Learn how to improve your gross profit, reduce expenses and grow your after-tax cash flow. You will want to take notes on this program which has been developed from the Bridge West files of over 300 cannabis clients. Join Offit Kurman as it hosts a talk with Jim Marty, Chief Executive Officer of Bridge West LLC, on How to Improve After Tax Profits for a Cannabis Business. Jim will share techniques used by Bridge West’s most profitable cannabis clients. Join us on Tuesday, May 21st for our webinar/affinity group on this exciting topic!
About Jim Marty:
Jim Marty is the Chief Executive Officer of Bridge West LLC. Jim is a pioneer and a leader in the cannabis industry and is a nationally recognized and renowned expert on cannabis tax, accounting, and banking issues. Jim has been featured on Fox Business News, CNBC, and numerous other nation-wide media outlets. Since 2009, Jim’s practice has grown to more than 300 cannabis clients and in 2012, Jim founded Bridge West LLC, the first accounting firm in the world to focus solely on the cannabis industry. He continues to be a spokesman and endorser of the cannabis industry through his highly attended marijuana education business presentations and the work he does to support the expansion of the industry. In addition to providing his clients with exceptional tax preparation assistance and unparalleled client services, Jim has consulted in more than a dozen of medical marijuana IRS audits, is accredited in business valuation, intangible asset valuation, and certified in financial forensics. Jim has testified for several cases involving business disputes, mergers and acquisitions, and business valuation issues.
The passage of the 2018 Farm Bill is a game-changer for hemp in the US and globally. The multi-billion hemp industry has just begun to take hold and now the Farm Bill is expected to supercharge growth in this space. Join Offit Kurman as we host a talk with Eric Steenstra, president of the influential political advocacy organization Vote Hemp, about the impact of the Farm Bill on the hemp industry. Eric will be discussing the political factors that brought hemp legalization to the forefront in the Farm Bill, what steps various states, including Maryland, have taken to pursue hemp cultivation in their area, and what you can expect to see on the national landscape moving forward. Register to attend this exciting online webinar presented on Friday April 5th.
Guest:
Eric Steenstra is a hemp industry pioneer cofounding hemp clothing and lifestyle brand Ecolution with Steve DeAngelo in 1992. Steenstra was a founding member of the Hemp Industries Association (HIA) and served as its Executive Director from 2008 to 2016, growing membership during that time by more than 300%. Steenstra now serves as the president of Vote Hemp, the political advocacy organization that he co-founded in 2000.
Please join our host Ellis Smith and special guest Mike Leago, Trusted Global Hemp Ambassador, for a live Q&A session on the state of the international hemp market.
* Farming – Clones & Seeds
* Supply & Demand – How to find buyers for your wholesale & retail products or services.
* Technology to drive your hemp business
Guest: Mike Leago
Mike Leago is the Founder of the International Hemp Exchange, Production Specialist at HGH Seeds, Co-Founder of Zohko, Co-Founder of Mahalo Wellness and Founder of Liberty Tree CBD. |
Did you know that Maryland is opening a new round of applications for grower and processor licenses in March 2019? This is probably the last opportunity to be awarded a license under Maryland’s thriving medical cannabis program for many years. Join host Jason Klein as he walks through in detail the in’s and out’s of the upcoming application and shares insights on how to make your application stand out and win! This webinar will touch on the application scoring methodologies, the submission requirements, diversity and disadvantaged business categories, lessons learned from the last round of applications, and much more. The webinar will also feature a more interactive format to engage with the audience and maximize the learning opportunity. Please join us for this exciting topic on March 1st at 12pm ET!
Presented by Jason Klein:
Jason Klein is a business law attorney at Offit Kurman with a focus on licensing and compliance in tightly regulated markets on the east coast. Jason started working in the industry in 2011 and his practice focuses exclusively on serving direct and ancillary cannabis business clients. As one of the first attorneys east of the Mississippi to work with cannabis business clients, Jason has a track record of successfully navigating competitive licensing environments and assisting his clients to stay compliant and profitable in the face of challenging regulatory atmospheres. He is a founding board member of the National Cannabis Bar Association and a frequent speaker at local and national cannabis industry conferences.
