Cannabis, CBD and Hemp

Pullman & Comley has been at the forefront of advising cannabis clients since the inception of the Connecticut cannabis industry. Beginning in 2012, our attorneys helped growers navigate the permitting process with the Department of Consumer Protection after medical marijuana was legalized, and later advised two of the original four medical growers in their sale to large multi-state operators.

Upon the passage of Public Act 21-1 legalizing recreational adult-use cannabis in 2021, our firm developed a dedicated team of skilled attorneys to assist medical and recreational marijuana, cannabidiol (CBD), and other hemp clients in need of advice ranging from business considerations, regulatory compliance, facility siting issues, mergers, acquisitions and sales, fundraising, debt and equity investments, intellectual property licensing agreements, supply agreements, and entity structuring. Pullman advised nearly one hundred applicants in the adult-use cannabis application and lottery process held in 2022 and continues to represent many social equity and non-social equity clients that successfully obtained licenses. In addition to advising clients through the application process and commercialization of their enterprises, our attorneys have successfully appealed three cannabis license denials, assisted clients in selling and purchasing licenses, and, in a case of first impression in Connecticut, successfully advised  a lender in foreclosing on a defaulted cannabis operation. Our Tax attorneys have also obtained two favorable tax rulings from the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services, confirming the exemption from the Connecticut Sales and Use Tax of medical marijuana testing services, and our Labor and Employment Law attorneys routinely advise cannabis businesses on employment issues and traditional employers on how laws related to the use of medical and recreational marijuana affect employment policies and practices.

Our attorneys have become leaders in the Connecticut cannabis market by regularly speaking at industry conferences and events, developing robust relationships with industry service providers and groups, and building a strong rapport with regulators.  In a testament to the expertise that our team has developed, Attorney Andrew Glassman, the chair of our Cannabis, Hemp, and CBD team, was named the inaugural Attorney of the Year by the Connecticut Cannabis Chamber of Commerce in 2022.

As a full-service law firm, Pullman & Comley is proud to offer its cannabis clients experienced attorneys in nearly every aspect of the law that may impact their business, from business and regulatory, mergers, acquisitions, and fundraising, real estate and zoning, and tax planning, to employment and labor, bankruptcy, litigation, and medical law. 

*Cultivating, possessing and selling cannabis are all still illegal under United States federal law. Our firm limits its services to advising our clients with respect to the meaning and application of the laws and regulations in Connecticut and other states in which we are admitted to practice where cannabis has been legalized. This firm will not provide advice that is intended to assist anyone in a violation of federal law.

Andrew Glassman, chair of the Cannabis, CBD and Hemp practice at Pullman & Comley (pictured second from the left), has been named 2022 Attorney of the Year by the Connecticut Cannabis Chamber of Commerce. Glassman was recognized at the sold-out “Together We Grow 2022” event on Dec. 7 at the Hartford Club.

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• Under the new recreational use statute, our attorneys are:
  • Assisting Social Equity Applicants(SEA) and other non-SEAs applying for the lottery
  • Advising numerous licensee hopefuls with completing their applications for licensure
  • Setting up cultivation facility entities and assisting clients in the filing of applications
  • Seeking licenses on behalf of Joint Ventures.
• Pullman was a leader in the early days of the medical cannabis space in Connecticut, when it was first legalized in 2012. In December 2021, we sold a dispensary to Verano Holdings, a publicly-traded (in Canada) multistate operator.
• Over the past year we have been involved in the sale of a medical cannabis producer and have handled purchases and sales of interest in producers and dispensaries.
• Employers receive guidance from our Labor and Employment attorneys on recommended changes to their workplace policies to accommodate the new laws governing recreational cannabis use.
• Municipalities turn to us for counsel on planning and zoning issues as well as tax revenue opportunities.