John Moynan
John Moynan, General Counsel for SLANG Worldwide
Warren Bobrow: Where are you from? Why cannabis? Did you go to law school? Who is your mentor?
John Moynan: I'm originally a Southern California guy, but Colorado has been my home since I moved to Boulder to attend the University of Colorado School of Law in the summer of 2013. The first ever recreational marijuana sales occurred about six months later. At that point, there was a palpable buzz about the industry and its potential throughout Colorado. However, most seasoned lawyers and firms were reluctant to start representing cannabis clients. That summer, I was in need of an internship and the industry was in need of people with a legal skillset. Fortunately, I was matched up to work with the General Counsel for O.penVAPE, who at that time may have been the first ever GC in the adult use cannabis industry. He was not only my first professional boss, but also my first legal mentor. My favorite bit of advice from him has been “good lawyers negotiate points, great lawyers align incentives.” I’ve been lucky enough to be surrounded by a handful of professional mentors along the way that have helped me define my career path and shape my skill set. Much of that has been by way of legal mentorship, but I've also been extremely fortunate to partner with a group of amazing entrepreneurs through my career, many of whom are still with or around the company, and continue to facilitate my growth as an executive on a daily basis. One of the great things about working at SLANG, is our cultural commitment to mentorship– from the c-suite to customer service, we’re all mentors and we strive to raise one another up.
WB: Tell me about your role as General Council of SLANG Worldwide? What (or who?) inspired you to pursue this career path? What legal trend(s) will impact the cannabis industry the most in the next six months? A year?
JM: My day-to-day certainly involves a lot of traditional transactional work, compliance work, etc., but strategic advising has become a huge part of what I do, and is something that I thoroughly enjoy. Most strategic decision-making requires the company lawyer to be involved at some point. There’s a great deal of interest in SLANG and the way that we do business, so it’s really fantastic to have been a part of building the foundation of the capital-light model that drives what we do.
My inspiration for this career path comes from the challenges cannabis as a business presents to the post-prohibition world. Cannabis may be one of the most heavily regulated industries in America. There’s an extremely complex network of federal, state and local laws that dictate what you can and cannot do in this space. Layer in on top of that all of the banking, tax, IP and other cannabis-specific issues that require at least some familiarity with many important areas of the law. Finding the solutions to these issues is never easy, but it is always gratifying.
As far as legal trends over the next six months, you can obviously point to some of the things that are happening with new states coming online, the effect of the 2018 Farm Bill on CBD and hemp, and some of the legislation that is potentially happening around banking. All these will have a substantial and lasting impact on the shape of the cannabis industry. I've always been fascinated by the way that the industry has adapted wherever traditional industries have been unwilling to "cross the green line." Because of the federal legality issues surrounding cannabis, the way that way these businesses are structured, financed, bought, sold, banked, and run is fundamentally different than what you see in other industries. Cannabis businesses are "forced" to be nimbler and more creative in every aspect of business – certainly from a legal perspective. Because of that, you're seeing some really amazing innovative businesses pop up across the board. I'm happy to be a part of one of those and continue to look forward to the way in which it all evolves organically over the next 6-12 months. Of course, what really excites me is the possibility of Federal Legalization, the way in which that manifests, and how we as an industry collectively adapt around that inevitability.
WB: Do you enjoy cooking? If so, what are your favorite things to prepare? Who taught you? What’s your favorite restaurant? Where is it located?
JM: I'm a huge food guy, but a terrible cook. Fortunately, I have a girlfriend who's not only a phenomenal cook, but also patient enough to teach me her ways. While I still have a ways to go with my cooking skills, Denver has been developing an amazing food scene. It's so hard to pick a number one restaurant, so I'll go with where my loyalties lie. I've been a big fan of Charlie Brown's in Denver's Capitol Hill neighborhood since I moved to the state. It's a Denver institution and you can't beat the all-you-can-eat pig roast they hold there every Friday in the summer.
WB: What differentiates you from your peers? Why did you pursue cannabis as a lawyer?
JM: A big piece of what differentiates me from my peers is that I’ve spent my entire professional career within the context of this industry. The Colorado cannabis industry and I essentially grew together. That’s shaped my approach to problem solving – I'm less inclined to fall back on other "default" solutions from prior experience when presented with a problem. Instead I focus on tailoring creative legal solutions that work for new, cannabis specific, problems. Having a team of experienced advisors and entrepreneurs is a crucial element of this though. Together, we’re not only shaping the future of SLANG, but are in many ways paving a path forward for the cannabis industry globally.
WB: What are you passionate about?
JM: I'm passionate about adventure in new experiences, places, people and challenges. My job is an adventure every week. Outside of that, I pour all my excess energy into traveling, outdoor sports, spending time in the mountains (mostly in the winter), my girlfriend, and my dog. Sitting still or feeling stagnant isn’t an option in my mind, so I'm passionate about working to disrupt the norm. SLANG has proven to be a great match for me in terms of passion, as an entrepreneurial spirit is at the core of what we do.
