Application, Process, and Best Practices

SarahLee Gossett Parrish Related Seminars and Products

President/CEO

Sarah Lee Gossett Parrish PLLC

David Ruskin Related Seminars and Products

Partner

Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP

David is a partner with the Chicago-based law firm, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP.  Following 25 years of litigating business and tax disputes, in 2016 David turned his full energy to focus on providing legal counsel to the cannabis industry, representing entrepreneurs, investors and business owners, both plant touching and ancillary trades.

David Ruskin leads the firm's Cannabis practice. He advises both public and privately companies on a wide range of corporate issues including mergers, acquisitions, and financing and tax transactions. David counsels entrepreneurs, investors, and business owners to help achieve their goals in the Cannabis industry. He represents companies facing business and tax litigation and provides outside general counsel services.

Having worked with cannabis companies for nearly a decade, David’s cannabis practice touches every part of the industry. He represents national and expanding brands, licensed retailers, cultivators and processors, and delivery services. David also advises non-plant touching and start-up companies as they look to grow in the evolving industry, and he helps both investors and companies seeking capital create the appropriate agreement to accomplish their goals.

David helps clients navigate unsettled and differing statutes, regulations, and industry-specific legal developments. He enjoys guiding clients through the state licensing process and counseling on issues that arise from early-stage application steps through the company’s lifespan. David has assisted license holders from over 15 legalized states in expanding their operations into new jurisdictions, empowering them to enter new markets with compliance and confidence.

With extensive litigation experience, David represents clients in an array of issues litigated in the cannabis industry and beyond. He often represents clients in partnership, ownership, and contract disputes and defends clients involved in whistleblower (qui tam), False Claims Act claims, and multistate tax issues. David represents clients before state courts, administrative tax tribunals, appellate, and federal courts.

Prior to joining the firm, David was a partner in the Litigation Group and led the Cannabis practice at HMB Legal Counsel, a well-established, corporate-focused law firm based in Chicago, Illinois.

David was recognized as a “Leading Lawyer” in 2024 for Cannabis Law and Closely and Privately Held Business Law by Leading Lawyers magazine.

Scheril Murray Powell Related Seminars and Products

Founder

Cannabis HR Council

Scheril Murray Powell, Esq., is a multifaceted legal professional renowned for her expertise in agricultural, cannabis, dietary supplement,regulatory, and trade law. Currently practicing at Doumar, Allsworth, Laystrom, Voigt, Adair, and Dishowitz LLP, Scheril was elected as the International First Vice President of The Ethiopian World Federation, Inc. and is the Founder of the Cannabis HR Council.  She sits on the ASTM International D37 Committee on Cannnabis' Executive Committee as the Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Subcommittee.  She is regarded internationally for her work on policy related to Global Tribal Community Rights and the Sacramental Use of Cannabis.

In addition to her legal prowess, her vast experience includes serving as the Former Chief Operating Officer of the JUSTÜS Foundation and Chair of the Broward County Medical Marijuana Advisory Board.

Recognized for her exceptional contributions, Scheril has been named one of the Top 12 Cannabis Attorneys in Florida by The Daily Business Review and honored in the High Times 100 Most influential African Americans in the history of the United States with regards to Drug and Cannabis Policy. She is a Florida licensed Hemp Farmer and a Research Farmer for the University of Florida.

Committed to advocacy and community service, Scheril serves on various boards and is the President of consulting firm Green Sustainable Strong, LLC. Her dedication extends to volunteering with the Winrock Foundation, delivering Marketing training to Farmers in Ghana, Africa.

Scheril's dynamic career trajectory, spanning legal practice, education, advocacy, and community service, reflects her unwavering commitment to excellence and social justice.

Dina Rollman Related Seminars and Products

Co-Founder

KND Group

Dina is a leader in the regulated cannabis industry. She is passionate about helping businesses, especially startups, thrive. She has diverse skills gained through her myriad leadership roles in the regulated cannabis industry, including as a government affairs executive, attorney, chief compliance officer, regulatory advisor and liaison, trade association board member, and co-founder/president of a cannabis networking organization. She is committed to helping clients navigate the ever-evolving challenges of operating in highly regulated industries.  

Dina most recently served as Senior Vice President at Green Thumb Industries. She guided it in governmental and regulatory affairs matters at all levels of government, provided counsel on regulatory matters, and established and oversaw Green Thumb’s social equity program.  

Dina began her involvement in the cannabis industry in 2014 by helping Green Thumb apply for and win Illinois cultivation and dispensary licenses. She then served as external and then in-house regulatory compliance and litigation counsel. In 2018 she provided legal and regulatory support in connection with Green Thumb going public on the Canadian Securities Exchange. In 2019 she created and then led its government affairs department. Dina also created and oversaw Green Thumb’s social equity program and created its social equity License Education Application Program (LEAP), which helped applicants navigate the adult use cannabis business application process in Illinois. Through these roles and her informal roles, Dina helped Green Thumb go from an idea on paper in 2014 to a publicly traded company in 2018 and to being an industry leader today.  

Dina is an experienced attorney who, before joining Green Thumb and specializing in cannabis law, was a partner at a business litigation law firm, where she spent a decade representing plaintiffs and defendants in business disputes throughout the country. 

 PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES 

• Co-created and co-taught a Cannabis Law & Policy course as an adjunct professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law 

• Co-founded and served as President of Illinois Women in Cannabis, a not-for-profit focused on serving, supporting and advancing women in the Illinois cannabis industry 

• Served on multiple cannabis trade association boards 

• Lecture widely on cannabis topics, addressing national trade conferences and national legal conferences. 

 EDUCATION 

• Northwestern University School of Law – Juris Doctor 

• Oberlin College – Bachelor of Arts  

 SELECT INDUSTRY RECOGNITION 

 • The American Lawyer: named a Midwest Trailblazer for 2021 

• Chicago Sun-Times: named one of the 10 most influential people in cannabis for 2018 

• South by Southwest (SXSW): featured speaker in 2024 and 2021 

• Crain’s Chicago Business: identified as cannabis industry leader in 2014, 2019 and 2020