USDA vs State Rules

Rod Kight Related Seminars and Products

Attorney | Author | Advocate

Kight Law Office, PC

Rod is a cannabis business law attorney. Based in North Carolina and Mexico, Rod represents legal cannabis businesses throughout the world and is editor and chief writer of the Kight On Cannabis law blog. Rod is the author of “Cannabis Business Law-What You Need to Know”, published by Aspatore Books. He has served on the advisory board for the American Journal of Endocannabinoid Medicine, for which he has also written a legal column. Rod also created the “Source Rule”, which is widely regarded as a primary legal foundation for the contemporary hemp market in cannabinoids and other cannabis materials.

Rod is frequently quoted on cannabis matters by trade publications and major media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, Time, Politico, and Business Insider. Additionally, Rod has been listed in MG Magazine's list of "30 Powerful Litigators", Hemp Connoisseur Magazine’s list of “100 People You Should Know”, and High Time's "2020 Leaders in Cannabis Law." He is part of the legal teams in two high-profile cases against the DEA and the Texas Department of State Health Services regarding hemp extracts, has drafted and presented cannabis legislation to a foreign head of state, is a member of the board of directors of a publicly traded Canadian cannabis and psychedelics company, testified to the FDA about CBD and cannabis compounds, and is a partner in a Mexican import-export company focused on legal cross-border hemp transactions. Rod routinely advises in-house counsel and C-suite level executives on cannabis issues. He has discussed cannabis legal issues in numerous seminars to lawyers, business executives, and public officials and is regularly asked to be a guest speaker on US and inter- national podcasts about cannabis and psychedelics.

Rod is a strong believer in cannabis for personal and medical use after using it successfully during chemotherapy treatments for cancer (he is in remission). He has been an attorney advocate for NORML and has also been a member of the International Cannabis Bar Association, the National Cannabis Industry Association, the Hemp Industries Association, and the Southeast Hemp Association.

Frank Robison Related Seminars and Products

Attorney at Law- U.S. Customs Broker

Robison Law LLC

Frank is the founder of Robison Law, LLC. Frank has provided legal solutions to the hemp industries for approximately 10-years. He started his law focused hemp journey as a Special Assistant Attorney Journal working with the Colorado Department of Agriculture and the University of Colorado creating compliant paths forward to conduct research with hemp.

Prior to his legal career, Frank worked on a Kibbutz in Israel, on a banana farm working with various irrigation systems, soil conservation and the incorporation of composted material into the soil. Frank was also Peace Corps Volunteer, working as an Agricultural Extensionist in Honduras and studying  Zamorano Pan-American Agricultural School for three years. Frank continued his career in agricultural business working in the tobacco and cigars, based out of Costa Rica. Since and for over thirty years, he has had a philosophy that no matter what you do for a living and where to plant two fruit trees a year. These roots are growing on four continents.

Frank has also been a business manager and entrepreneur working with fiber optic networks in Latin America, information technology and robotics and automation. In addition to being a lawyer and a businessperson, Frank is a licensed U.S. Customs Broker. He has LLMs’ in tax, constitutional, international food, and entrepreneurial laws and a master’s degree international management.

He speaks Spanish and Portuguese and is familiar with Chichewa, the national language of Malawi. Life has brought Frank to the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Brazil, China, Malawi, South Africa, Mozambique, Germany, El Salvador, Mexico, and Spain. His children are Brazilian and United States citizens and his daughter proudly says she is a Sevillana.

Andrea Steel Related Seminars and Products

Principal

The Banks Law Firm, P.A.

Andrea Steel is a principal with The Banks Law Firm, where she leads the Firm’s Cannabis practice in addition to bringing extensive experience in affordable housing and community economic development law. With over 20 years of experience in law and criminal justice, Andrea brings a wealth of knowledge and a proven track record of success to her diverse clientele.

Andrea is a pioneer in the rapidly evolving cannabis industry, with deep rooted knowledge and experience, having been pivotal in securing a number of significant results impacting the industry at both state and federal levels. Andrea advises cannabis business clients, from startups to established enterprises across the supply chain, both plant-touching and ancillary, from cultivators to retailers, as well as manufacturers, distributors, testing labs, landlords, property owners, lenders and more. Her practice encompasses legalities and strategic advising for businesses with respect to all forms of cannabis, inclusive of hemp, cannabinoids (biosynthetic, semi-synthetic, synthetic, hemp-derived and other chemical forms, including delta-8 THC and other novel substances), medical marijuana, and adult-use marijuana, serving clients across the country with a focus on Texas. She advises on regulatory compliance, cannabis business licensing, risk analysis and mitigation strategizing, product labeling/marketing, entity formation, entity structuring and governance, contract negotiations, and real estate issues.

Andrea has also provided subject matter expertise to several other attorneys and law firms in various business transactions as well as litigation matters, assisting other lawyers in navigating the complexities with their clients. She has helped shape laws and policy in both Texas and federally, providing useful insight and specific language with respect to formulating statutes and regulations, an area Andrea truly enjoys.

In the affordable housing area, Andrea represents both for-profit and non-profit developers across the country, including public and private entities, as well as public housing authorities and tax increment reinvestment zones. Her work is concentrated on the legal representation of developers of affordable housing utilizing both 9% and 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credits, tax exempt bond financing, CDBG and HOME Program funding and other federal, state and local subsidy and economic development programs, as well as stimulus grants created in response to disaster recovery and economic downturn rescue programs such as the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), COVID-19 Economic Relief Bill (CARES Act), Housing and Economic Recovery Act, and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, including the Tax Credit Assistance Program, Tax Credit Exchange Program (Section 1602 Program), Neighborhood Stabilization Program, Community Development Block Grants Disaster Recovery funding, and Economic Development Administration grants.

Andrea serves as a Board Member of the International Cannabis Bar Association and serves as Vice President of Operations as well as co-chair of its Legislative Advisement Committee. Andrea has also served as a Vice Chair of the American Bar Association’s Cannabis Law and Policy Committee since 2021. She is a sought-after speaker at industry events, providing insight into recently approved and proposed laws, rules and regulations and other cannabis business matters. At her prior firm, she successfully launched, led and grew their cannabis business practice group.