Federal Cannabis Legislation and Regulation

Reggie Babin Related Seminars and Products

Senior Counsel

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Reggie Babin is senior counsel in the Public Law & Policy practice group at Akin in Washington, DC. He provides lobbying, consulting, and strategic advisory services to a broad range of clients, with a particular focus on cannabis compliance and federal policymaking.

Prior to joining Akin, Reggie served for nearly a decade in both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, most recently as the chief counsel and lead cannabis policy adviser to Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY). In this role, Reggie oversaw Sen. Schumer’s legislative portfolio on issues including cannabis reform and he developed, coordinated and oversaw Senate Democratic Caucus strategy on this and other issues. Reggie’s experience includes engaging with senior staff in the Senate, House of Representatives, the White House and executive branch agencies; as well as working with a range of national and New York-based stakeholders in industry, trade associations and advocacy coalitions, and state and local governments. According to Politico, which named Reggie among the most powerful people on race and politics in its 2023 Recast Power List, “the entire discussion of cannabis policy on Capitol Hill is covered with [his] fingerprints.”

Prior to working with Sen. Schumer, Reggie served as the legislative director and, earlier, counsel to Rep. Cedric L. Richmond (D-LA) , former Assistant to the Majority Whip and former Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). In this role, he managed a legislative portfolio including energy and the environment, intellectual property, judicial and legal reform, criminal justice and law enforcement, and human and civil rights. He also co-managed a number of House caucuses, including Justice and Public Safety, Congressional Refinery and Congressional Maritime.

Before joining Rep. Richmond’s office, Reggie served as an associate counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs’ Subcommittee on Financial and Contracting Oversight. He collaborated with senior staff to develop new legislation on government contracting oversight. He led an investigation into the lack of federal government oversight of U.S. infrastructure and assisted in conducting investigations and oversight hearings.

Shanita Penny Related Seminars and Products

Senior Vice President

Forbes Tate Partners

Shanita R. Penny, MBA is a Senior Vice President in FTP’s public affairs practice. Shanita has over 18 years of experience helping organizations solve complex issues and improve business performance in multiple industries.
As an internationally recognized strategy consultant and certified Project Management Professional, Shanita combines talent and passion for the cannabis industry to achieve exceptional results for businesses and operators. Before joining FTP, she ran her own boutique cannabis consultancy, helping clients establish and scale compliant, successful cannabis businesses. Shanita also co-founded DocHouse, a craft cannabis cultivator and manufacturer that was acquired in 2020.

Ms. Penny previously served as vice president and president of the Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA). Under her leadership, the MCBA hosted its inaugural Congressional Black Caucus Lobby Day, policy summits, and produced a model municipal ordinance that has influenced social equity policy nationwide. She was also a member of the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Authority’s Racial Equity Advisory Workgroup where she developed policy recommendations to combat disparities in ownership and participation in the marijuana industry by people of color and establish the State of Michigan as a leader on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the regulated cannabis industry.

Shanita lives to “end the stigma associated with cannabis” through her advocacy, businesses, and responsible consumption. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Alliance for Sensible Markets and on the Advisory Board of Regennabis. Shanita is a proud alumna of North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, as well as the University of Baltimore and Towson University.

David Culver Related Seminars and Products

SVP of Public Affairs

US Cannabis Council

David Culver is the SVP of Public Affairs at the US Cannabis Council. With over 25 years of experience spanning the globe, David has crafted winning strategies on behalf of trade associations and global corporations with a specialty in beverage alcohol, cannabis, and other highly regulated industries.

Prior to his role at USCC, David served as Vice President of Global Government & Stakeholder Relations for Canopy Growth Corporation, the world’s leading cannabis company. In this role, David built and managed the company's global government relations efforts including their entry into the US as a CBD company. He founded the company’s employee PAC, and was a founding board member of USCC.

David served as Vice President of Government Affairs at the Distilled Spirits Council (DISCUS) for 16 years prior.  Among many accolades during his tenure, most notably, he was instrumental in the passage of the Craft Beverage Modernization & Tax Reform Act in December 2017 - the first industry-wide tax reduction since the Civil War.  David helped launched the Craft Distiller Membership Program in 2010, recruiting nearly 150 new members for the organization and he jointly oversaw the organization’s USDA Market Access Program, which promoted American made spirits overseas. 

David served in a variety of campaign and legislative positions for Senator(s) Robert C. Byrd (D-WV), Tom Daschle (D-SD), J. Robert Kerrey (D-NE), and Ben Nelson (D-NE). 

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Hamilton College and resides in Washington, DC with his wife and daughter.  

Regarding the working group on CBD, it is just that . . . I'm not trying to start a trade group but just get everyone around the table to talk . . . I doubt we will ever agree on all the details but something is about to move and we need to open the lines of communication, in my opinion.

Bryan Barash Related Seminars and Products

Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and External Affairs

Dutchie

Bryan Barash is Dutchie’s Senior Director, Assistant General Counsel, responsible for overseeing compliance, public affairs, social equity, and other legal functions at Dutchie. Bryan also serves as the Secretary of the United States Cannabis Council. Prior to his two years at Dutchie, Bryan spent the previous eight years as General Counsel to Massachusetts State Senate President Harriette Chandler after receiving his law degree from Boston College. Bryan lives in Beverly, Massachusetts with his wife Claudia, son Elias, and their two dachshunds.