Why Operators Hire A Cannabis Compliance Attorney

Most “compliance” advice in cannabis is generic. Read the regulations. Hire a compliance officer. Implement SOPs. Train your team. Maybe even hire a cannabis compliance attorney.

That’s the easy version. The real version is messier. Your compliance program has to survive a reviewing inspector who didn’t write the regulations and reads them differently than you do. Your SOPs have to actually match what your people do on the floor because the inspector will ask the budtender, not just read the binder. Your METRC tags have to reconcile with your inventory under audit, including days when something was mislabeled, and your manager corrected it without flagging the discrepancy.

This is the work. Not writing perfect SOPs in a vacuum, but building a compliance program that holds up under operational reality and regulator scrutiny simultaneously.
That’s what Ryan has done for a decade: built compliance programs from a blank page to audit-ready status, under real conditions. Now we do that work for cannabis operators.

What We Handle

• SOPs that actually work Standard operating procedures drafted to match your operations, not generic templates pulled from someone else’s facility. Includes facility-specific procedures for cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, retail, and delivery operations across CA, MA, and NY regulatory frameworks.
• METRC and track-and-trace compliance METRC reconciliation strategy, inventory variance investigation, tag protocols, manifesting procedures, and discrepancy response. METRC is where most compliance problems become enforcement problems.
• Compliance audits Internal audits before regulator inspections find problems. We audit against the actual regulator standards (DCC, CCC, OCM) and produce findings reports with remediation roadmaps.
• Notice to Comply / enforcement responses California DCC Notices to Comply, Massachusetts CCC enforcement letters, New York OCM cure period notices. Time-sensitive responses where the wrong move can escalate from a warning to a license action. DCC Notice to Comply Response →
• License defense administrative proceedings When enforcement escalates to formal license action, we represent licensees in administrative proceedings, including hearings, settlement negotiations, and appeals.
• Federal compliance For DEA registrants, federal compliance work including 21 CFR Part 1304 recordkeeping, Part 1301 security, quota system management, and DEA inspection preparation. DEA Registration →
• Annual compliance reviews Ongoing compliance counsel for operators who want a regular review cycle — quarterly or annual program audits with remediation tracking.

Common Scenarios We Handle

• “We got a Notice to Comply and the response is due in 14 days.”
• “Our METRC reconciliation is off and we’re not sure why.”
• “We have a DCC inspection scheduled next month and we want to be ready.”
• “Our SOPs are templates we never updated and now they don’t match what we actually do.”
• “An employee was terminated for diversion and we’re not sure what we’re required to report.”
• “We’re expanding to a new license type and need to build the compliance program for it.”
• “A regulator interview was scheduled with our COO and we need to prepare.”

If you’re considering hiring a cannabis compliance attorney, feel free tor each out at the link below.