Hemp’s New Highs: Legal Battles and the Future of Intoxicating Hemp

Joanne Caceres Related Seminars and Products

Partner

Dentons

Joanne, a member of the Dentons cannabis sector group, has deep experience in the cannabis, hemp, and emerging psychedelics industries, and is one of the nation’s most experienced cannabis law lawyers. Joanne has particular skill in helping clients to navigate business objectives within these complex and rapidly evolving regulatory environments. 

Joanne has helped clients attain cannabis licenses in several states, as well as a federal license to bulk manufacture cannabis. Joanne has also advised on several states’ cannabis regulations, and participated in drafting proposed legislation for descheduling or rescheduling cannabis. This vantage point has uniquely positioned her to evaluate the national regulatory environment for cannabis, hemp and psychedelics, with an eye towards future regulatory developments.

Joanne also has particular experience counselling public companies that provide services to operators in these industries, including risk mitigation and due diligence strategies to ensure such companies comply with state and, where desired, federal law. Joanne has also been integral in the public listing of several ancillary cannabis companies onto U.S. national stock exchanges. 

Joanne is a strategic advisor whose work spans corporate, regulatory, and litigation work. Current clients include single and multi-state operators, hemp product manufacturers, large publicly traded companies selling products or services into the cannabis industry, life science companies researching psychedelics, real estate investments trusts, and other companies involved in financing these industries.

Through her pro bono work, Joanne has helped social equity applicants with transactional work, has helped to file cannabis expungement paperwork for previously incarcerated individuals, and has advocated for federal pardons for simple possession.

Joanne is a leader in Dentons Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts. She serves as the designated Health Care Practice Group Diversity Partner and is the co-chair of Dentons Hispanic/Latinx Organization for Leadership and Advancement (HOLA).

Judge Mary A. Celeste (Ret.), J.D. Related Seminars and Products

Director

National Interdisciplinary Cannabis Symposium

Judge Mary A. Celeste (ret.) sat on the Denver County Court bench 2000-2015. She was the Presiding Judge 2009-10 and the co-founder of the Denver County Court Sobriety Court. She is currently a law school professor teaching Cannabis and the Law at California Western School of Law and is considered a national content expert on the topic of cannabis. She is a coordinator for the annual National Interdisciplinary Cannabis Symposium.

She is a former member of the Judicial Advisory Board for the Foundation for the Advancement of Alcohol Responsibility (FAAR); former Faculty for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) and the National Judicial College (NJC). She has also served as the past chair of ABA National Conference of Specialized Court Judges; the President of the American Judge’s Association and the Colorado Women’s Bar Association Foundation, and, as a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Judicial Outreach Liaison for Region 8. She has written many articles and is a national speaker on the topics of marijuana; marijuana and drug impaired driving, drugged driving, and specialty courts.

She has presented to AJA; ALA; NEADCP, NADCP, APPA, AJA, ABA, DATIA, NHTSA, NEADCP, Lifesavers, Colorado Bar Association; ICIA, Pennsylvania DUI Association, Michigan and Louisiana Association of Drug Court Professionals and to Judges, Attorneys; Specialty Court Conferences, and Safety Highway Offices in the States of Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Pennsylvania, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, U.S. Territories, and in Canada.

Courtney Moran, LL.M. Related Seminars and Products

Founding Principal, Attorney & Counselor at Law

EARTH Law LLC

Courtney N. Moran, LL.M., Founding Principal of EARTH Law, LLC, and Chief Legislative Strategist for Agricultural Hemp Solutions, LLC, has a passion for policy reform and precedent-setting. She liaised with the offices of Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) in drafting and negotiating the Hemp Farming Act of 2018, the language included in the 2018 Farm Bill federally legalizing hemp in the United States. Courtney is a highly accomplished attorney and lobbyist with extensive knowledge and expertise in hemp law. Courtney was awarded the Oregon State Bar Leland R. Berger Lifetime Achievement Award on September 27, 2024, the highest honor bestowed by the Cannabis and Psychedelics Law Section. She was designated a 2024/2025 Global Top 200 Cannabis Lawyer and a 2023/2024 Top 200 Global Psychedelic Lawyer and Policy & Regulatory Expert. The docuseries, Legalize It: Triumphs in Hemp Lobbying overviews the 12 pro-hemp bills she led to passage between 2016-2024. Her tenacity, unparalleled success rates, and commitment to promoting fair and equitable regulations have earned her recognition as a trusted voice and leader within the industry. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden acknowledged "In a sentence, we would not have hemp legalization without Courtney".

Courtney is admitted to practice in Oregon, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. As Founding Principal of EARTH Law, LLC, Courtney is dedicated to providing exceptional legal services to individuals and businesses operating in the cannabis, hemp, and agriculture industries. She works closely with clients to develop tailored strategies that align with their goals while ensuring compliance with local, state, and federal laws. Courtney successfully litigated the landmark cases KaB, LLC v USPIS (2018) and RNF, LLC v USPIS, MLB 18-113 (2018) establishing the precedent for the shipment of hemp, specifically hemp-derived CBD and viable hemp seeds, through the US Postal Service. In 2022, Courtney won a hemp-derived delta-8 seizure case, upholding the protections of the 2018 Farm Bill for the transportation and shipment of hemp and hemp-derived products. Throughout 2023, EARTH Law secured a release of a Detainment Order for a hemp crop testing above 0.3% total THC, attained an update to Hemp Program rules on resampling and retesting crops with not more than 1% total THC, and expertly negotiated a Stipulated Settlement Agreement for licensing and production violations, protecting the client's ability to sell their harvest lot and continue future licensing within the state Hemp Program. In 2024, Courtney, in serving as expert co-counsel, obtained a case dismissal for felony charges of unlawful export and unlawful distribution of hemp-derived THCA concentrate.

