Litigation Department Chair Christopher Porrino joined a panel discussion on state/municipal issues regarding the potential legalization of marijuana in New Jersey.
Program
Featured keynote:
- Sen. Nicholas Scutari: The architect of New Jersey’s adult-use cannabis bill, Scutari long has been a driving force for marijuana legalization in the Legislature. He has served in the New Jersey Senate since 2004.
Panel discussions will focus on:
- State/Municipal: The current issues facing legislators and municipalities with respect to medical expansion and proposed adult-use legalization, including tax rates, anticipated licensing structures, licensing caps and governance. Confirmed panelists include:
- Former New Jersey Attorney General, Christopher Porrino
- Sponsor of the proposed legislation expanding the medicinal marijuana program, Sen. Joseph Vitale
- Assemblyman, Jamel Holley
- Assistant commissioner of the New Jersey Medicinal Marijuana Program, Jeff Brown
- Incoming president of the NJ League of Municipalities and Mayor of Fanwood, Colleen Mahr
- Industry/Consumer: The topics facing the industry, including vertical integration, financing, banking, alternative models from other states, micro licenses and consumer advocacy in the cannabis space. Confirmed panelists include:
- New Jersey Cannabis Industry Association President, Hugh O’Beirne
- Massachusetts Recreational Consumer Council President, Kamani Jefferson
- Nuka Foods CEO, Peter Barsoom
- Associate at Genova Burns Attorneys-At-Law, Michael C. McQueeny
- Director of Litigation & Forensics, Stacey D. Udell
- Medical/Wellness: A look at the current medical market, patient advocacy, expanding research and concerns about the moves to brand it as a wellness product. Confirmed panelists include:
- American Pain Association President, Dr. Sanjay Gupta
- Doctors for Cannabis Regulation Founder, Dr. David Nathan
- Social Justice: Diving deeper into the current social justice efforts, including proposed legislation, equal economic opportunity, expungements, community reinvestment and building the industry to look like the community. Confirmed panelists include:
- Executive Director of the ACLU-NJ, Amol Sinha
- Co-founder of CannaGather NJ and the National Director of Veterans Affairs for Minorities for Medical Marijuana, Leo Bridgewater
- Deputy Executive Director of Drug Policy Alliance New Jersey, Meagan Glaser
- Women Grow CEO, Kristina Garcia
- Future: What’s next for the New Jersey cannabis space? What will the market look like in five years? What do the market trends tell us? Where is the federal discussion headed? These and other questions will be discussed at this panel. Confirmed panelists include:
- Women Grow CEO, Kristina Garcia
- CannaGather NJ Co-founder and Minorities for Medical Marijuana National Latinx Outreach Director, Rani Soto
- CEO of HillView Med, Ken VandeVrede
- Nuka Enterprises CEO, Peter Barsoom
