Cannabis legalization has outpaced the capacity of state and local governments to implement it effectively.

Governments in newly legalized states face a staggering number of questions and uncertainties.

Governments need to work with private enterprises to provide solutions for data, financing, banking, and compliance.

State and local governments simply don't have access to the expertise they need to succeed.

80+ MILLION PEOPLE

now live in a state with legalized adult-use cannabis

33 STATES

now have legalized medical cannabis

OUR TEAM OF EXPERTS

We are the world's leading experts in cannabis legalization.

Andrew Freedman  Director

Andrew brings vast experience from his three years as the State of Colorado's first Director of Cannabis Coordination. During this time, he developed distinctive experience effectively implementing voter-mandated legalized adult-use and medical cannabis while protecting public health, maintaining public safety, and keeping cannabis out of the hands of children.

Andrew's role in developing a successful operating model for cannabis regulation and stakeholder collaboration was identified as one of the reasons for the State of Colorado's success in implementing adult-use cannabis legalization by the Brookings Institution. Governor Hickenlooper has gone so far as to praise Andrew's work while on national television, stating, "Andrew Freedman, who came in and helped us once it was passed . . . [has] done a remarkable job of creating a regulatory framework."

Andrew has received national recognition for his leadership. Men's Health Magazine named him one of the 30 most influential health influencers of the last 30 years. He was recognized as one of Fast Company's "100 Most Creative People in Business" in 2016. He has been featured on 60 Minutes, NBC Nightly News, The Today Show, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Governing Magazine, and dozens of local stories throughout the nation and internationally.

Andrew holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. in philosophy and political science from Tufts University. ​

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Neal Shifman  Director

Neal is a nationally and internationally known consultant and facilitator in service system redesign, with special expertise in substance use, mental health, criminal justice, and a variety of at-risk populations and their interface with social service systems. As a subject matter expert, he translates knowledge in behavioral health care and human services to social policy and systems change. Neal was an early pioneer in developing the continuum of care for substance use prevention and treatment. He has worked extensively with federal and state systems on substance use and behavioral health projects.

Internationally, a venue for his work has been the Caribbean, where he has led several strategic initiatives involving governments, judicial systems, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector. Examples of his work include the design of the substance use delivery system in St. Maarten; the coordination, development, and implementation of a World Health Organization (WHO)-sponsored Caribbean Initiative on substance use; policy, facilitative, and writing support for the United Nations Drug Control Program's (UNDCP) International Drug Court Project; and a three-year redesign of the criminal justice system in Bermuda known as Alternatives to Incarceration. 
 

Neal holds an M.A. from Goddard Graduate School 1973-1974 and B.A. College of William and Mary 1968-1972.

John Hudak  

John is the deputy director of the Center for Effective Public Management and a senior fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution.

John is the author of Marijuana: A Short History, which offers an up-to-date profile of how cannabis has become a source of legal revenue for both businesses and governments. John's work has been recognized for its quality and contribution by the Midwest Political Science Association and the American Political Science Association's Presidency Research Group.

John holds a B.A. in political science and economics from the University of Connecticut and an M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from Vanderbilt University.

Linda Frazier  

Linda has extensive leadership and consulting experience in behavioral health and addictions. She is a nurse and master certified health education specialist (MCHES) who has worked in public health, prevention, and behavioral health services for more than 30 years in a variety of clinical settings. 
 

She has experience in direct clinical service, operations management, licensing, contracting, regulatory oversight and change management. She speaks and trains on research, clinical, prevention, policy and regulatory best practice approaches to cannabis legalization. She has led federal and state provider learning collaboratives for implementing evidence-based practices and has provided training and technical assistance (T/TA) and coaching on National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)-funded research projects. Linda is from a family in recovery and is experienced in co-occurring treatment. 
 

She chaired the 2019 North American Cannabis Summit and 2017 National Cannabis Summit steering committees and is the Immediate Past Chair of the American Public Health Association Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs Section. 
 

Linda worked in Maine state government for 10 years and last served as associate director of treatment and recovery services for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services. 
 

Linda holds an M.A. in education and a B.S. in adolescent development and health, both from the University of Minnesota.

Alan Marzilli  

Alan's extensive experience in mental health policy, writing, training, and curriculum design includes writing rules implementing Maine's adult-use and medical cannabis initiatives; comprehensive toolkits, blog posts and other web content, podcasts, online curricula, and research reports for the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Labor, and Veterans Affairs (VA); and guidelines for supportive housing in Florida. 
 

