Legal Considerations in Cannabis Marketing: Intellectual Property, Compliance, and Avoiding Conflict

Rachael Z. Ardanuy. Esq. is the founder of Colorado-based RZA Legal, a boutique law firm exclusively serving the needs of cannabis entrepreneurs and businesses with formation, regulatory compliance, state & local licensing, real estate due diligence and negotiation, IP licensing & manufacturing agreements, emerging market strategy, and related services.  RZA Legal has been serving cannabis entrepreneurs and businesses since 2015 and is dedicated to providing quality legal services and guidance to educate, empower, and end the stigma against cannabis in our society.  We assist clients in Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and worldwide through our sister consultancy, RZA Solutions.

Expert in cannabis and food safety (and soon to include psilocybin!) regulation and compliance (FDA, state-specific regulations, OSHA), third-party certification preparation (cGMP, ISO, Organic, GACP, HACCP, Dietary Supplement), quality management system development, auditing, HACCP/Food Safety Plan development, and more. Results oriented, self-motivated, and seasoned Public Health Professional with over 15 years of experience in food safety and cannabis regulation. Proven leader with a well-rounded skillset including management, education, leadership, team building, multi-agency collaboration, public speaking, process improvement, large project management, stakeholder group organization, research, and data analysis. 

Wes Williams holds a Bachelors of Economics in Marketing from the Wharton School and a Juris Doctorate from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Wes has over 4 years of cannabis experience as a corporate strategy consultant in California and then as an executive for a vertically-integrated medical cannabis company. Prior to coming to cannabis, Wes spent over 10 years working for Fortune 500 companies in the financial services and energy sectors, respectively, where he held VP- and director-level roles in legal operations, marketing, and strategic planning. Wes is a Functional Cannabis Champion, a lifelong stutterer, an amateur poet, and the co-founder and CEO of Kinetik Infusions, Inc., a functional infused edibles company launching its first product, Kinetik, in LA in the Fall of 2022.