Mr. Klein hosts a monthly Cannabis webinar with a different guest speaker each month. Topics range from “Cannabis Police and Practice in the Trump Era,” to medical cannabis for pain and the opioid epidemic (“Can Medical Cannabis for Pain Really Help with the Opioid-Dependency Epidemic?”) to cannabis insurance preparation (“An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure Commercial Insurance Preparation”).
Mr. Klein holds a bachelor’s degree in physics (2002), master’s degree in public administration (2009), and J.D. (cum laude – 2009), all from Indiana University – Bloomington. He is licensed to practice in the District of Columbia and Michigan.
How we can overcome the lack of accessible germplasm resources and begin proper plant breeding programs in cannabis?
Please join our host Ellis Smith and special guests panelist to discuss one big unsolved problem in the cannabis industry; the lack of significant germplasm repositories with good databases to support plant breeding.Topics we will cover:
- * What is Germplasm?
- * Same Plant, Different Regulations
- * Public vs. Private – Can the private marketplace fulfill all critical roles?
- * The Germplasm Marketplace
Guest Panelist:
Guest Panelist: Dr. Mitch Day, Scientist and Entrepreneur Mitch is a subject matter expert on micropropagation and analysis of genetic information. Micropropagation offers two major benefits to cultivators: disease-free cloning and economical large-scale storage of cultivars for breeding programs. |
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Guest Panelist: Dylan Wilks, Founder & CTO of Orange Photonics Spectroscopy, entrepreneurship and invention are a family legacy for Dylan. His grandfather is the “Father of Infrared Technology” and one of the industry founders in the 1940’s. Dylan has led optics projects serving NASA’s Mars Rover as well as air and ground based imaging systems, specialized lighting (lasers, fiber illuminators, etc) and within the infrared spectroscopy disciplines. Dylan has also worked extensively within the petroleum industry and chaired an ASTM method. |
Nichole Galvin, an attorney at Offit Kurman, will discuss the prenuptial steps that should be taken when forming a cannabis business, and what you can do now to protect yourself and your business in a corporate divorce.
Nichole Galvin is an attorney in the Business Litigation practice group focusing on commercial and fiduciary litigation in state and federal courts. In her commercial practice, Nichole represents businesses, investors and property owners in a variety of commercial, real estate and contract disputes. Nichole has particular expertise representing clients in complex, multi-party commercial litigation disputes in federal courts in Maryland, New York, and Delaware.
New Jersey Cannabis Industry Association President Hugh O’Beirne will provide a brief history and overview of New Jersey’s medical cannabis program. He will also discuss the proposed legalization of cannabis for adult use in the Garden State. Hugh’s explanation of New Jersey’s comprehensive approach to regulating legal access to cannabis will provide a broader understanding of the evolving east coast markets for the legal cannabis industry.
Guest Speaker
Hugh O’Beirne
President of the New Jersey Cannabis Industry Association
Hugh O’Beirne is an attorney who has previously served as an Executive Vice President and the Chief Legal Officer of a publicly traded real estate investment trust. Prior to that, he practiced corporate and securities law with two major national law firms. Mr. O’Beirne is a long-time advocate for the legalization of cannabis and is an experienced investor in the medical marijuana industry on the east coast.
Sean Murphy, the Director of Hemp Analytics, will discuss the state of play of hemp and CBD markets.
Sean Murphy
Director of Hemp Analytics
Sean Murphy is the founder and publisher of Hemp Business Journal, the hemp industry’s premiere publication for market research and intelligence, and the Hemp Summit, an annual event for investors, operators and executives. In early 2018, Hemp Business Journal and the Hemp Summit were acquired by New Frontier Data, a leading provider of cannabis data and market insights.
