As the new chair of the Cannabis Law Section, Jason Klimek wants to foster more communication between the section and the New York State’s Office of Cannabis Management.
“As lawyers, we are actually best situated to speak with OCM, because we interact with the agency, we understand the laws – both state and federal,” Klimek said. “We’re dealing with all of the licensees who are boots on the ground, and they’re reporting everything to us. My clients tell me everything that’s going on, and so we have a viewpoint that OCM just will never have. So I feel like we can really help them and point out issues. [To tell them] this is what’s going on, but also, here are some things you should consider, because here are the effects of the policy that you want to implement, and things like that. So that’s one of my biggest goals, is to really work with the agency to help the industry.”
Klimek would like to interact more with other sections as well, since cannabis law encompasses many other areas of law, including intellectual property, real estate, bankruptcy, and receivership.
“In cannabis, you have to at least have an understanding of all these different areas,” he said. “It might not be your area – and you’ll pull in your partner to do it – but you need to know when those things are issues.”
Klimek also plans on growing the section and creating more opportunities for members to meet each other.
Klimek is an attorney at Harris Beach Murtha in Rochester. He specializes in representing cannabis licenses in corporate and tax matters. He started his career in tax law. In 2018 and 2019, he wrote white papers advising the state government on taxes related to legal recreational cannabis – including the Marijuana Regulation and Tax Act, which eventually passed into law.
“Tax attorneys are relatively rare among attorneys in general, and they are basically non-existent in cannabis,” said Klimek. “So I was the only one talking about this, and so I developed that niche, but then because I was there at the ground floor – as the law was being passed, the regulations were coming out – I ended up learning everything, being part of it, and so the practice just grew from there.”
Incoming Cannabis Law Section Chair Jason Klimek Wants To Increase Dialogue With State Agency
