Welcome to the 6th edition of the Global Top 200 cannabis lawyers 2025-2026 published by Cannabis Law Report & Cannabis Law Journal.
We have compiled the lawyers and law firms we believe to be the top 200 cannabis practitioners and practices around the world via our annual survey of clients and lawyers in the cannabis legal services sector. This research is combined with our personal editorial decisions based on our daily reporting for the past decade or so.
In the directory we do not rank lawyers within the top 200 instead we aim to do our utmost to balance client recommendations and editorial decisions with as wide a geographical spread as possible to allow prospective clients to source cannabis, hemp & CBD legal specialists in the jurisdictions they wish to do their business.
When we started publishing the top 200 no other publisher showed any interested in highlighting cannabis lawyers…. Who they were? What they did ? and Where they did it?
Chambers have been slowly building their database of cannabis lawyers and produced a bigger list than ever before in 2025.
I would note that in the main Chambers have not looked outside the existing major North American firms who have built cannabis practices using practitioners who in the main work in their primary practice and work as a team on specific projects. As always there are exceptions to the rule with the likes of Vicente featuring highly in their selections.
As a publication their selections do suit the top end of town but not really the majority of cannabis specific lawyers who serve SME businesses who still make up the majority of operators in the cannabis & hemp space.
UK based Legal 500 have also come to the party but don’t really provide a listing that’s of much use to anyone at the moment
You’ll also find dotted around the place organisations like the ABA and state bars who provide limited lists of individuals and firms. The INCBA is also a good source for researching cannabis and hemp lawyers working actively in the space.
The 2025-2026 Top 200 Cannabis lawyers 6th edition now joins our small family that also includes publications the Top 200 Psychedelic Lawyers, the Top 200 Cannabis Accountants and the Top 200 Cannabis Consultants.
Next to publish will be our Top 200 Global Cannabis Policy Experts Guide.
Cannabis practices can broadly be subdivided into 3 categories
Respected solo or under 5 partner firms with solid local state experience, history and clients
Early adopter firms who specialise in cannabis offering full service client support with an emphasis on state based compliance services
Existing full service law firms who have drawn individuals with specific skill-sets from their existing practice to build national full service cannabis practices.
Regional Analysis
North America
As with all prior editions, the majority of the legal cannabis professionals listed in the directory are based in North America.
Prior to this edition lawyers were located in a number of specific cities as you can see in the list below but it is also worth noting that this is the first year that it is safe to say that whereever you are in the US you won’t be far from a lawyer with some knowledge of cannabis licensing, compliance or litigation.
We would highlight, as we have for the last few years, Denver, New York Los Angeles & San Francisco as the premier centers of excellence with Washington DC, Portland (OR) , Seattle, Boston, Chicago, Miami & Las Vegas following close behind.
As of 1 September 2025 and the publication of this our 6th edition, it is worth noting that 40 states have now regulated medical cannabis as well as the District of Columbia, and 3 territories, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. and 24 states now operate an adult use market.
With regulation in most US states of one sort and another the country now has a multitude of lawyers with more than 5-10 years experience in the market and increasing amount of lawyers who have worked with cannabis for over a decade.
If you dig a little deeper into the directory and compare to previous editions you will also note that US lawyers are an ever more dominant force in the cannabis legal sector around the world.
It is also worth noting that Canada continues to be the primary exporter of medical cannabis to multiple markets around the world and looking at the continued overproduction in the local market a range of Canadian cannabis outfits are now buying up retail and logistics infrastructure in Europe with Germany their main focus.
Europe
The big development in the EU over the past 12 months is still Germany’s rather confused legalised market for medical cannabis and an adult use market still in play with specific provisos.
The Ukraine has legalised medical cannabis with programs in place, the Netherlands are still in their stop start mode with adult use trials, the Czech Republic is on the way to a operating medical program with Slovenia and Switzerland the latest to embrace more than just a discussion with regard to medical regulation.
Italy is in back on forth mode on “light’ hemp with the possibility that in the end it may well be the courts who decide, rather than the politicans what the future is. France hasn’t moved on from last year and is still in discussion mode with regard to medica. As for adult use that’s a long way into the future.
Spain, Portugal and Malta. I see little change from where we were on publication of the 5th edition of the directory except I would note that recent revelations of criminal enterprises infiltrating Portugal’s regulated sector may have reverberations throughout 2026.
As a legal centre for cannabis and hemp related work London is still, as I have noted in previous editions, early out of the blocks and apart from Berlin it is still the major European transactional centre.
