Contracting in the Supply Chain

John Agos Related Seminars and Products

CEO

Bennabis Health, Inc.

After almost 3 years as the Chief Strategic Development Officer at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) leading the ADA's development division and most recently, Executive Board Member of The Compassionate Care Foundation, I've joined to help lead Bennabis Health, an early stage medical marijuana reimbursement organization, to develop the first national program to provide medical users with marijuana coverage. 

In my final year at Compassionate Care Foundation (CCF), we led the company through the largest acquisition of a New Jersey based alternative treatment center (ATC). CCF is a medical marijuana grower and dispensary, and recognized as one of the leading treatment facilities in the State of New Jersey, with over 5,500 unique patients per month. 

Lisa Gora, Esq. Related Seminars and Products

Partner

Epstein Becker & Green

Lisa regularly analyzes federal and state statutes and regulations in connection with the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law, New Jersey’s Codey Law and other state-specific self-referral laws, the federal False Claims Act, the New Jersey False Claims Act, Board of Medical Examiners regulations, HIPAA, HITECH, licensing and reimbursement issues, and other fraud and abuse laws. Her clients include health care professionals as well as group practices and other health care entities, such as hospitals, academic medical centers, ambulatory surgery centers, management service organizations, ambulatory care facilities, substance use treatment facilities, mental health facilities (outpatient and inpatient), and nursing homes, among others.

Lisa’s health care, corporate, and cannabis clients also rely on Lisa to guide them through transactional matters concerning mergers and acquisitions as well as the formation and structure of such entities, including joint ventures, affiliation agreements, and management service organizations. In addition, she reviews and prepares physician employment agreements and corporate-related ownership documents for medical practices and her cannabis clients.

On the forefront of the burgeoning cannabis industry and with many years of industry experience, Lisa helps clients in the cannabis space navigate the industry’s complicated and ever-changing regulatory landscape. Her cannabis law practice includes the representation of alternative treatment centers within the medicinal cannabis industry as well as start-ups and multistate operators in the personal adult-use cannabis industry, such as cultivators, manufacturers, retailers, delivery services, distributors, and testing laboratories. Lisa advises clients in connection with licensing, ownership, and regulatory compliance pursuant to state laws, rules, and regulations. Lisa also advises clients on regulatory considerations associated with anticipated mergers and acquisitions. Additionally, she provides advice to physicians, hospitals, and others doing business in the legal cannabis market in New Jersey concerning issues related to recommending, authorizing, administering, and possessing medical cannabis.

Further, Lisa frequently lectures on ownership in medical practices and cannabis entities (buying in and separating from) and the related considerations and challenges. She has lectured to residents and fellows of differing residency programs at medical universities within New Jersey and New York regarding the key components of physician-employment agreements and how to equitably negotiate such terms. Some of the medical centers she has presented at are Columbia University Medical Center (NY), Mount Sinai Hospital (NY), Bronx VA Medical Center (NY), and Monmouth Medical Center (NJ).

Lisa serves as Chair of the Medical Staff, Credentialing, and Peer Review Practice Group of the American Health Law Association. She is also Chair of the New Jersey State Bar Association Health Law Section and Co-Chair of the Cannabis Law Committee. 

Lisa serves as co-author of the New Jersey Law Journal monthly column on the impacts of legal cannabis on New Jersey businesses. She was Editor-in-Chief of the first edition of Health Care and the Business of Cannabis: Legal Questions and Answers, a first-of-its-kind project published by the American Health Law Association, which offers insight on the interplay between medicinal cannabis and the health care industry, as well as related information on legal and practical considerations in connection with business opportunities surrounding medicinal cannabis and its by-products. She also co-authored “Medical Marijuana: State and Federal Law Thickets and Practical Implications” in the Health Law Handbook, published by Thomson Reuters in May 2020. Before joining Epstein Becker Green, Lisa was Co-Chair of the Cannabis Law team and a shareholder in the Corporate and Health Law teams at a regional law firm.

Kellie Rivera Related Seminars and Products

Sr. Counsel & VP Corporate Affairs

The Cannabist Company f/k/a Columbia Care

Kellie Rivera serves as Senior Counsel and Vice President of Corporate Affairs at The Cannabist Company Holdings, Inc. f/k/a Columbia Care, one of the largest and most experienced cultivators, manufacturers, and providers of cannabis products and related services, with vertically-integrated, licensed operations in 14 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

In her role at The Cannabist Company, Kellie leads the company’s legal, compliance, and regulatory affairs efforts in existing and emerging eastern U.S. markets. She also focuses on regulatory policy, market design, improvements to medical cannabis programs, and the crafting of successful and equitable adult-use markets. She regularly engages with government agencies, policymakers, and industry associations at the federal, state, and local levels. Additionally, Kellie manages relationships with cannabis regulators to serve as a subject-matter expert on comparative and emerging cannabis markets.

Kellie currently serves as Vice-Chair of the New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association and is an active member of both INCBA's In-House Committee and the New York State Bar Association Cannabis Law Section.

Kellie is personally passionate about the therapeutic potential of medical cannabis due to her own experience as a chronic pain patient following a spinal injury during childhood. 

Lauren Rudick Related Seminars and Products

Managing Principal

Rudick Law Group, PLLC

Lauren previously co-founded of Hiller, PC's cannabis law practice. What started as a
passion project in patient rights during a brief residency in California, Lauren has become
one of the Nation’s preeminent cannabis attorneys. Her practice is centered upon the
representation of start-up organizations and investors. With her diverse background in
corporate law, litigation, and land-use and zoning, she provides clients with the most up-
to-date information necessary to operate and invest in successful cannabis and ancillary
businesses. Lauren has run successful applications in competitive medical cannabis states
and adult-use markets alike, and represents a broad spectrum of cannabis and hemp
clients, including plant-touching breeders, cultivators, processors, and product
manufacturers; investors, including family offices and angels; and multiple ancillary
businesses, including networking associations, packaging businesses, ingredient
manufacturers, medical professionals, and industry consultants. Lauren is also a member
of the legal team that brought an action against former Attorney General Sessions and the
federal government seeking, among other things, a declaration that the mis-classification
of cannabis as a Schedule I drug is unconstitutional, on, among other things, due process,
equal protection, free speech, and commerce clause grounds.

Lauren is an Expert Contributor to Marijuana Venture Magazine, a frequent
speaker at national and local cannabis events, including, among others, MJ Biz Con, the
Cannabis World Congress & Business Exposition, NCIA, Emerald Cup, and the Women
Grow Leadership Summit and provides pro bono legal and advocacy services to the
Cannabis Cultural Association, among others. Lauren also serves on the Executive
Committee of the Board of Directors for the International Cannabis Bar Association, as
the organization’s Treasurer. Lauren enjoys an extensive network of cannabis
professionals nationwide, enabling her to provide full legal and business services to her
clients.