Broadcast Date: Thursday, December 17, 2020
from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm (ET)

Overview:

As with many other industries, the cannabis sector has been disrupted significantly by the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies in the cannabis space must sharpen their knowledge of M&A deals, tax events, recapitalizations, and other financial transactions that might be on the table a result of the crisis. Additionally, they must keep themselves updated with regulatory reform at the state, federal, and international levels, as well as significant enforcement actions from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Join a panel of key thought leaders and professionals assembled by The Knowledge Group as they delve into an in-depth discussion of the implications of COVID-19 on the cannabis industry. Speakers will also tackle emerging issues and risk mitigation strategies to ensure that companies are positioned for success, even during the pandemic.

Some of the major topics that will be covered in this course are:

  • Cannabis Industry and the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Enforcement Trends and Developments
  • Key Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities
  • Practical Strategies and Best Practices
  • Cannabis Industry Outlook

Learning Objectives:

  • Determine the emerging issues in the Cannabis industry such as general and COVID-related trends/impact as well as bankruptcy/restructuring perspectives
  • Identify current cannabis reforms, updates on the cannabis ballot initiatives, and future cannabis developments to watch out for at state and national levels

Credit:

Course Level:

Intermediate

 

Advance Preparation:

Print and review course materials

 

Method of Presentation:

On-demand Webcast (CLE); Group-Internet Based

 

Prerequisite:

General knowledge of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA)

 

Course Code:

149226

 

NY Category of CLE Credit:

Areas of Professional Practice

 

NASBA Field of Study:

Specialized Knowledge – Technical

 

Total Credit:

1.0 CLE

1.0 CPE (Not eligible for QAS (On-demand) CPE credits)

Speaker Panel:

Timothy Bossidy, Senior Director
SierraConstellation Partners

Tim Bossidy is a Senior Director at SierraConstellation Partners with a significant track record of financial and operational consulting services to companies in transition. His advisory experience extends across turnaround management, mergers and acquisitions, capital raising and conducting financial modeling and forecasting across a variety of industries including cannabis, consumer/retail, agriculture, media/entertainment, oil and gas, healthcare tech and healthcare services. Tim founded the firm’s cannabis practice in 2019 and has extensive experience navigating difficult situations to avoid possible disruptions and legal hurdles for cannabis companies.

Prior to joining SCP, Tim worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. There he focused on mergers and acquisitions, alongside initial public offerings, other equity transactions and debt financing. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Tim worked as a credit analyst at The Travelers Companies, where he covered high yield and investment grade bonds across the oil and gas and municipal sectors.

Tim holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and English from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management. He is originally from Connecticut and currently lives in Los Angeles.

Patrick J. Hines , Partner
Hodgson Russ LLP

Patrick is a member of the Hodgson Russ Hemp & Medical Cannabis Practice. In that role, he advises clients on a range of issues affecting the cultivation, processing, distribution, and sale of cannabis and hemp products. Patrick provides counsel to businesses seeking licenses to operate within the industry, as well as clients seeking to do business with the cannabis industry, with a focus on regulatory compliance and risk minimization. Disclaimer: Possession, use, distribution, and sale of cannabis and cannabis products is illegal under federal law. No legal advice Hodgson Russ gives is intended to provide any guidance or assistance in violating federal law.

Patrick also focuses his practice on business litigation and insurance defense matters. He has extensive experience defending catastrophic construction accident, products liability, car accident, and toxic exposure claims — including environmental mass tort litigation. In addition to his personal injury defense practice, Patrick handles a variety of business tort and contract litigation matters on behalf of financial institutions and other commercial clients, including claims involving breach of non-compete agreements, breach of fiduciary duty, tortious interference with contract, and other business torts. Patrick’s commercial practice also involves defense and prosecution of claims involving intellectual property, including copyright and trademark disputes, trade secret claims, and confidentiality agreements.

Agenda:

Timothy Bossidy, Senior Director

SierraConstellation Partners

  • Differences in Bankruptcy/Restructuring for Cannabis Companies
    • Lack of protections
    • Leasing and lease negotiations
    • Out-of-court restructuring options
  • Cannabis Industry Trends
    • General trends
      • Exploring delivery options (logistics)
      • More recreational usage, med cards lapsing
    • COVID-driven trends
      • Curbside pick-up
      • More discussion around the legitimate medical needs due to shutdown, changed the perspective
      • Significant shift to e-commerce
      • Focus on certain products: flower has grown in popularity
      • Stores feel more neighborhoody, customer loyalty has grown
  • Broader COVID Impact
    • Big gains for multi-state operators
    • If you came into COVID limping, access to capital was much more difficult
    • Similar experience to other retailers
      • Less in-store traffic, walk ins and tourists
    • Essential classification changes state-by-state and city-by-city
    • Sales are down generally, but sales of flower are up
    • Generally more consumption by those who are knowledgeable, consuming more product
    • Sales tax numbers from the stateshow sales up and black marketsales are down
      • Health concerns around black market products
  • Restructuring Perspective
  • Started cannabis practice at SCP in 2018
  • Huge bifurcation in the industry between those with operational experience and those without
    • Operational expertise can provide access to straight-forward chapter 11 playbooks
      • Dynamic and creative construction of solutions, consideration for state-by-state regulations
    • To succeed in this environmentyou need to be a disciplined operator, have a lean business from a covid perspective
    • E-commerce set-up was crucial going into the pandemic

Patrick J. HinesPartner

Hodgson Russ LLP

  • Update concerning cannabis reform efforts at federal level
  • Update concerning outcome of cannabis ballot initiatives in 2020 election
  • Short discussion of UN vote concerning cannabis scheduling and CBD
  • Forward-looking discussion concerning developments expected in 2021 at state and national levels

Date & Time:

Thursday, December 17, 2020

3:00 pm to 4:00 pm (ET)

Who Should Attend:

  • Cannabis Law Attorneys
  • Cannabis Business Owners
  • Regulatory and Policy Managers
  • Legal and Compliance Executives
  • Pharmaceutical/Medicinal Products Manufacturers
  • In-House Counsel
  • Senior Executives
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SPEAKERS

Timothy BossidySenior Director
SierraConstellation Partners
Patrick J. Hines Partner
Hodgson Russ LLP

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