Cannabis and Psychedelics Law and Regulation

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• Advised cannabis retailers on point-of-sale issues and concerns, marketing and advertising, online versus brick-and-mortar sales, as well as shipping and delivery, both within the client (e.g., internal distribution networks) and externally with respect to end users/purchasers.

• Advised retailers, including national "big box" stores, on entering the legal cannabis market, whether to sell delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-containing products, zero-THC products such as ingestible and topical cannabidiol (CBD), or a combination of both.

• Represented a nationally leading CBD company in defending multiple putative class action lawsuits alleging violation of various state consumer protection statutes.

• Represented a company seeking a Class 1 or Class 2 low-THC oil production license, which included full cultivation and manufacturing into oil, in the highly regulated state of Georgia.

• Advised a cannabis start-up in California on cultivation, manufacturing and distribution.

• Advised farmers and agricultural clients on qualifying as a licensed/regulated cannabis grower, processor, or both.

• Advised multiple financial institutions on compliance issues related to the handling of funds derived from cannabis-related transactions.

• Represented a west coast cannabis cultivator in acquiring a cultivator's license in Washington, D.C. and provided assistance with writing the application, as well as managing all corporate formation and structuring to comply with D.C. regulations.

• Wrote a winning courier license application for a national logistics and delivery operator in the first round of courier applications in Washington, D.C.

• "D.C. Council Passes Emergency Legislation to Close "Gifting Shops" in the District" (January 2024)
• "Maryland Aims to Legislate Labor Peace," Marijuana Venture (December 2023)
• "D.C. Council Approves the Cannabis Employment Protections Amendment Act of 2022" (July 2022)
• "Got Pot? Can You Test to Find Out?" (May 2021)
• "Cannabis Users Getting Greater Employment Protections in Some States" (March 2021)
• "USDA Unveils New Federal Hemp Production Rules" (October 2019)
• "Growing Interest in Regulation of Hemp" (September 2019)
• "Florida Approves Plan for Hemp Production, Despite FDA Constraints on CBD" (August 2019)
• "New Hope in Georgia – The Landscape for the Application/Licensing Process for Cannabis" (July 2019)
• "USCIS Clarifies: Immigrants Cannot Establish Good Moral Character if Involved in State Licensed Marijuana-Related Activities" (May 2019)
• "DOJ Marijuana Memo Goes Up in Smoke – Should Companies Inhale or Exhale?" (January 2018)
• "It's Not Reefer Madness, It's Risk Management: Providing Investment Services to the Marijuana-Related Industry" (July 2017)
• "Provider Concerns When Recommending Medical Marijuana," reprint, Law360 (June 2017)
• "Arkansas Goes to Bat on Medical Marijuana: Hits Homerun for Employers" (May 2017)
• "Weed in the Workplace: What You Need to Know" (October 2016)

• "Alabama Medical Cannabis Association's Medical Cannabis Banking & Regulatory Symposium" (June 2023)
• "International Cannabis Business Conference" (February 2017)
• "Weed in the Workplace 2: Still Smoking (Nashville)" (January 2017)
• "Cannabis and Its Medicinal Potential: State of the Research and Policy" (December 2016)
• "Weed in the Workplace: If Smoke, Do You Fire? (Atlanta)" (November 2016)
• "Weed in the Workplace: If Smoke, Do You Fire? (Memphis)" (October 2016)

• D.C.'s Cannabis Employment Protections Amendment Act of 2022: What Employers Need to Know (July 2022)
• Weed, Leave, and CBD, Oh My! (October 2021)
• Medical Marijuana: More Headache than Cure? (September 2019)
• Legalized Marijuana and Hemp: From A to Z and Everything in Between (August 2019)
• Weed, Trump, and the Workplace: What You Need to Know (May 2017)

