Partner
rstamey-white@beveragelaw.com
Tel: 415-362-1215, Ext. 106
Fax: 415-362-1494
Rebecca Stamey-White is a partner representing the alcoholic beverage, hospitality, and cannabis industries and their investors and service providers. Rebecca helps her clients secure and maintain their required alcohol and cannabis licenses by providing licensing, production, distribution, sales, and marketing counsel, and defending clients before regulatory bodies when their licenses are at risk. She frequently works with clients at the intersection between the alcohol, cannabis and/or hemp industries and provides special regulatory counsel to other law firms.
Prior to Hinman & Carmichael, Rebecca was an associate in the San Francisco litigation group of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where she worked on litigation involving dormant commerce clause challenges to state alcohol laws and provided alcohol regulatory advice to wine and technology companies. Rebecca received her BA in History & International Studies from Northwestern University and her JD from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.
In addition to her law practice, Rebecca is an adjunct professor at law at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, teaching Cannabis Law, Business, and Policy at the San Francisco Immersion Program. She is also a frequent speaker at industry conferences, law and business schools, and continuing legal education programs on the latest legal issues in the alcoholic beverage and cannabis industries.
ADMISSIONS
2008, California; US District Court, Northern, Eastern, Southern, and Western Districts of California.
EDUCATION
Northwestern University (BA, 2003)
Northwestern University School of Law (JD, 2008)
COMMUNITY AND PROFESSIONAL INVOLVEMENT
Rebecca is co-chair of the International Cannabis Bar Association’s (INCBA) cannabis appellations committee and serves on the California Cannabis Industry Association legislative committee, the U.S. board of the International Wine Law Association (AIDV) and the public policy committee of the Wine Institute. She is an active member of many of the alcohol beverage industry organizations, including the California Family Winemakers, National Conference of State Liquor Administrators (NCSLA), National Association of Licensing Compliance Professionals (NALCP), National Association of Wine Retailers (NAWR), AIDV, and the Association of Zinfandel Advocates & Producers (ZAP). In the cannabis space, Rebecca is an active member of the INCBA, National Cannabis Industry Association, and CCIA. She is also a retired national ski patroller at Northstar California Ski Resort in Lake Tahoe.
“Trade Practices: Legislative and Enforcement Update,” CLE International Wine, Beer & Spirits Law Conference (10/18/22, Phoenix, AZ)
“Trending Hot Topics on Breaking Barriers to Industry Recovery,” NALCP Conference (9/23/22, Portland, OR)
“Alcohol Beverage Law 2022,” Chairperson and Speaker, Practising Law Institute (5/24/22, San Francisco, CA)
“Wine, Weed and Terroir: The future of appellation programs and what they mean for cannabis,” Cannalaw Summit (5/5/22, virtual)
“Cannabis and Chardonnay: the Intersection of Environmental and Legal Issues of Wine and Weed,” Alameda County Bar Association (9/28/21, virtual)
“Beverage alcohol industry panel” and “Breakout A: The rise of alcohol marketplaces,” Avalara Activate - Beverage alcohol industry midyear overview (6/30/21, Virtual)
“The Intersection of Cannabis and Wine,” Owning and Operating a Winery: Legal Considerations, The Seminar Group (6/11/21, Virtual)
“Federal Regulatory Frameworks and Cannabis,” Cannabis Entrepreneurship Academy, University of Colorado Law School and Leeds School of Business (6/4/21, Virtual)
“Appellations, Varietals, and Licensing,” Guest Lecturer, Intellectual Property Summer Institute, University of New Hampshire School of Law (6/2/21, Virtual)
“Online Marketplaces and Wine Sales: An Uneasy Understanding,” Sovos ShipCompliant Wine Summit (5/19/21, Virtual)
