How the 2023 Farm Bill Can Reshape Hemp and Regulated Cannabinoid Policy

Pamela Nicole Epstein Related seminars and products

Chief Legal & Regulatory Officer

Eden Enterprises, Inc.

Pamela has made a name for herself as one of the cannabis industry’s most respected, prominent, innovative female leaders and featured industry speaker. She serves as the General Counsel, Chief Regulatory & Licensing Officer for Eden Enterprises a vertically integrated company.

Epstein has used her extensive background in environmental law with an emphasis on regulatory compliance to help implement Eden’s novel “Compassion Over Destruction” initiative. In Epstein’s previous role with Green Wise she was known as a fearless advocate for cannabis businesses of all sizes across the supply chain.  She successfully guided them through the ever-changing legal and regulatory landscape.  Her passion and sense of duty to the community is unparalleled. Epstein also served as the Special City Attorney for cannabis regulation for the City of Hollister and is currently the Co-Chair of CCIA's Special Events & Social Consumption Committee, where she is working to update cannabis events regulations.

Courtney Moran Related seminars and products

Founding Principal

EARTH Law LLC

Courtney N. Moran’s mission on the National Cannabis Bar Association (NCBA) Board of Directors is to provide leadership and support to fellow attorneys engaged in restoring justice and establishing a solid foundation of Cannabis law as we end prohibition.

Courtney, the founding principal of EARTH Law, LLC and chief legislative strategist for Agricultural Hemp Solutions, LLC, is the leading expert on hemp law championing legal policy for sustainable Cannabis hemp agribusiness development. Courtney's article, Industrial Hemp: Canada Exports, United States Imports was published by the Fordham Environmental Law Review. She participated in the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the world drug problem in April 2016. In October 2016, Courtney testified before the Senado de la República in Mexico City, Mexico. She successfully lobbies for the Oregon Industrial Hemp Farmers Association passing legislation, HB 4060 (2016), SB 1015 (2017), and HB 4089 (2018), protecting Oregon hemp agricultural interests. She authored H 3559 (2017), establishing the South Carolina hemp program. Courtney provided foundational language for SB 119 (2017), establishing the Wisconsin hemp program. Courtney strategically guided drafting SB 6 (2018), establishing the Alaska hemp program. She also provided pivotal strategy in drafting Missouri hemp legislation HB 2034 (2018), establishing the Missouri hemp program. Courtney is co-petitioner of the Relegalizing Industrial Hemp Project, a formal administrative rulemaking petition to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency that will remove hemp from the Controlled Substances Act. She also worked closely with Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in drafting the Hemp Farming Act of 2018 (S. 2667).

Courtney currently serves on the Oregon State Bar Cannabis Law Section Executive Committee, as Second Vice Chair on the national NORML Board of Directors, and is the national Hemp Industries Association Legislative Review Committee Chairwoman. Her extensive background in Cannabis hemp law reform and program development brings a unique perspective on the administrative, agricultural, and environmental aspects of Cannabis law to the NCBA Board and membership.

Shawn Hauser Related seminars and products

Partner

Vicente LLP

Shawn Hauser is a partner at Vicente Sederberg and co-chair of the firm's Hemp and Cannabinoids Department. Shawn helps cannabis and hemp businesses navigate the intersections between state and federal law including hemp laws, food and drug laws, regulatory compliance, licensing, general business representation, investment, and general business matters.

As co-chair of the VS Hemp and Cannabinoids Department, Shawn advises clients on the unique legal landscape governing cannabinoids and hemp, helping them form compliant business structures, maintain compliance with hemp and food and drug laws as they evolve, and develop informed solutions that best position them for success at the at state, national, and international levels. 

With more than a decade of experience in cannabis law and policy, Shawn is a go-to source for businesses, industry groups, governments, and reporters seeking opinions, analysis, and guidance on cannabis and hemp law and policy matters. She is on the Board of Directors of the International Cannabis Bar Association, and was on the steering committee for the American Hemp Campaign, a project of Vote Hemp which was instrumental in legalizing hemp in Texas in 2019. In 2023, Shawn was recognized by her peers in the "Best Lawyers" list for her work in cannabis law. In 2021 and 2022, Shawn was recognized by Chambers and Partners as one of the top cannabis lawyers in the United States. She has been named one of "Denver's Top Lawyers" by 5280 magazine since 2015 and was listed in Denver Business Journal's "40 Under 40" in 2021. 

Since directing Sensible Colorado's local government implementation team following the passage of Amendment 64, Shawn remains active in policy work with local and state governments in Colorado and Texas and is passionate in supporting the development and implementation of marijuana and hemp regulations that advance the cannabis industry in a dynamic and responsible manner. After attending law school at the University of Denver, Shawn was an associate attorney at McAllister, Darnell & Gottlieb PC, one of the first marijuana-focused law firms in Colorado.

Rusty Rumley Related seminars and products

Senior Staff Attorney

National Agricultural Law Center

Rusty was born and raised on a family farm in Cogar, Oklahoma. He graduated magna cum laude from Oklahoma State University in 2004 with a B.S. in AgriBusiness and in 2007 earned his juris doctor from the University of Oklahoma. While attending the University of Oklahoma he was a member of the American Indian Law Review and worked part-time for Oklahoma Farm Bureau Legal Foundation.  After law school, Rusty earned his LL.M in Agricultural Law at the University of Arkansas.  He is licensed to practice law in the states of Oklahoma and Michigan.

Rusty has published law review articles discussing the future application of special use valuation for inherited farmland, “right to farm” statutes, and the enforcement of animal cruelty statutes by private organizations. He has also written on landowner liability, agritourism, food labeling, local food production, business organizations, crop insurance, estate planning, leasing, and other land use topics in his work at the Center. Further, Rusty presents around the country to producer, consumer, extension, industry and legal groups on an array of topics.

Additionally, he has  co-taught a course titled “Animals and Agricultural Production, Law and Policy”  several times at the University of Oklahoma College of Law and most recently at the University of Nebraska College of Law and teaches an introduction to agricultural law course through the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food, & Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas.  He is also an adjunct faculty member in the  University of Arkansas’ Animal  Science Department  and the Agricultural  Economics and Agribusiness Department.

His primary areas of interest are in estate planning, taxation, business organizations, landowner liability, leasing and agritourism.