• Baker Donelson Shareholder Sara M. Turner Elected Second Vice President of DRI (October 22, 2024)
• 25 Baker Donelson Attorneys Named to 2024 Maryland Super Lawyers List (December 14, 2023)
• Sara M. Turner of Baker Donelson Elected Secretary-Treasurer of DRI (November 3, 2023)
• Former U.S. Senator Tom Daschle to Be Awarded Japan's Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (November 3, 2023)
• Baker Donelson Continues to Expand Baltimore Team with Addition of Louis Cannon as Shareholder (July 31, 2023)
• Corporate Counsel Name Four Baker Donelson Attorneys to BTI Client Service All-Stars 2023 (June 13, 2023)
• Baker Donelson Expands Team in DMV Region with Addition of Jordan Savitz as Shareholder (February 16, 2023)
• Experienced Regulatory IP Attorney Mark Yacura Joins Baker Donelson (May 31, 2022)
• Martha L. Boyd Named Vice Chair of Baker Donelson's Labor & Employment Group (February 14, 2022)
• Sara M. Turner Elected as a National Director of DRI (November 10, 2020)

• Senator Thomas A. Daschle Featured on The Hill's OpenMic Discussing the Importance of Bipartisanship (June 11, 2025)
• Will Somerville Talks with AL.com About the Latest Ruling in Alabama Medical Cannabis Licensing Litigation (March 7, 2025)
• Will Somerville Comments on Alabama's Medical Cannabis License Awarding Process on CBS42 (June 12, 2024)
• Louis Cannon Talks with Law360's Employment Authority About Potential Revival of Purple Doctrine on Employee Use of Company Communications Platforms in Union Organizing Efforts (May 16, 2024)
• Best of the Bar Honoree Sara Turner Shares Her Greatest Career Accomplishment in the Birmingham Business Journal (April 19, 2024)
• Will Somerville Reacts to Proposed Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission Legislation on CBS42 (April 16, 2024)
• Will Somerville Talks with Alabama Political Reporter About Legal Filing to Remove Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission from Licensing Process (April 15, 2024)
• Will Somerville Quoted in Alabama Reflector on Proposed Alabama Legislation to Increase Medical Cannabis Production Licenses (April 2, 2024)
• Birmingham Business Journal 40 Under 40 Honoree Jade Sipes Shares Her Proudest Career Accomplishment (February 15, 2024)
• Eve Cann Talks with Law360 About Firm's New Fort Lauderdale Office Space (January 26, 2024)
• Eve Cann Discusses Baker Donelson's Fort Lauderdale Office Move in South Florida Business Journal (January 23, 2024)
• Will Somerville Comments on Alabama's Stalled Medical Cannabis Licensing Process in AL.com (October 13, 2023)
• Will Somerville Quoted in AL.com on Negotiations Regarding Alabama Medical Cannabis License Disputes (September 7, 2023)
• Law360 Highlights Addition of Corporate Attorney Jordan Savitz (February 17, 2023)
• Regulatory IP Attorney Mark Yacura Discusses His Move to Baker Donelson in Law360 (May 31, 2022)
• Zachary Busey Quoted in Corporate Compliance Insights on Supreme Court's Vaccine-or-Test Federal Mandates Ruling (January 14, 2022)
• Paula Estrada de Martin Featured Among New Orleans CityBusiness Leadership in Law 2021 Honorees (October 12, 2021)
• Sara Turner Profiled Among Birmingham Business Journal's 2020 Women to Watch Honorees (December 11, 2020)
• Kenneth Abel Comments on Appellate Ruling Regarding Federal Rules of Evidence in ABA Litigation News (July 15, 2020)
• Paula Estrada de Martin Featured Among CityBusiness 2019 Women of the Year (November 8, 2019)
• Paula Estrada de Martin Featured Among New Orleans Magazine's "Leaders in Law" (November 1, 2019)
• Sara Turner Talks with AL.com About Baker Donelson's Generous Parental Leave Policy (October 3, 2019)
• Martha Boyd and Jonathan Cole Featured Among Nashville Business Journal's 2019 Best of the Bar Honorees (June 27, 2019)
• Paula Estrada de Martin Featured Among Profiles in Diversity Journal's 2018 Women Worth Watching (September 1, 2018)
• Martha Boyd Profiled Among Nashville Business Journal's 2018 Best of the Bar (June 29, 2018)
• Paula Estrada de Martin Featured in New Orleans CityBusiness's "Ones to Watch" (February 17, 2017)