Vincent Sliwoski

Practice Areas

-Corporate Law

- Real Estate

-Media & Entertainment

-Cannabis and Controlled Substances

Career

Vincent Sliwoski is the Managing Partner at Harris Sliwoski LLP. He is a a business lawyer, problem solver and dealmaker. His clients run the gamut from individual investors and entrepreneurs to widely held domestic and international corporations.

Vince is a nationally recognized authority on cannabis law and policy. He regularly confers with key regulators, and was hired by the National Credit Union Association to help write published, federal guidance on hemp banking. He has also been cited by many sources over the years, including dozens of law review journals, and by U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker in correspondence to the U.S. Attorney General. From 2017 to 2021, he taught one of the first law school courses on Cannabis Law & Policy.

Vince strives for efficient and optimal client results in every transaction. He has expertise in business/corporate law, commercial real estate, and intellectual property law. His advice is guided by a heightened awareness of all possible outcomes: in his litigating days, Vince tried civil cases and conducted numerous arbitrations and mediations. Today, he frequently serves as an expert witness in cannabis-related business disputes.

Vince is also a frequent presenter and commentator on legal aspects of controlled substances issues. His multitude of appearances include stories and interviews with the Associated Press, National Public Radio, TIME magazine, ABC News, CNBC, American Banker, Reason, Harvard Law School and many others.

Professional Memberships

Oregon State Bar Association Intellectual Property Section, Executive Committee (2014 – 2016)

Publications

Canna Law Blog, Contributing Writer, 2015 – Present; Managing Editor and Publisher, 2017 – Present.

Psychedelics Law Blog, Contributing Writer, Managing Editor and Publisher, 2021 – Present.

F*** the Treaties: Rescheduling and “Marijuana-Specific Controls”, Cannabis Law Journal, May 24, 2024.

Cannabis Seed Importation Carries CBP Enforcement Risks, Law360, July 5, 2023.

Psychedelic Rx: Legal Battles Aim to Expand Patients’ Access to Psilocybin and Other Hallucinogens, American Bar Association Journal, 2022.

Cannabis Securities Litigation, Seton Hall Legislative Journal, 2022.

Microdosing at Work: Business and Legal Implications, Harvard Law School, Petrie-Flom Center Bill of Health, April 8, 2022.

Psychedelics 2021 Year in Review and Looking Ahead to 2022, Practical Law, January 31, 2022.

Puff, Puff, Tax: Internal Revenue Code Section 208E Penalizes State-Sanctioned Marijuana Companies And Undermines The Ability To Pay Principle, Villanova Law Review, 2021.

Why Was Early Therapeutic Research on Psychedelic Drugs Abandoned?, Psychological Medicine, Cambridge University Press, 2021.

Cannabis Banking: What Marijuana Can Learn from Hemp, Boston University Law Review, 2021.

It’s (Not) Just a Plant: Landscapes of Legalized Cannabis in Oregon’s Rogue River Valley, University of Arizona School of Geography, Development, and Environment, 2021.

Letter from Senators Warren and Booker calling for the decriminalization of cannabis, October 6, 2021.

Federal Courts Are Trending Against Cannabis Contracts, Law360, September 24, 2020.

Preventing Industry Abuse of Cannabis Equity Programs, Southern Illinois University Law Journal, 2020.

Developments in Interstate Compact Law and Practice, American Bar Association, 2020.

Politics and Finite Flexibilities: The UN Drug Control Conventions and Their Future Development, American Journal of International Law, 2020.

I Was Gonna Get a Job, But Then I Got High: An Examination of Cannabis and Employment in the Port-Baratu Regime, Boston University Law Review, 2019.

Up in Smoke: The Looming Insolvency of Oregon Marijuana Growers and the Case for Chapter 12 Bankruptcy Relief, University of Oregon Journal of Environmental Law and Litigation, 2019.

Marriage Equality and a Lawyer’s Role in the Emergence of “New Rights”, Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality, 2019.

A Tale of Two Countries: Does Canada’s Legalization of Cannabis Give it the First Mover Advantage in Franchising?, Franchise Law Journal, 2019.

Unrealistic Expectations: The Federal Government’s Unachievable Mandate for State Cannabis Regulation, Washington Law Review, 2018.

Dr. GreenThumb Goes to Washington: A Scientific Argument for the Legalization of Medical Marijuana, Seton Hall Cir. Review, 2017.

Legalizing Marijuana: A View from Among the Weeds, Hastings Law Journal, 2017.

Helmet to Helmet: The State of the National Football League’s Unsubstantiated Policies in Handling Player Use of Opioids and Marijuana, Mississippi Sports Law Review, 2017.

The Colors of Cannabis: Race and Marijuana, University of California Davis Law Review, 2016.

Ask a Pot Lawyer, The Portland Mercury, Featured Columnist, 2015-2018.

Personal

Family man. Loves the outdoors and especially fly fishing.

Clients

Represented cannabis clients on general business operations, including regulatory compliance, contracts, and real property issues.

Represented cannabis and psilocybin clients on regulatory compliance and controlled substances issues.

Advised U.S. National Credit Union Administration on published hemp banking guidance following the 2018 Farm Bill.

Advised Office of Congressman Earl Blumenauer on interstate cannabis commerce considerations.

Cited by U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker in correspondence to the U.S. Attorney General in relation to international cannabis law and policy.

Advised nation-state in international cannabis trade compliance issues and structuring.

Advised top 5 U.S. grocer on hemp-related food and beverage sales.

Advised top 10 North American Food company on hemp-related food and beverage sales.

Advised world’s largest testing and certification company on cannabis testing issues.

Advised top 3 U.S. shipping company on cannabis shipping policies.

Advised leading venture capital funds on seven- and eight-figure cannabis portfolio M&A projects.

Advised lenders in multi-million dollar mezzanine debt structuring with $1B+ cannabis company.

Advised series of credit unions on marijuana banking program structuring.

Industry Sector Expertise

Business/corporate

Commercial real estate

Cannabis and controlled substances

Experience

Licensed and active since 2010.

Education

Awards