But another year of lack of progress in Westminster on medical cannabis and as yet no discussion of adult use suggests that there’ll actually be more activity in Germany and other parts of the EU than the UK for the foreseeable future.
It is probably worth noting that although medical cannabis isn’t in reality available on the NHS apart from very few special cases the private sector is booming with a suggestested 65,000 individuals now on the books of various companies.
There are a few more UK lawyers than last year applying a large part of their practice to medical cannabis, CBD and in some cases hemp work.
LATAM
Just over a decade ago in 2012 Uruguay announced it would be the first country in the world to legalize full ‘adult-use’ cannabis. In large part, the move was aimed at replacing links between organized crime and the cannabis trade with more accountable government regulation.
These were the first steps in the creation of the global regulated cannabis economy across Latin America. Since then, we have seen cannabis policy reform and commercial markets initiated across LatAm in: Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Paraguay, and beyond.
It is worth noting lawyers and the legal profession throughout the continent have led the charge in this regard. In doing so, this region has served as a model for the world regarding the required flexibility in regulating cannabis, a plant which has come out of the illicit market and into the mainstream.
It is also worth reiterating that it is active lawyers within these countries who have taken on the difficult job of crafting, enacting, and evaluating regulations concerning the business licensing, cultivation, processing, and distribution of cannabis and its derivatives, globally. These lawyers have been essential in nearly every jurisdiction across the region in creating the rules, the guidelines, the business opportunities, and the legal documentation for this brand-new industry.
With some of the most well-established international cannabis companies headquartered across the region, the sector is embarking on a pathway to compete on a global scale.
Also, let’s not forget the Caribbean, small jurisdictions that have been relatively progressive over the last 5 years. In many cases it’s a combination of medical and a tourism approach that supports their cannabis markets.
Middle East
There are really only two markets in the region Israel and the Lebanon and I’ll repeat what i wrote last year, it is a region where little if anything has changed.
This year the ever more precarious political situation suggests to me that Israel’s legal medical market won’t really develop much on the regulatory side but I’d expect to see growth in production and R and D in the country. In the Lebanon it is most likely politics will play its hand and the black market status quo will deepen further.
Although Turkey isn’t really the middle east I will note here that as of July 2025 the country passed a landmark bill that legalizes the sale of cannabis products for medical use in pharmacies. As it has only been a matter of weeks since this has happened it is difficult at this point in time to guage what this means for patients and whether it will allow for the development of a sector that supports lawyers. I’d suggest it is doubtful.
Africa
South Africa’s legal constitutional ruling subsequently signed off by the president just prior to the country’s last general election has led towards, not only a regulated medical and limited adult use market, but also the opportunity to develop a sustainable cannabis industry. This is being reflected by an ever growing number of legal professionals applying a percentage of their practices to the sector. It’s all a bit wild west at the moment as government is dragging its feet on turning a legal ruling into a coherent set of policies and regulation.
Zimbabwe, Botswana Malawi may not be moving at bullet train speed with their programs but it doesn’t appear they are going backwards. I would still apply the word opaque to their process!
In West Africa, Ghana, Senegal & Nigeria, debates are slowly progressing with Ghana appearing to lead the pack.
In central Africa Rwanda is making strides.
In North Africa, Morocco is yet again the only jurisdiction that’s moving forward and with recent announcements of legal exports, the king pardoning farmers previously prosecuted for cannabis production and creating an environment for more farmers to operate in a legal environment. The country has of July 2025 5,800 hectares of licensed land for cannabis production though that is dwarfed by the illegal sector which is reckoned to harvest at a bare minimum 27,100 hectares.
Information out of Africa can be rather difuse at times but there is much more discussion of cannabis and hemp by the political and business elites across the continent and even some cannabis brands from Europe are being public about their involvement on the continent.
Pacific Region
In the Asia Pacific there are still really only two jurisdictions to highlight.
Thailand’s rollercoaster ride continues with the end of the fudged legal adult use and tourism market this year with the government aiming to create a more robust medical program. They may by default have created a stronger illicit market and it still isn’t 100% clear what exactly the medical market will be.
Australia’s development of a pharmaceutical medical industry approach has grown the country’s market exponentially over the last 12 months with many new players and an increasing reliance on imported medical cannabis. There has been some pushback from federal government bodies like the TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration) and some state health departments applying the screws on some medial practitioners. Government, both federal and state, don’t appear to want to think too hard about either curbing or expanding legislation & regulations so it looks like more of the same for the foreseeable future.
Yet again it is worth highlighting that Australia is the only country in the world with elected cannabis party politicians, 1 in West Australia, 2 in Victoria and 1 in NSW. Their continued presence in legislatures might not change the status quo but is, we hope, slowly educating members of the major parties to the need for change.