He has conducted trainings in 30 states and territories and has designed 3 training curricula that have been used nationally to educate people about mental health, housing, and support services. He has also authored 15 nonfiction books on legal and policy issues for young adult readers. 
 

Alan holds a J.D. from Georgetown University and an M.A. in English from Emory University.

Mackenzie Slade 

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Mackenzie manages projects all over the United States with private and government entities seeking subject matter consultation, strategic planning, and implementation support. She has extensive healthcare-specific project management experience gleaned from numerous state and federal health policy initiatives. For Maine's Office of Marijuana Policy, Mackenzie scoped and managed the development of the adult-use cannabis regulatory framework and assisted in the rulemaking process.
 

Ms. Slade was the sole portfolio manager and revenue cycle consultant for the national implementation of various clinical documentation improvement projects for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Reporting to the Deputy Undersecretary for Health, Ms. Slade led the revenue transformation team to a successful implementation of numerous process improvements, the execution of identified best practices, and the development of key performance indicators (KPIs) to more than 1,000 sites of care. 
 

Predating her time as a government contractor, Ms. Slade provided consultation and research assistance to the leading reproductive health nonprofit in South Carolina, where she managed several proposed bills into a successful legislative session.
 

Mackenzie holds a B.A. in public health from the University of South Carolina and is an M.P.H. candidate at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.

Noah Shifman 

Noah brings to Cannabis Public Policy Consulting more than a decade of experience in the healthcare consulting field, most recently having led the innovation business unit for a Massachusetts consulting firm. There, he directed a strategic cannabis initiative, working with state regulators and public health professionals on decriminalization, legalization, and regulation of cannabis and associated public health concerns. Previously, he assisted several federally funded consulting projects regarding behavioral health, drugged driving, substance use disorders, and workforce development. He is skilled in site and applications development, operations and financial planning, and business development. 
 

Noah holds an M.B.A from the Franklin W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College.

GOVERNMENT

For government, we provide unmatched expertise in marijuana legalization to help state and local governments succeed, and to make sure the latest innovations and standards are being recognized and implemented.

We have helped jurisdictions across the United States and in foreign countries explore policy alternatives, establish initial governance structures, draft legislative language, develop regulations, create communication plans, prioritize budgets, and engage communities and stakeholders that both support and oppose marijuana reform. We analyze data and experiences across states to share best practices and anticipate challenges.

GOVERNMENT

Areas of Expertise

We help jurisdictions across the United States and in foreign countries explore policy alternatives, establish initial governance structures, draft legislative language, develop regulations, create communication plans, prioritize budgets, and engage communities and stakeholders that both support and oppose cannabis reform. We analyze data and experiences across states to share best practices and anticipate challenges.

Areas of Expertise

PRIVATE BUSINESS

Government can't do this alone. To successfully implement cannabis reform, ancillary businesses that provide financial, monitoring, safety, data, and infrastructure solutions must become the backbone of the regulatory system. We are uniquely positioned to help these businesses thrive in an emerging and constantly changing business environment. We provide clarity in a volatile business landscape by helping bring sound products to market and tailoring these products to the unique characteristics of the industry and to varying state and local regulations.

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Intergovernmental relations

Testimonies and briefings:

• United States Congress

• Florida Legislature

• California Legislature

• California Treasury

• California Board of Equalization

• Connecticut Legislature

• Connecticut Commission on Women, Children, and Seniors

• Ohio Legislature

• Maine Legislature

• Nevada Legislature

• Vermont Legislature

• Rhode Island Legislature

• National Institute on Drug Abuse

• Virginia Bar Association

• National Governors Association

• The Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate

• The American Association of Credit Union Leagues

• The Civic Federation of Chicago

• The Brookings Institution

• American Public Health Association

• Empire Club of Canada

• Senate of Canada

• House of Commons of Canada

• Calgary Canadian Summit

Conferences:

• Code Conference

• The Seminar

• Aspen Ideas Fest

• Aspen Institute-Mexico

• Summit Series

• Biennial of the Americas

• The Forum at Harvard School of Public Health

• Governing Magazine Leadership Forum

• The Cannabis Science and Policy Summit

• Conference of State Bank Supervisors

• National Conference of State Legislatures

• American Civil Liberties Union

• The Ohio State University

• SXSW

• The District of Columbia Council

• Association of Food and Drug Officials

• Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police

• Louisiana Hospital Association

• Canadian Petroleum Safety Conference

• GardaWorld Banking Forum

• Credit Union National Association

Recent coverage of Andrew Freedman

Recent coverage of John Hudak

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