The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently announced that 33 deaths have been attributed to a pulmonary disease seemingly caused by vaping. Nearly everyone who has died from the disease, and many who have been sick, used a black market THC product, which could be a call for companies to bolster their supply chains and fill out their in-house legal departments.

“A lot of these companies are really startups. When you’re a startup, you’re mostly a skeleton crew and you outsource legal services when you need it,” said Robert DiPisa, co-chair of the cannabis law group at Cole Schotz in its New Jersey and New York offices. “I think you’re going to see these cannabis companies build out their in-house legal counsel. I think what’s happening in the vaping industry might act as a catalyst for vaping companies to bulk up their in-house legal counsel.”