Sean is a frequent speaker at hemp, cannabis and natural product conferences and source to the media, including Forbes, New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone and Entrepreneur.com. He has spoken across the world including such venues as Hebrew University, Silicon Valley, the White House, Paris Climate Summit and the Vatican.
Learn how to be successful in new cannabis markets! The diverse group of industry experts at Canna Advisors and Cannabis Trainers have teamed up to share insights and tips for cultivators, processors, and dispensaries. Learn how to get started in the key areas of business development, staff sourcing, brand development, and licensing applications from industry pioneers and trusted advisors who have been successful in national and international markets. Gain insider knowledge about the application process, regulations, location selection, financial modeling, community outreach, brand identity, essential roles, and staffing and training.
E-Commerce sales are estimated to reach a whopping 4.4 trillion dollars by 2021. These digital platforms present a myriad of opportunities and challenges for direct and ancillary cannabis businesses looking to take advantage of the benefits of increased brand awareness and customer access. Matt Alexander, General Manager of Leafly Holdings, will be discussing the intersection of cannabis e-commerce and retail, working with third parties to optimize your online store, how to avoid industry-related restrictions on social media, and how to effectively reach your desired customers with a concept that works in tightly-regulated marketplaces.
Guest Speaker:
Matt Alexander – General Manager for Leafly
Matt Alexander is the General Manager for Leafly, the world’s largest cannabis information resource, in Maryland and Washington DC. Alexander develops relationships and business with licensed medical marijuana dispensaries in the region. Previously, Alexander was District Sales Manager at Toast and Regional Manager at OrderUp.
Eric Schlissel, the CEO of GeekTek, will join Jason Klein of Offit Kurman, to instruct on the changes cannabis operators can make right now to their IT that will result in measurable competitive advantages. Building a resilient and scalable IT ecosystem is critical as you plan, build and expand your cannabis operation.
Subjects covered will include:
• Best practices for physical and digital access controls
• HIPAA compliance concerns for medical operations
• Data breach prevention and response planning
• Unique security concerns in the cannabis industry
• SOPs for day-to-day technical operations
• Cybersecurity best practices
Eric Schlissel, CEO of GeekTek
Eric Schlissel is the CEO of GeekTek, a national managed IT/cybersecurity firm headquartered in Los Angeles, CA. Widely recognized as a thought leader in the IT industry, he has spoken extensively throughout the country as both a panelist and moderator on data security issues facing the cannabis industry. He has been widely published and quoted in The LA Times, Wired, CIO Magazine, ChannelPro, InformationWeek, InfoWorld, the CCIA, NACB Insights and other leading publications. Possessing 20 years of entrepreneurial and investment experience, Eric is also a travel
Please join our host Ellis Smith and special guest Dr. Nikos Xynos of Rousselet Robatel Kromaton, for this very informative webcast on an interesting approach to refining and isolating pure fractions of cannabinoids by sequentially applying centrifugal separation, extraction, and purification technologies.
From separation through enrichment and purification, the Rousselet-Robatel Kromaton Cannabis refining and purification process is proven and optimized for extracts containing a mixture of Cannabinoids like Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), Cannabidiol (CBD), and Cannabigerol (CBG), and respective isomers. Due to the selective partitioning nature and discrete stage-wise operation of the FCPC partitioning chromatograph, highly pure fractions of constituents with very similar molecular structures can be obtained in semi-preparative, preparative, and production quantities.
Bring your questions to this LIVE Q&A session!
Hosted by Offit Kurman and featuring Cannabis Practice Group attorneys and experts from outside the firm this monthly, hour-long webinar series addresses operational and legal issues affecting those in legalized cannabis industry. The series is designed for applicants for, and operators of, legal cannabis businesses as well as business owners and service providers servicing the industry.