As Chief Legislative Strategist for Agricultural Hemp Solutions, she actively engages in advocacy and lobbying efforts to shape cannabis, hemp, and agricultural policies at the state and federal levels. Courtney strategically guided the initial implementation of hemp programs in Oregon, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Alaska, and Missouri. She continues to influence hemp policy development in numerous states throughout the U.S. and federally. In 2021, she led the passage of HB 396 in Montana, authorizing hemp food ingredients as commercial animal feed, opening markets for hemp grain, fiber, and whole plant products. In 2022, Courtney served as a Governor Appointee on the HB3000/SB1564 Taskforce on Cannabis-Derived Intoxicants and Illegal Cannabis Production, representing hemp farmer interests throughout the state of Oregon. From 2021-2024, Courtney led efforts with IND Hemp and the National Hemp Association championing policy for industrial hemp agribusiness, co-authoring the federal Industrial Hemp Act of 2023 (S. 980, H.R. 3755) included in the base text in both the House and Senate 2024 Farm Bills, to reduce regulatory barriers for grain and fiber farmers, support industrial hemp supply chain growth, and expand industrial hemp grain and fiber market opportunities. 

In addition to her legal and policy work, Courtney is a sought-after speaker and educator. In Fall 2021, Courtney joined the Oaksterdam University Faculty teaching Business of Cannabis: Hemp and CBD. In Spring 2022, she joined the Lewis and Clark Law School Faculty as an adjunct law professor, teaching the first Hemp Law & Policy course in the U.S. Courtney inspires her students to make a difference and encourages their ability to cultivate change.

Courtney serves on the Oregon State Bar Agricultural Law Section Executive Committee, the Oregon State Bar Cannabis and Psychedelics Law Section Executive Committee, Portland Psychedelic Society Action Fund Board of Directors, National Hemp Association Board of Directors, the Global Hemp Innovation Center Advisory Board, the National Hemp Association Standing Committee of Hemp Organizations, the national NORML Board of Directors Emeritus Board, and the International Cannabis Bar Association Advisory Board.

Courtney was voted by the HIA membership as the 2018 Hemp Industries Association Advocate of the Year. She was also awarded as Hemp History Week’s Leading Grassroots Advocate. Courtney was celebrated by Capital Press newspaper as the Western Innovator: Leading the ‘green rush’. 

Courtney is also a certified OSU Master Gardener Volunteer and has maintained active certification since November 2016.

Garrett Graff Related Seminars and Products

Partner

Partner Gould & Ratner LLP

Garrett Graff is driven to provide his clients, who are often in regulated industries, with practical, real-world solutions that reflect their business objectives, internal and external considerations, and an assessment of associated risks, giving them the ability to navigate complex problems with relative ease.

In his practice, Garrett advises a wide range of clients, from start-ups to established private middle-market companies to family offices to publicly traded companies, on a wide variety of corporate matters, with an emphasis in regulated industries. His counsel includes corporate formation and structuring, equity and debt financings, mergers and acquisitions, raising capital, securities, real estate and other complex commercial contracting issues, along with expertise in navigating complex regulatory environments on a federal, state and local basis. 

Garrett formerly served as the managing partner of a boutique full-service law firm prior to joining Gould & Ratner, and given such executive experience and legal expertise, Garrett often serves as outside general counsel to many clients, further advising on matters relating to corporate governance, fiduciary duties, employment law and other general corporate matters, affording Garrett the ability to advise clients in an integrated, strategic fashion across their business. Further, Garrett is experienced in advising clients on the protection of intellectual property, litigation, policy and international issues.

His clients cross a variety of industries, ranging from real estate companies, consumer packaged goods, operators in regulated spaces such as cannabis (marijuana and hemp), liquor, food and beverage, natural products and psychedelics, manufacturing, technology, and investment companies. 

From a regulatory perspective, Garrett counsels clients in navigating the many layers of international, federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to their industries, FDA and FTC compliance related to for food and beverage, supplements and other natural products, Proposition 65 compliance, as well as import and export issues, along with other regulatory considerations.

For clients in regulated industries, Garrett often represents clients from the outset in navigating complex regulatory environments, beginning with the application process in securing appropriate licensure, in both competitive and non-competitive jurisdictions; in ongoing regulatory compliance; and in defending administrative actions concerning alleged non-compliance. Further, he frequently works with federal, state, and local authorities on policy and enforcement matters. Notably, Garrett represented hemp industry stakeholders against the DEA in confirming the Farm Bill’s hemp provisions pre-empt DEA authority and the CSA. He also regularly works with stakeholders in drafting model legislative and regulatory policy.

Given his expertise, Garrett was appointed by the Colorado Governor’s Office and two state regulatory agencies to serve for nine months on a statewide task force developing a first-of-its-kind regulatory framework concerning intoxicating cannabinoids and the interplay between the marijuana and hemp industries. Further, Garrett has testified in judicial proceedings related to regulatory matters and frequently speaks in many forums, including conferences, symposiums, and related events regarding various issues, including cannabis and natural products.