“Alcohol Law 2021: Elimination of Bias/Diversity and Inclusion in the Alcohol Industry,” Chairperson and Speaker, Practising Law Institute (5/7/21, Virtual)
“Collaboration in Cannabis Law,” CannaLaw Summit (5/6/21, Virtual)
“A New Administration and a New Trade Policy? – U.S. Trade Policies and their Implications for the Wine Sector,” International Association of Lawyers for Vine and Wine Law (AIDV) U.S. Chapter webinar (2/4/21, Virtual)
“Federal Regulation and Agency Jurisdiction Post-Descheduling,” Marijuana Policy Project and National Cannabis Industry Association Virtual Public Policy Conference (12/7/20, Virtual)
“West Coast Alcohol Regulator Panel,” NALCP Conference (10/29/20, Virtual)
“State of the Beverage Alcohol Industry Investment in Cannabis: What to Expect in 2021,” Wine & Weed Symposium (10/28/20, Virtual)
“Cannabis Beverage Trends,” Meadowlands Digital 2020 (10/4/20, Virtual)
“Alcohol Beverage Law 2020,” Chairperson and Speaker, Practising Law Institute (9/18/20, Virtual)
“Hot Topics in Advertising 2020,” Practising Law Institute (7/23/20, Virtual)
“Covid19 Regulatory Relief and Delivery Best Practices for the Alcohol Industry,” Practicing Law Institute (5/26/20, Virtual)
“Regulating Cannabis: Compare & Contrast with Wine,” UC Davis School of Law Guest Lecture (4/20/20, Virtual)
“Economic Opportunity with Cannabis Appellations,” INCBA @ Berkeley Law: The Path to Appellations (4/2/20, Virtual)
“The Future of Cannabis Dining, Drinking & Crop-to-Kitchen Cuisine” (1/30/20, San Francisco, CA)
“Hot Topics,” SF Bar Association Cannabis Committee Conference (10/30/19, San Francisco, CA)
“TTB Investigations: A Primer for Retailers,” NALCP Conference (10/17/19, Denver, CO)
“Higher Education: Lessons for Alcohol Regulators from Cannabis,” NCSLA Central-Western Regional Conference (9/10/19, Portland, OR)
“Smoking Out the Issues and Challenges in the Legalization of Cannabis,” American Bar Association Annual Meeting (8/9/19, San Francisco, CA)
“Selling & Distributing Drinks: What’s Different for Cannabis?” Cannabis Drinks Expo (7/25/19, San Francisco, CA)
“Wine Regulatory Trends” ShipCompliant Wine Summit ( 5/20/19, Napa, CA)
“Alcohol Law 2019: At what cost, disruption?” Chairperson and Speaker, Practising Law Institute (5/10/19, San Francisco, CA)
“Cannabis: Business Fundamentals / Lessons Learned from the Alcohol Industry," Practising Law Institute (4/16/19, San Francisco, CA)
“Legal Cannabis in California: A Year Later,” Regional Leadership Forum, Wine Institute & CAWG (3/11/19, Sacramento, CA)
"An Introduction to Alcoholic Beverage & Cannabis Law," Culinary Institute of America Wine and Beverage Graduate Certificate Program (2/22/19, St. Helena, CA)
“What Wine Marketers Need to Know about Cannabis and the New Cannabis Consumer,” Unified Wine & Grape Symposium (1/29/19, Sacramento, CA)
"Implications and Intersections of Cannabis and the Wine Industry," SommCon (11/15/18, San Diego, CA)
"Alcohol in Cannabis: Spectator or Participant," NCSLA (10/29/18, Pasadena, CA)
"Wine & Cannabis CLE," AIDV (9/30/18, Napa, CA)
"Moving Your Brand to the Big Leagues," BevCon LA (8/19/18, LA, CA)
"Bang for your Buck: Getting the best ROI on Events," BevCon LA (8/19/18, LA, CA)
"Wine & Weed Events," Wine & Weed Symposium (8/2/18, Santa Rosa, CA)
"Making Health Claims under FDA Scrutiny," NCBA Presents CLE at NCIA Cannabis Business Summit & Expo (7/25/18, San Jose, CA)
"Who is your client anyway? Ethical 'watch-outs' for when industry practitioners seek legal advice from regulators," National Conference of State Liquor Authorities Annual Conference (6/19/18, Waikoloa, HI)
"Keeping It Legal: What You Can & Can't Do," Central Coast Wine & Weed Conference (5/10/18, San Luis Obispo, CA)
"The Digital Age - Roundtable on New Technologies Impacting the Industry," CLE International Wine, Beer & Spirits Conference (4/23/18, SF, CA)
"Social Media Influencer Marketing," Craft Beverage Expo (11/7/17, Portland, OR)
"Compliant Alcohol Digital Marketing," eBev (11/3/17, Las Vegas, NV)
"An Introduction to Alcoholic Beverage & Cannabis Law," Culinary Institute of America Wine and Beverage Graduate Certificate Program (10/27/17, St. Helena, CA)