Cannabis up North! Regulatory and IP Issues in Canada’s New Adult Use Marketplace
Join Jason Klein of Offit Kurman and David Wood from Borden Ladner Gervais as they discuss Canadian cannabis regulatory and IP issues. The Canadian cannabis industry is in the headlines. Mergers and acquisitions, imminent adult use regulations and storefront sales, product diversification on the horizon, investment and validation from the beverage industry, and troubles at the US border are all regular feature in the news. As the first G7 country moves forward on a new approach to mitigating the social and economic harms of drug abuse by regulating rather than prohibiting cannabis, opportunities and challenges are emerging – and being defined by participants. In this presentation, we will describe the industry and its regulations, and the role of intellectual property to protect and leverage technology and branding in this industry. The implications of regulating a product for sale both as a medicine and as a discretionary psychoactive product are further reaching than is immediately apparent – as is the opportunity. Responsible execution will be critical as the World watches Canada’s move forward from prohibition to regulation, and in many cases are following closely behind with spirited medical programs and talk of adult use regulations in other jurisdictions. Canadian regulations are a template for those in many other jurisdictions, particularly in quality control and process, for upstream, midstream and downstream aspects of the industry.
Speaker:
David Wood is a lawyer and patent agent in the Calgary office of Borden Ladner and Gervais LLP. David practices intellectual property and regulatory law. David is co-chair of the BLG’s Cannabis Industry Focus Group and his regulatory practice is specific to the Canadian cannabis industry.
David has advised licensed producers, pre-license entities, technology companies, and other domestic and foreign participants in the Canadian cannabis industry in relation to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and its regulations, including the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (the “ACMPR”) and the Narcotic Control Regulations (the “NCR”). David is also helping various industry participants position themselves for expected changes under Bill C-45: An Act respecting cannabis and to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Criminal Code and other Acts, Eliz. II: 64-65-66 (the “Cannabis Act“).
David’s intellectual property practice and experience includes:
- drafting and prosecuting patent applications;
- assessing patentability of technology, validity of patents, and infringement of patents, and other patent-related due diligence;
- multi-jurisdictional patent portfolio management; and
- patent litigation.
David has experience with chemical, biochemical, information, and mechanical technologies relating to cannabis, medical devices, imaging, oil and gas, and other industries.
At its heart, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is about taking a combined approach to prevent and treat pest pressures in order to maximize yields and deliver positive economic and ecological results.
As many commercial cannabis cultivators know, it’s not a matter of IF you’ll get pests, but WHEN, which is why it’s essential to have a plan in place. By following a diversified IPM protocol, cultivators are able to both proactively and reactively address pest pressures using a combination of pesticides, biological controls, and best practices. The result is improved yields with minimized ecological impact. This is critical in an industry with a continually evolving regulatory environment governing the production of a crop with medical applications.
Join our host, Ellis Smith, and IPM subject matter expert, Todd Statzer for this LIVE Q&A Session. Todd serves as the director of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) at urban-gro, a leading cultivation technologies company delivering best-in-class systems, solutions, and technologies to large-scale Cannabis cultivators throughout North America.
Be sure to bring your questions to this lively discussion on how to be proactive with a true IPM plan!
Guest: Todd Statzer, Director of Integrated Pest Management, urban-gro
With more than three decades of experience in the agricultural/horticultural markets, Todd brings unrivaled industry expertise along with a deep understanding of Cannabis regulatory compliance. Having previously served as the Plant and Pesticide Inspector for the State of Illinois, Todd is well versed in the standards and regulations governing Cannabis cultivation by region and leverages that knowledge to develop compliant IPM programs tailored to the unique needs of urban-gro’s customers. Todd holds a Master’s of Science degree in Plant Pathology/Phytopathology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Bachelor of Applied Science from Western Illinois University.
Hosted by Offit Kurman and featuring Cannabis Practice Group attorneys and experts from outside the firm this monthly, hour-long webinar series addresses operational and legal issues affecting those in legalized cannabis industry. The series is designed for applicants for, and operators of, legal cannabis businesses as well as business owners and service providers servicing the industry.
Brands Built for Expansion: Interstate and International Cannabis Strategy Session
Strategically position your company across multiple states or countries for rapid growth and brand awareness. Learn ways to build a new cannabis/hemp brand to scale or to expand an already successful concept in a volatile and competitive industry.
