Welcome back to Higher Law, our weekly briefing on all things cannabis. I'm Cheryl Miller, reporting for Law.com from Sacramento. 

This week we're looking at:

  • MedMen v. Ascend Wellness, the countersuit
  • The psychedelics law practice 
  • Ballard Partners' new cannabis practice group
  • Amazon's push for legal marijuana

Thanks as always for reading. I'm happy to receive your feedback or story ideas at [email protected].and call me at 916.448.2935. Follow me on Twitter @capitalaccounts.

Marijuana dispensary chain  MedMen.

Citing 'Political Pressure and Undue Influence,' MedMen Countersues Ascend Wellness

Last week we wrote about Greenberg Traurig representing Ascend Wellness in a lawsuit targeting MedMen over an acquisition deal gone south. Well, this week Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan stepped into the picture, filing a countersuit against Ascend on behalf of MedMen in the Supreme Court of New York.

In a filing Monday, Quinn Emanuel attorneys Alex Spiro, Christopher Kercher and David Mader write that MedMen had every right to pull out of a deal that would have given Ascend an 87% stake in the marijuana retailer's New York operations. The lawyers say MedMen negotiated the right to terminate the sale if New York regulators did not sign off on the deal by Dec. 31, 2021, a month before "an existing debt liability" was due.