Sonoma County land use attorney advises cannabis growers

Martin L. Hirsch, 39, works as a lawyer at Perry, Johnson, Anderson, Miller & Moskowitz in Santa Rosa and specializes in land use practices among cannabis operations.

Like the growers and other cannabis businesses he represents, the 13-year legal veteran understands the nature of hard work amid challenges that may range from weather impact to government regulations. The North Bay Business Journal asked Hirsch to answer some questions about himself and the field of cannabis law.

How long have you been a lawyer and have you always wanted to be one?

I’ve been a lawyer for thirteen years. I was in high school when I started to think about becoming a lawyer. By the time I got to college, my mind was made up.

How has your upbringing affected where you are today?

For starters, I came back to my hometown to raise my family here. Beyond that, my father was a general contractor who owned and operated a small business. I learned the value of hard work from him and saw firsthand what it takes to run a successful business.

What firms have you worked for and for how long?

I started my career in San Diego working for a boutique civil litigation firm primarily representing residential developers. I moved to Santa Rosa and started with my current firm, Perry, Johnson, Anderson, Miller & Moskowitz, in 2013.

Why did you pick a cannabis discipline?

I’m a property and business attorney first. The Adult Use of Marijuana Act took effect on Jan. 1, 2018, along with a host of new local land use regulations. These new laws created new issues and new opportunities for real property attorneys.

How is that discipline more challenging than others?

Prop. 64, which legalized recreational cannabis, passed in 2016 and became effective on Jan. 1, 2018. It required cities and counties to develop land use programs for approval of cultivation and dispensary sites within their jurisdictions. Just over three years in, the Sonoma County cannabis ordinance is still evolving.

Do you believe cannabis will be legal on a federal level sometime soon?

I think eventually it will be legalized. Twenty-one states have legalized cannabis for medical use, and it is legal in another 14 states for medical and recreational uses. All but two states, Idaho and Nebraska, have yet to legalize CBD. This suggests the country is trending toward legalization. It should not be overlooked that cannabis has been decriminalized in all but a few states as well. That alone is significant progress.

Why do you think it comes with a stigma?

I think it takes time for stigmas to fade away. Legal cannabis is still so new, I just don’t think there has been enough time.

What are the main issues facing cannabis and law?

Banking continues to be a big issue for cannabis businesses. Banks are federally regulated, which prevents them from accepting money from cannabis businesses, despite those businesses being legal on the state level. There are credit unions in California that are offering banking services to cannabis businesses. Nevertheless, I do not believe this issue will be solved until the federal government takes action.

What has been the biggest challenge to representing the industry?

A fun challenge has been keeping up on the evolving local laws, understanding how the changes will affect clients and helping to develop strategies to prepare for those changes.

Does the conflict between state and federal law make that effort more challenging?

It did, especially early on. One example of this from my practice is with leases. It was common for landowners to be hesitant leasing their property to a cannabis business out of concern for federal ramifications. I see this less now in part because more time has gone by, which has led to an increased comfort level generally and the new administration is perceived as more friendly to the cannabis industry — rightfully so, in my opinion.

Susan Wood covers law, cannabis, production, agriculture, energy and transportation as well as banking and finance. For 25 years, Susan has worked for a variety of publications including the North County Times in San Diego County, Tahoe Daily Tribune and Lake Tahoe News. She graduated from Fullerton College. Reach her at 530-545-8662 or susan.wood@busjrnl.com