Jason Klimek, co-leader of the Cannabis Team, was interviewed by Law360’s Katryna Perera for the article “Cannabis Atty With Tax Chops Joins Barclay Damon in NY” about joining Barclay Damon’s Rochester office and his background in cannabis law.
About the cannabis law space, Jason said, “It’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. I mean, honestly, how often do you get to be on the ground floor of an entirely new area of law . . . and to not only be on the ground floor, but to be one of the [go-to people] in such a niche area?”
New York State, which recently experienced a change in governor, will continue its efforts with the legalization of adult-use cannabis. “We’re very hopeful that it will move forward with Governor Hochul and we can start really ramping up the industry,” Jason said. “If New York wants to become a big player and be the best we can be, we need to start moving forward, and Governor Hochul seems to want to do that.”
Regarding the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, a draft bill that seeks to legalize cannabis at the federal level, Jason said, “I don’t know if that will pass. I think it faces an uphill battle . . . but hopefully we can take incremental steps to at least loosen some of the federal restrictions.”