues in a timely fashion, while clearly communicating with us throughout the process.  Everyone we’ve worked with at Harris Bricken is an expert in their field and we have always felt that we were in good hands through our legal representation.

user icon Wil Crummer, CEO PRO Farms

Legal stuff is always scary. And I’ve had to play offense a couple times, begrudgingly. To have Harris Bricken have my back? It made things a lot less prickly. They quickly walked me through my options, and were refreshingly consistent in their communications, timing and billing. I’ve been lucky to stay out of the legal side of things my whole career, thankfully. When things went a little wrong, Harris Bricken quickly made things right.

user icon Aaron Draplin, Founder Draplin Design Co.

I am impressed with this law firm. They answered all my questions regarding cannabis businesses and the California cannabis framework, and they have helped me with a variety of legal issues in a timely fashion, while always clearly communicating with us throughout the process. They also redirected me to other quality people for my business needs. Everyone I worked with at Harris Bricken is an expert in their field, and I was in good hands throughout my legal representation.

user icon Corey T., CEO Thinc Cubed, LLC

I have been working with the lawyers at Harris Bricken for more than 20 years both as a business owner and as an executive at a large east-coast health system and that is because they have always efficiently provided high level and clear international law advice. Most recently, Harris Bricken provided legal support on many matters related to procuring medical products worldwide. Their support was particularly helpful to during the onset of COVID, when there was a big need for securing PPE quickly, all while navigating complicated international and domestic legal requirements. Harris Bricken’s team of international lawyers helped by conducting rapid-fire due diligence on potential suppliers, navigating the legal logistics for getting product from overseas and through U.S. customs, and drafting contracts to protect against various sorts of horribles. They did this by essentially providing what amounted to 24/7 service. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

user icon Dan Pak Hospital Supply Chain Executive

Harris Bricken has represented our company in the legal cannabis industry for years. Harris Bricken has advised us in a wide variety of legal matters, and they are truly experts in their field. I would highly recommend Harris Bricken to anyone with questions about cannabis law, or any legal matters. They have been great for our Company, and will continue to guide us as our industry evolves

user icon Matt Hurt, COO Cannabis Nation

You won’t find a better partner than Harris Bricken when trying to navigate the complex world of healthcare regulations.  They not only give sound and reliable legal advice, but they are also very responsive and are able to guide you in a way that helps you reach your business objectives as well.

user icon Joseph Axelrod, General Counsel Irwin Naturals

When we started the process of building a ‘seed to sale’ cannabis company in Oregon, we saw the need for expert legal counsel.  The cannabis sector is fraught with potential peril at every turn, and we wanted the best legal advice we could find.  After talking to several firms and individuals, we feel extremely fortunate to have chosen Harris Bricken as our legal counsel.

user icon Tony Theiss, CEO and Co-Founder Redbarn Cannabis 

We use Harris Bricken on all our international legal matters, including on our international litigation matters. We have over the last few years been involved in a couple big international legal disputes and Harris Bricken’s international dispute resolution team provided us with expert legal assistance on both matters. They were always very careful to explain to us what they were doing and why and what their actions would likely cost us in legal fees. Most importantly, we did extremely well on both cases and I have no doubt Harris Bricken was a big factor in that.

user icon Kevin English, CEO We Are Camp

We have used Harris Bricken for legal help related to our international manufacturing. The lawyers with whom I worked had extensive familiarity with the international legal issues involved in our various projects and offered us key insights. I particularly appreciated how they always quickly and efficiently do what they say they will do and always within their cost estimates.

user icon Andrea Barona Valladolid, Senior Legal Counsel Fairphone
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