Andrew DeWeese, Co-Founder of Arb420 – Interview Series

Even as one of the first states to legalize recreational cannabis and a leader in progressive drug reform, Oregon’s cannabis industry is far from perfect. Traditional business challenges often apply doubly to Oregon cannabis companies, making experienced legal counsel essential. When complex disputes demand mediation or arbitration, having an attorney who understands both cannabis regulations and the nuances of conflict resolution can make all the difference.

To explore the role of a specialized attorney handling arbitration, mediation, and complex legal matters for Oregon cannabis businesses, mycannabis.com spoke with Andrew DeWeese, Co-Founder of Arb420.

So where did you attend law school, and what fields of law did you most frequently study? Even though it was before there was much of a recreational cannabis industry, how did your law school studies assist you in your work with cannabis companies?

I went to University of Miami without a clear idea of the type of law I wanted to practice, although I knew I wanted to litigate. I ended up becoming fascinated with business organizations law. What really helped me from law school was Miami’s approach to learning the language of law and how it works. It’s based on a curriculum developed by Karl Llewellyn and Soia Menschikoff, which teaches you to think really critically about the internal logic of case law and about what facts and evidence are important. That and the really good training I got in my first five years of practice in Miami gave me a solid background in business law and gave me the flexibility and confidence to integrate that practice with the emerging cannabis laws and regulations back in the early 2010’s. 

Prior to founding your own practice and becoming so involved in cannabis law, what types of legal cases did you first provide counsel for? How did those early years right out of law school strengthen the legal skills and duties that became daily parts of your job as a cannabis lawyer?

Being a cannabis lawyer is just like being a regular lawyer, but you need to have your practice, technique and confidence down so you can operate in a space where a lot of the laws are ambiguous and people are making it up as they go along. I got out of law school and began working for a small business litigation firm in downtown Miami. The firm really invested in teaching its attorneys, so I would go through nine or ten revisions of documents each time, waiting on the partner to make redlines and then making the changes myself. I really learned how to write persuasively there. Then I was at an insurance defense firm for a year, and learned how to manage a really big caseload. Then I went to work for a solo practitioner and sort of became his apprentice. He was a great trial lawyer, one of these guys who never uses notes but just can captivate you with argument, and if I can do that at all, I learned it from him. 

With Green Light Law Group in particular, how did your time there serve as a thorough introduction to cannabis law and what it takes to be an attorney in such a new field?

I had already been a weed lawyer for around five years before I joined Green Light. I was at Green Light during COVID and through the bubble and then collapse of the industry, so a lot of the Green Light experience was observing that first hand, because we had an absolute ton of clients. 

What inspired you to create your own practice? How did you hope to further utilize your legal specialties for cannabis businesses during very difficult times and situations?

I am a solitary person by nature and prefer to work on my own, at my own pace, and on my own terms. I was at Green Light and realized I didn’t want to work at a firm anymore, so I left. I’ve represented a whole lot of people in bad trouble, when facing huge legal or financial liability, and I try to help them internalize an accurate understanding of their legal position so they can make an informed choice about what to do, and then to effectively convey that position in front of a judge.

Even in a recreational cannabis industry as established as the Oregon industry, what are some common reasons that Oregon cannabis business owners end up seeking your counsel and expertise?

A lot of times, people feel that they’ve made a relatively minor mistake but the OLCC wants to take away their license, so they come to me to help them with that. Sometimes companies are owed money by other companies for products or services, or a weed tenant and landlord are having a dispute about the lease, or the partners in a business are fighting. In other words, all of the usual reasons a business would consult a lawyer, but worse because of the myriad of regulations and high taxes cannabis businesses face.

Throughout your experience through your own practice and with Arb420, what are the usual reasons that arbitration and mediation are needed within cannabis companies? I imagine licensing matters and related discussions, but what other disputes do your clients regularly face?

Not so much in licensing matters. Most often when business deals go south, especially involving the sale of a licensed business, or when the partners in a company are fighting. In those kinds of situations the parties will usually want to keep the details of their dispute out of the public light, so arbitration or mediation is a good way to resolve things privately.

Despite Oregon’s cannabis industry reaching $925 million in sales in 2025, what are regularly occurring issues surrounding commercial leases and proper facility usage that Arb420’s clientele still deals with? How do those issues ripple through their business?

A lot of landlords charge a premium for cannabis leases but they also don’t like having cannabis tenants, so there tends to be more conflict in cannabis-related leases. I’ve had multiple lawsuits involving the same landlord, where the landlord was alleged to inflate NNN costs and then claimed that the tenant damaged the premises on move-out or took items that belonged to the landlord, like air conditioning systems the clients themselves brought in.

From your legal experience, why are the possible legal issues surrounding arbitration and mediation so much more unique among cannabis businesses? Why are the usually successful mediation and arbitration strategies for other industries not as applicable within the cannabis industry?

Owners of weed businesses are under the gun from everywhere – high taxes, a lot of competition, and brutal regulators. A lot of them also have a background in pre-legalization businesses, and a lot of them are eccentric. They’ve always been screwed over by the law, so they have a hard time trusting the system. For those reasons, establishing trust and rapport with them is more difficult than with normal business owners.

How do you envision the federal rescheduling and registration process for medical cannabis companies changing your duties at Arb420? Do you think there will be more of a need for attorneys specializing in arbitration and mediation?

Attorneys who are adept in representing their clients in arbitration and mediation are always going to be in demand in the cannabis industry whether rescheduling happens or not. And yes – as public facilities, including courts, face higher demand from all businesses, and dwindling state resources – smart cannabis businesses and the attorneys representing them will always include arbitration provisions in their agreements designating a cannabis-specific arbitration service, like arb 420, because they will understand that the person deciding their dispute will give them a fairer shake, because they will be knowledgeable in the cannabis industry. So attorneys who are good at arbitration and who also understand the industry are always going to be in demand.

Thank you for joining us, Andrew! For more information on Arb420, please visit Arb420 website.