An interview with Leah D'Ambrosio, COO, of Baked Smart LLC

Before we begin, we understand that you are recently recovering from COVID. Is there anything about that experience you’d like to share with the Who’s Who in Cannabis network?

It was probably one of the worst illnesses I’ve ever been through. I was bedridden with excruciating body pain for two weeks and the worst part was I couldn’t sleep, read, watch TV or even listen to a podcast. After that I had zero energy for three months. The fatigue was so extreme I could only work an hour or two a day, if that. Thankfully at the beginning of February, I finally started to feel better. Two interesting things happened during COVID with cannabis. During the first two weeks I couldn’t ingest or smoke cannabis because when I closed my eyes, I would feel like I was falling off of a cliff and it was really scary and unsettling. But once the two weeks of pain stopped, I was able to eat my 1:1 edibles and found they helped me sleep and alleviated the panic I was having about not healing faster. I truly believe the reason I didn’t get depressed and feel hopeless during this intense period of recovery was because of cannabis.

That sounds lik...more

First off, how are you and your firm doing in light of COVID-19? What adjustments have you made to your business as a result of the coronavirus?

In 2012, we began re-engineering our technological environment to accommodate remote access (or with remote access at its core). The resulting centralized management, teleconferencing solutions, and improvements in digital processing have enhanced interaction and collaboration among our users and with our clients independent of geographic location. The team members in our Cannabis Solutions Group are in different geographic areas and have been working remotely as a team for years.   Many of our clients are also in geographic areas as well. Consequently, the transition in 2020 to working remotely for the professionals and staff of our 17 offices was seamless—without interruption or disruption of our services. The biggest difference was less travel. 

How did HBK CPAs & Consultants first start working in the cannabis industry?

Initially, our existing clients came to us with their investment opportunities in the industry in the western part of the country.  As their trusted advisor, we began learning about the industry, we s...more

On November 6th, we filed a petition with the Supreme Court to hear whether expressly state legal cannabis violates the CSA and whether Section 280E is unconstitutional.  A very important second step is for the Government (through the Solicitor General) to respond to the Petition. The Justices never grant a petition without a response.  Most of the time the Solicitor General "waives" response - which is code to the Justices that there's "nothing to see here, move on".    To get a government response to a Petition is exceptional.  Thus, it is an important second step.  Without it, we lose.  

Today, Acting Solicitor General, Jeffery B. Wall, filed with the Supreme Court a request asking for an additional thirty days to file his response to the Standing Akimbo Petition.  The importance of this motion is that the Government states it intends to file a response.   You can see the request here.  https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/20/20-645/162996/20201208113820061_Extension%20Letter%2020-645.pdf  I feel confident that we are accomplishing this second step.  

Jim Thorburn

We are continuing the fight to determine once and for all whether state legal cannabis is a federal crime.

https://www.weedweek.net/stories/colo-dispensary-takes-tax-fight/ 

An interview with David Feldman, Partner at Hiller PC and CEO of Skip Intro Advisors. 

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these COVID-19 times?

It has been a difficult time for sure, my fiancé and I are used to extensive business travel, speaking at conferences, and business development focused on in person meetings. It has required a rethink of the marketing approach, much more online and on the phone, as we wait for the return to whatever the new normal will ultimately be. That said, it’s been great to have the time together. My son is a Broadway star and luckily finished his one year run a few weeks before the shows shut down, but again a stressful time for us all.

Tell us about you, your career, how you first found work in the cannabis industry.

How much time do you have? Lol… Seriously, I’m a Wharton grad, former chair of the school’s worldwide alumni association, went to law school at Penn as well. I spent 7 years at giant law firms then had my own firms for almost 20 years, and we were the #1 firm in the country in the world of “private investments in public equity” (or PIPEs) for seven of those years. I u...more

This deserves special attention! For the individuals pardoned in this Executive Order, all rights of citizenship associated with the pardoned conviction are restored in full without condition. All civil disabilities and public sufferings associated with the pardoned conviction are removed. 

https://www.colorado.gov/governor/sites/default/files/inline-files/C%202020%20004%20Marijuana%20Pardons%2010.1.20.pdf 

Dear Clients and Colleagues:

Today the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its published decision in Standing Akimbo v. United States. The decision is located here.

It is a 39-page decision. There is a lot of complexity but it is generally unfavorable to the marijuana industry and the Colorado laws and constitution supporting marijuana. Here are some bullet points from the decision:

• The State of Colorado is bound by this decision. While the State of Colorado, did not answer or defend, the Tenth Circuit Determined that the State was nevertheless a party sufficient to be bound by this decision. 

• While the Tenth Circuit stopped short of actually declaring the Colorado laws invalid under preemption, it made clear that Colorado was violating federal law. The Court stated:  “[T]he CSA reigns supreme. . . The Supremacy Clause unambiguously provides that if there is any conflict between federal and state law, federal law shall prevail. . .  [S]tate legalization of marijuana cannot overcome federal law. . . So, despite legally operating under Colorado law . . .” such persons are conducting “unlawful activities” under federal law.

• The Tenth Circuit reaffirmed its posit