But it still isn’t a market that can yet support more than half a dozen lawyers, most of whom transact cannabis work as part of a larger practice.
The country is currently in the throes of trying to understand what a medical cannabis market means. Cheap imports and the growth of telehealth and clinics means that although there isn’t a precise figure for Australian medical cannabis patients in 2025, data suggests over 1.4 million prescriptions have been issued since 2016, with monthly approvals exceeding 100,000 by late 2024, indicating a rapidly growing patient base. The number of SAS-B (Special Access Scheme – Category B) prescribers has also significantly increased, reaching over 2,600 and many of these are solely prescribing cannabis. The recent rapid growth has rung alarm bells at the TGA (Theraputic Goods Administration) and as we go to publication the body has said it is likely to review how medical cannabis is prescribed in Australia.
Summary
In the US, as we have said for the past few years, the number of legal professionals working in the regulated cannabis sector has grown immeasurably specialising in every aspect of legal practice.
Re-scheduling has left the realms of political process and now lies in the hands of the president who it is suggested by many sources will be the decider on federal regulation of cannabis.
If he does indeed say yes, expect to see an explosion on the markets and a lot of hoopla although on the ground the moribund sector will most like proceed as before . Will the possibility of interstate trade improve the market? At the moment it’s anybody’s guess.
Compliance is still, in the main, the name of the game because of the state by state approach. We are seeing more IP specialists and also the industry merging with other sectors such as F&B and all that that entails. M&A activity has essentially stalled and bankruptcy practices who work in cannabis will continue to see further work.
I would also like to highlight a positive result of seeing more women not only working in cannabis practices but starting their own firms and leading cannabis practices nationally. We aren’t quite at 50/50 yet (the sooner we get there the better) but I hope that the make up of this year’s edition of the directory goes some way to illustrating these changes. A quick count of the directory entries shows 28.5% of our top 200 are women, by no means equity but we are slowly moving in the right directon
Names to mention would include amongst many others. In no particular order: Lauren Rudick, Heidi Urness, Shannett Thompson (UK), Samantha Myers (UK), Chelsie Spencer, Lisa Pittman, Mollie Hartman, Dr Teresa Nicoletti (Australia), Courtney Barnes, Courtney Moran, Hannah King, Janet Jackim, Margret Knitter (Germany), Pamela Bubb (South Africa), Susan Burns, Sita Schubert (Germany), Amy Rubenstein, Jennifer Benda & Jean Smith Gonnell.
This past year has seen big developments in the divide between the “cannabis” industry and the “hemp industry for human consumption”. Whatever side of the various argument(s) you fall depends, but we would highlight two lawyers who really understand the distinctions, Rod Kight and Jonathan Miller. Their tireless advocacy is really something of a wonder and especially as the tables have turned against hemp for human consumption.
As I wrote last year, we are also now seeing the first generations of law students coming out of college and deciding on a fully fledged career in cannabis law. Quite a few are now 1st, 2nd and 3rd year lawyers and are making waves. I’m as interested in their work as I am those who have practiced cannabis for 10-15 years or more and have accordingly given some up and coming lawyers a place in the top 200. Can you spot them?
And finally to our superstars. As I have already mentioned I don’t rank lawyers in the Top 200 but there are a few superstars out there I would very much like to mention.
Although I have already named Rod Kight I’m going to highlight his work for a second time. He’s decided not to ply his craft at a large law firm and there isn’t a lawyer, client or cannabis advocate out there who isn’t impressed by the work he is doing. The same also applies to Lauren Rudick who runs her own tight knit firm with some excellent supporting lawyers. I’d like also to mention Mitchel Chargo at Hinshaw who played a large part in formulating a world first in Michigan’s cannabis pact with local indigenous communities that could well be the basis for a nationwide template.
In the UK the rise and rise of Ricardo Geada head of international at Lawrence Stevens who works with some of the world’s leading medical cannabis outfits is more than noteworthy. As is the work in Germany that Peter Homberg now with UK firm GunnerCooke is doing as that country negotiates its way over the path of eggshells that is cannabis legalisation in the EU. I’d also like to mention Dr Teresa Nicoletti in Australia who has been a steady stalwart of the sector in that country for nigh on a decade now.
Congratulations to all the practitioners in the 6th Edition (2025-2026) of The Global Top 200 Cannabis Lawyers and thank you to all of you, especially those wehaven’t been able to mention by name.
Keep doing what you do.
Sean Hocking
Editor – Global Top 200 Cannabis Lawyers
