We work with businesses interested in entering into or operating in the cannabis marketplace in a number of different capacities, including license applicants (i.e. cultivation (standard and micro), processing (standard and micro), nursery and research), retailers, investors, and private equity, distributors, ancillary service and technology providers, brand experts and medical clinic operators.

By being an early mover, we have developed a large network of key contacts in the cannabis industry that are as passionate about the space as we are and we work with our clients to facilitate strategic connections within our network to help them get the support they need to succeed and grow.

EXPERTISE

• Industry specific corporate and legal structuring as well as corporate reorganizations
• Structuring financing arrangements through banks and credit unions, private placements, private equity, accessing public markets (via initial public offering (IPO) or reverse take-over (RTO)) and venture capital investments
• Advising on stock exchange requirements in Canada as it relates to cannabis issues looking to list on the TSX, TSX-V and CSE
• Mergers and acquisitions, including industry specific due diligence
• Advising on the requirements imposed Cannabis Act and Cannabis Regulations
• Advising farmers on matters related to the Industrial Hemp Regulations and the ability to sell all parts of the industrial hemp plant (including the flowering heads and leaves) to licensed producers
• Representing private equity firms which have invested or are proposing to invest in cannabis related businesses
• Advising board of directors on corporate governance issues facing cannabis businesses
• Intellectual property protection and strategy (i.e. patents and plant breeders rights, trademarking, industrial design)
• Health Canada regulatory applications, approvals and compliance as it relates to licences for cannabis cultivation processing, medical sales, research and development and analytical and industrial hemp licences
• Provincial and Municipal regulatory applications, approvals and compliance as it relates to retail cannabis licences, development permits and appeals to the Subdivision Development and Appeal Board
• Request for proposal audits and reviews
• Complex commercial contract drafting and negotiation relating to licensing, software, wholesale supply agreements, (for both cannabis and industrial hemp), distribution agreements, consulting agreements, joint ventures, unanimous shareholder agreements and more
• Commercial contract drafting and negotiation relating to licensing, software, wholesale supply agreements, consulting agreements, joint ventures and more
• Commercial real estate acquisitions and dispositions
• Offer to lease and commercial lease drafting and review
• Litigation and dispute resolution arising out of industry related regulatory matters and contract disputes
• Promotion, marketing, labelling and packaging, advertising and distribution issues and compliance
• Labour and employment matters, including drafting drug and alcohol policies
• Legal protection of medical patient health information and privacy law issues in the cannabis industry
• Litigation and dispute resolution support on cannabis-related matters

We are one of the only law firms to provide legal advice to businesses involved in the cannabis industry from its inception, we have developed a deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges in the cannabis industry.