Josh Kappel

Founding Partner

Los Angeles / Denver

josh@vicentesederberg.com

310-684-2016

633 W. 5th St.
26th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90071

Corporate & Business
Entheogens & Emerging Therapies
Impact & ESG
Insolvency & State Receivership
Intellectual Property
International Transactions
Outside General Counsel Program
Technology

California
Colorado

J.D., University of Denver Sturm College of Law
B.S., Truman State University

Overview

Recognition BadgesJosh Kappel is a founding partner of Vicente Sederberg with a passion for helping entrepreneurs and visionaries build human-centric and regenerative companies in the cannabis and psychedelic industries. With a passion for policy, Josh also loves helping advocates draft legislation and build sustaining vehicles that will forever influence these emerging industries.

In addition to policy work, Josh focuses his corporate practice on risk assessment for multinational corporations and financial transactions in the highly regulated cannabis industry. He also routinely provides advice to patients, caregivers, and businesses about cannabis, licensing, regulatory compliance, general business, and transactional law, and the intersection of state and federal law. Recently, Josh has focused his time on the two largest cannabis markets in the world: California and Canada.

Josh previously served as associate director of Sensible Colorado, a nonprofit organization that advocated for medical marijuana patient rights and played a key role in opening the door for the state's regulated medical marijuana system. Josh also contributed to the drafting of Amendment 64, which legalized cannabis for adult use in Colorado.

Josh is a founding board member of the National Cannabis Bar Association, Simplifya, and VS Tech Ventures, and a founding member of the Council for Responsible Cannabis Regulation. He is a sought-after thought leader in cannabis policy, contributing writings, presenting at local and international conferences, and testifying at public hearings on marijuana-related issues. He was named one of "Denver's Top Lawyers" by 5280 Magazine from 2016–2020.

Experience

Leadership & Community Involvement

  • Member, International Cannabis Bar Association
  • Mentor, Canopy Boulder
  • Board Member, Simplifya
  • Founding Board Member, VS Tech Ventures
  • Founding Board Member, Leafwire
  • Founding Member, Council for Responsible Cannabis Regulation
  • Advisory Board Member, Cannabis Wheaton Income Corp
  • Founding Board Member, National Cannabis Bar Association
  • Associate Director, Sensible Colorado

Recognition

Publications

VS Insights

External Publications

Events

  • Speaker, INCBA Cannabis Regulatory Rounds, "Event and On-site Consumption,” Online, July 24, 2020
  • Speaker, CanopyBoulder Investor Hub, "CARES Act and Cannabis,” Online, April 03, 2020
  • Speaker, Coronavirus and Cannabis, "COVID-19 Changes and Challenges for Employers with Littler Mendelson,” Webinar, April 01, 2020
  • Speaker, Coronavirus and Cannabis with Vicente Sederberg and Burns & Levinson, "Coast-to-Coast Regulatory Update,” Webinar, March 27, 2020
  • Speaker, CanopyBoulder Mentor Conversation, "Cannabis Law Peculiarities,” Boulder, June 12, 2019
  • Speaker, SXSW, "When Can We All Get High Together? (Legally),” Austin, March 14, 2019
  • Speaker, International Cannabis Bar Association, "Securing State and Local Licenses and Permits,” , July 25, 2018
  • Speaker, CanopyBoulder , "Cannabis Laws and Peculiarities,” Boulder, February 20, 2018
  • Speaker, INCBA Cannabis Law Institute, "Northbound and Southbound: Cross-Border Transactions Between the United States and Canada ,” Denver, July 29, 2017
  • Speaker, Cannabis Cultivation Conference, "Emerging Cultivation Landscape: A look at New States' Regulations, Challenges, and Opportunities,” , March 20, 2017
  • Speaker, Indo Expo, "The Future of Colorado Cannabis,” , January 28, 2017
  • Speaker, Canadian Cannabis Business Week, "Winning Public Confidence: How to Manage Issues, Attract Positive Attention, and Project Social Responsibility,” , September 15, 2016
  • Speaker, Alaska Bar Association, "Marijuana Regulation 101,” , May 13, 2016
  • Speaker, Alaska Bar Association, "Marijuana: Federalism and Ethics,” , May 13, 2016
  • Speaker, Research Nature Demystifying Cannabis Scientific Conference, "Legalized It: The Beginning of the End of Cannabis Prohibition in the USA and Beyond,” Slovenia, May 15, 2014
  • Speaker, Fill the Hill Cannabis Rally, "Practical Realities of Promoting Legalization,” Ottawa, Canada, April 20, 2013
  • Speaker, Plant Medicine Expo and Healthcare Provider Conference, "Medical Marijuana Debate,” Denver, September 25, 2010

In the Media