Who we are

• Christopher P. Parrington is the founder and principal of Cannapliant Consulting. Mr. Parrington was born and raised in Minnesota, where he has resided his entire life except five (5) years when he attended college at Montana State University – Bozeman. In 2004, Mr. Parrington was part of the inaugural graduation class from University of St. Thomas’ School of Law in Minneapolis, MN. While in law school, Mr. Parrington was also part of the inaugural law review at St. Thomas. After graduation, Mr. Parrington worked as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Heidi S. Schellhas, Hennepin County District Court.

• Mr. Parrington practiced law for almost 20 years before retiring from private practice to pursue new business opportunities and ventures including Cannapliant Consulting.  During his legal career in private practice, Mr. Parrington represented financial institutions including broker / dealers, registered investment advisory firms, banks, and fund managers on compliance with FINRA, state and federal securities laws, rules, and regulations, often considered the mostly highly regulated industry in the country. Mr. Parrington also regularly advised and represented financial institutions and issuers regarding routine examinations, regulatory inquiry responses, and investigations and enforcement actions commenced by securities regulators including the SEC, FINRA, state securities regulators and the Nasdaq. Mr. Parrington was also an experienced trial lawyer and litigator, with experience trying and arbitrating more than 25 cases in state and federal courts, and before FINRA, JAMS and AAA arbitration panels. Mr. Parrington was a member and regular contributor (publications and presentations) to the Independent Broker Dealer Consortium (“IBDC”) and the National Society of Compliance Professionals (“NSCP”), on a variety of securities-related compliance topics.

• From 2014 through September 2023, Mr. Parrington served as legal counsel representing cannabis companies throughout the United States in respect to regulatory compliance, mergers and acquisitions, due diligence, capital raising, litigation and defense of regulatory investigations and enforcement actions. Mr. Parrington has advised cannabis clients on compliance issues in many of the states that have passed legislation legalizing cannabis (medical and recreational), as well as advising Native American tribes on issues related to operating in the cannabis industry under tribal sovereignty and state laws. Mr. Parrington has the knowledge, understanding and experience necessary to advise cannabis businesses through the myriad of regulatory challenges associated with navigating through federal guidance, state laws, and local government rules and regulations related to cannabis. Mr. Parrington has also advised hemp businesses attempting to navigate through the regulatory legalization of hemp under the 2018 Farm Bill including the creation of compliance policies and procedures, and issues related to the interstate transportation of hemp.

• Mr. Parrington has been interviewed by and quoted in numerous state and national publications on cannabis-related topics including the Los Angeles Times, U.S. News and World Report, Forbes, Marijuana Business Daily, Bevnet Magazine, the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Mr. Parrington regularly teaches cannabis-related continuing education courses for the National Business Institute, Minnesota CLE, and IBDC, and taught an online course on cannabis regulations for Doane University in Nebraska. Mr. Parrington is often asked to write or present on cannabis-related topics.

Publications

• Author, Evolution vs. Regulation: A Look at Delta-8 THC, Marijuana Venture (2021).
• Author, Securities and Marijuana: A Broker / Dealer’s Guide to Navigating through the Rules and Regulations Related to the Cannabis Industry, NSCP (2016).
• Author, Native American Tribes & the Evolution of Cannabis Laws, Attorney at Law Magazine – Twin Cities, MN (2015).
• Author, Smooth Sailing: Minnesota Sticking to MMJ Timeline, Dispensaries on Track to Open in Summer, Marijuana Business Daily (2015).
• Author, Is it Illegal to do Business with Businesses in the Legal Drug Industry, Attorney at Law Magazine – Twin Cities, MN (2014).
• Author, The Real Dope: Banking in the Age of Medical and Recreational Marijuana, Minnesota Bankers Association News (2014).

Presentations:

• Presenter, Minnesota's Marijuana Laws -- 2023 Changes and 2024 Outlook, Minnesota CLE (2024).
• Presenter, The Latest in Cannabis Finance, CDFA / BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series (2023).
• Presenter, Cannabis in Minnesota:  2023 Update, National Business Institute (2023).
• Presenter, Marijuana Business Law in Minnesota, National Business Institute (2023).
• Presenter, 2023 Cannabis Law Conference, Minnesota CLE (2023).
• Presenter, Emerging Markets: Crypto, Cannabis and Psychedelics, IBDC (2023).
• Moderator, Cultivating Tribal Cannabis: Tribal Sovereignty and Cannabis, What Matters and Why, Zuber Lawler Webinar (2023).
• Moderator, Cannaployment: Best Practices for Confidentiality and Intellectual Property Agreements, Zuber Lawler Webinar (2023).
• Presenter, Development Finance and the Cannabis Industry, CDFA / BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series (2022).
• Presenter, Is Cannabis an Essential Investment Option for your Clients?, IBDC (2021).
• Presenter, Regulating Marijuana: Approaches by Individual States, Minnesota CLE (2021).
• Presenter, The Cannabis Report: What Every Lawyer Should Know about Marijuana, Hemp, CBD, and Vaping, Minnesota CLE (2021).
• Presenter, Cannabis 101, Doane University (2021).
• Presenter, Cannabis and Hemp Business Law Issues for the Non-Expert, Business Law Institute (2020).
• Presenter, A Selective Overview of Cannabis Issues for Banking Lawyers, Bank of the West (2019).
• Presenter, Banking the Cannabis Industry: Legal and Ethical Issues, Nebraska Bankers Association (2018).

• Mr. Parrington has been honored for his experience in the cannabis industry, including being recognized in 2021 and 2023 as one of the Top 200 Cannabis Lawyers internationally, Cannabis Law Report and Cannabis Law Journal; profiled in Law.com’s Higher Law Q&A (2020); and recognized as one of the 250 Cannabis Law Experts according to Databird Research Journal (2018). Mr. Parrington has also served as an official for the World Record Academy, officiating the world’s largest Bloody Mary bar in Waconia, MN. Mr. Parrington splits his time between Minnesota and Montana, and he remains licensed to practice law in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana, even though he is no longer representing clients as a practicing attorney.