Interstate Commerce in Practice: What will Interstate commerce actually look like, and how will it be regulated?

Jason Horst Related Seminars and Products

Managing Partner

Horst Legal Counsel, PC

Jason Horst is the Managing Partner of Horst Legal Counsel and the President-Emeritus of the INCBA Board of Directors. Jason represents businesses, public entities, professional and nonprofit organizations, and individuals in complex civil litigation and appellate cases involving a wide variety of cannabis, real estate, contract, insurance coverage, and technology disputes. He has a proven record of success representing both plaintiffs and defendants at trial, on appeal, and in alternative dispute resolution proceedings. He prides himself in the ability to deliver creative, efficient solutions to thorny legal problems. Before opening Horst Legal Counsel, Jason worked with some of the top international and regional law firms serving clients in California. His clients receive the deep knowledge and ability of large firm counsel, combined with the affordability of a boutique law firm. He has also been an active member of the National Cannabis Industry Association, where he has served as a member of the Policy Committee and Chair of the Risk Management and Insurance Committee, as well as the California Cannabis Industry Association’s Risk Management Committee. Jason has been recognized as a Super Lawyer in business litigation since 2023 by Super Lawyers® Magazine and been named as one of MG Magazine’s 30 Powerful Cannabis Attorneys You Should Know.

Gillian Schauer, PhD, MPH Related Seminars and Products

Executive Director

Cannabis Regulators Association

Gillian Schauer, PhD, MPH was elected CANNRA’s first Executive Director in 2021, and served as a Senior Advisor to CANNRA before the association’s founding. 

Gillian Schauer, PhD, MPH was elected CANNRA’s first Executive Director in 2021, and served as a Senior Advisor to CANNRA before the association’s founding. Dr. Schauer has worked in public health and policy for nearly two decades, and has a decade of experience working with federal and state agencies on cannabis policy, data monitoring, and research translation. Through her federal work, she founded and led the Multi-State Collaborative for Cannabis and Public Health from 2014-2021 to foster learnings and cultivate best practices for public health across states with legal cannabis. Prior to working on cannabis policy, Dr. Schauer worked on tobacco control policy. She was the Senior Editor on the 2020 Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking Cessation.Dr. Schauer is an affiliate researcher at the University of Washington and has more than 70 peer-reviewed research publications on cannabis and other substances. She has a PhD from Emory University, a Master of Public Health from University of Washington, and a Bachelors of Science from Northwestern University.

William Tilburg, JD, MPH Related Seminars and Products

Director

Maryland Cannabis Administration

William Tilburg, JD, MPH, teaches online and in-person graduate courses on health law and ethics at the University of Maryland.

In May 2023, Mr. Tilburg was appointed as the Acting Director for the newly established Maryland Cannabis Administration, which is responsible for implementing the State's adult-use cannabis market. Prior to this role he served as the Executive Director of Maryland's medical cannabis program. 

Mr. Tilburg previously served as the managing director for the Legal Resource Center for Public Health Policy at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law and Associate Director of the Network for Public Health Law, where he provided legal and policy support to state and local governments and health departments on a wide range of public health issues, including tobacco control, environmental health, food safety, and drug policy.

Mr. Tilburg earned a BA from Providence College, and his MPH and JD from the University of Maryland.

Axel Bernabe Related Seminars and Products

Partner

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

The architect of New York State’s cannabis market, and the inaugural Chief of Staff and Senior Policy Director for the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), Axel leverages decades of experience to provide consulting and legal counsel for entities and governments looking to understand cannabis markets and implement cannabis programs at the national and international levels.

At Manatt, Axel advises industry and government participants on issues throughout the entire cannabis life cycle spanning the adult-use, medical, CBD and other cannabinoids markets, as well as cannabis-adjacent product and service providers. He also helps clients navigate New York State’s health-related regulatory requirements and legislative changes.

Prior to co-founding the OCM, Axel served as the Chief Health Counsel to Governor Andrew Cuomo for six years, where he led legal and policy developments in the State’s health portfolio.

While at the OCM, Axel hired and managed the Office’s executive team, oversaw over 165 employees, and designed and implemented all regulations launching the new industry. He was responsible for standing up and leading all aspects of the Office’s initiatives as described in the 2021 Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act, which he previously drafted under Governor Cuomo, which also included establishing the State’s medical and hemp programs. As part of these efforts, Axel oversaw the implementation of all licensing, enforcement, economic development, clinical, policy and reinvestment goals of the medical, hemp and adult-use cannabis economy in the state of New York, which has quickly become a go-to road map for other markets looking to implement similar programs.

While serving as Chief Health Counsel to Governor Cuomo, Axel provided strategic counsel and direction to the operations within the Executive Chamber and at the State Department of Health. He also led the team negotiating the health care component of the annual state budget, including managing the review of all new legislative and fiscal initiatives as well as driving all negotiations with the Senate and Assembly.