About the Speaker
Jennifer Sanders
Director of Strategy & Risk Management at CNS Equity Partners
With CNS Equity Partners and AURA Venture Funds, Jennifer leverages her expertise in the alternative agriculture and holistic health industries as a corporate consultant for institutional firms and investments. As a founder of CNS Equity Partners, a virtue-based private equity firm, she launched the nation’s first holistic health and cannabis herbal retailer. The fully integrated retailer, The Green Heart, is actively franchising across the United States.
A Harvard University Business School graduate, Jennifer specializes in international investment regulatory compliance and enterprise risk management with over 15 years of experience in leadership and business management. She has the following certifications: Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional, NRS Investment Advisor Certified Compliance Professional, Chief Compliance Officer Qualifying Examination of Canada, and a combination of investment securities licenses. Jennifer has also worked with foreign licensure and regulatory authorities in Canada, China and other countries.
Jennifer is an avid philanthropist and serves as a Board Member for The Green Heart Foundation, a 501(c)3 non profit that educates the public on the health benefits of the superfoods and medicinal herbs, including hemp and cannabis.
Join our host Ellis Smith and guest Dr. Mitch Day, Scientist and Entrepreneur, for this live webcast. Mitch is a subject matter expert on micropropagation and analysis of genetic information. Micropropagation offers two major benefits to cultivators: disease-free cloning and economical large-scale storage of cultivars for breeding programs.
During this webcast, Mitch and Ellis will discuss how:
- Micropropagation is just cloning, except you use extremely small pieces of the plant instead of stem segments.
- Micropropagation isn’t hard, but it is very different from standard growing practices. Be prepared to do your homework.
- Micropropagation requires excellent focus and attention to detail.
- Micropropagation doesn’t require a lot of fancy equipment, but it does require a dedicated space separate from regular cultivation operations.
Historically, tax laws have been a weapon used against the cannabusiness industry. The December 2017 tax act has changed the tax environment, affecting every taxpayer. Many of the cornerstone issues were added or changed in the last days before the passage of the legislation. The IRS and state administrators are evaluating the effects of these additions and changes. This presentation will highlight areas that both benefit and hurt cannabusiness taxpayers.
Angelo Poletis, CPA
Principal, SC&H Audit & Tax Advisory Services
As a principal with SC&H Audit & Tax Advisory Services, Angelo assists clients with complex federal and state income tax issues. Angelo focuses on middle and large market clients, where he provides planning and compliance experience to create tax efficient structures. With specific knowledge of the complex tax regulations facing cannabusinesses Angelo specializes in serving these companies and planning around the unique tax and business issues they face. Angelo is experienced in providing tax planning for clients in various industries at both the entity level and for the equity-owner. His knowledge of U.S. income tax issues, including entity structure and accounting methods, for pass-through entities continues to be of great value to clients.
Stephen Bishop, CPA
Senior Manager, SC&H Audit & Tax Advisory Services
A senior manager with SC&H Group and a member of the SC&H Group Medical Cannabis Advisory Services. Stephen has experience serving emerging companies and a deep insight into the taxation of cannabusinesses. Stephen has presented several webinars and has been guest speaker at numerous events focusing on the medical cannabis industry including IRC Section 280E and planning with regards to multiple lines of businesses. His areas of expertise beyond cannabis include Partnership and S-Corp taxation with a focus on the real estate industry where he provides planning and compliance experience, and consults on creating tax efficient structures for his clients.
Topic changed 4/27/18
Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) are the global standard for manufacturing products intended for human and animal consumption. Learn from a GMP expert in the medical field why and how to get started on the path to GMP certification now and why GMP will become strategically important in 2-5 years.
About the Speaker: Marilyn Gatin, Ph.D.
Marilyn Gatin, Ph.D. RAC leads the Cannabis practice within Navigant’s Life Sciences division which works with companies regulated by the FDA. Marilyn has over 20 years’ R&D, commercialization and FDA regulatory experience in the medical products industry.