"Hot Topics," NCSLA Central/Western Regional Conference (10/1/17, Indianapolis, IN)
"Keeping It Legal: What You Can & Can't Do," Wine & Weed Conference (8/3/17, Santa Rosa, CA)
"Three Tiers and Tied Houses: From the 21st Amendment to the 21st Century," Sonoma State University EMBA Program Guest Lecturer (6/20/2017, Santa Rosa, CA)
"ABC Enforcement Priorities," NCSLA Annual Conference (6/13/17, Denver, CO)
Permitting Panel - North Bay Business Journal Cannabis Industry Conference (5/9/17, Santa Rosa, CA)
"Legal Issues in Social Media"- Wine Institute MarCom 2017 (4/18/17, Santa Rosa, CA)
"Marijuana & Wine: Understanding New Competition to Build New Opportunities" - Wine Industry Expo (Santa Rosa, CA 12/1/16)
"Post-Election Analysis of the Legalization of Marijuana: Where Do We Go from Here?" - Webinar (11/10/16)
"Social Media & Event Promotion" - CEB Wine Law Forum 2016 (11/3/16, Santa Barbara, CA)
"Improving the Regulatory Process: A Case Study in Marijuana and Alcohol" - NCSLA Conference (9/26/16, Austin, TX)
"Managing Retailer Relationships" – ShipCompliant Direct Conference (6/24/16, San Francisco, CA)
"Social Media Do's & Don'ts for Alcohol & Cannabis" – Practicing Law Institute Hot Topics in Advertising Law (6/9/16, New York, NY)
"Elevated Cannabis Compliance Conference, AB-243 & AB-266 – What You NEED to Know" / "Distribution & Transportation Licensing Basics" (two sessions, 4/16-17/16, Santa Rosa, CA)
"Going (Inter)national" - Women Grow Leadership Summit, Denver, Co (2/5/16)
"Canna Business Legal FAQs" - Women Grow Bay Area Signature Networking Event, Oakland, CA (1/7/16)
"Millennials: Their Time Has Come" - NCSLA Central/Western Regional Conference, Seattle, WA (9/28/15)
"The New Business of Cannabis" - Business & Professional Caucus, California Democratic Party, Burlingame, CA (8/14/15)
"Keynote: Social Media & Legal Regulations" - Wine Industry Technology Symposium (WITS), Napa, CA (6/25/15)
"California Licensing" - ShipCompliant DIRECT Conference, Napa, CA (5/29/15)
"Event 'Opportunities' - What's Best for My Business?" - Craft Beverage Expo, Santa Clara, CA (5/2015)
"Getting the Most Bang for Your Advertising Buck" - Craft Beverage Expo, Santa Clara, CA (5/2015)
"So You Want to Sell Booze in California?" - Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB), online (4/2015)
"Compliant and Effective Social Media and Marketing" - American Distilling Institute Craft Spirits Conference, Louisville, KY (4/2015)
"Emerging Issues in Wine Law" - Palo Alto Area Bar Association, Palo Alto, CA (2/2015)
“Are Your Ads and Marketing Programs in Compliance?” – Craft Beverage Expo, San Jose, CA (5/2014)
“Toward Cannabis Control: Comparing Pioneer States and Alcohol Regulation Models” – UC Davis School of Law Wine and the Law Course, Davis, CA (4/2014)
“Evolution of Couponing” - National Alcoholic Beverage Control Association (NABCA), Washington, D.C. (3/2014)
“Emerging Issues in Alcoholic Beverage Law: Social Media and Advertising Practices” – UC Davis School of Law King Hall Wine Society Presentation, Davis, CA (4/2013)
“California Liquor License Issues” – 31st Annual Real Property Retreat, State Bar of California, Lake Tahoe, CA (5/2012)
Quoted in Wine-Searcher (online) article Could a new US president see a surge in cannabis states? “I think when you look back to the end of Prohibition for alcohol, the timing is pretty similar… States are seeing the opportunity. The regulators are talking to each other. And you are starting to see regions. The West and the Mountain West are becoming cannabis states, red and blue." Nov 10. 2020.
Quoted in Wine-Searcher (online) article Big Brewers Eye Up Cannabis, “I thought there would be a lot more grape-based beverages, more beer-like beverages… The regulatory challenges and the production challenges in making those products has led to somewhat of a monotone set of offerings around seltzers. I didn't expect that trend to be quite so large. Right now there are very few manufacturers that are doing (cannabis) beverages. I thought there'd be more by now.” Nov 8, 2020.
Featured in North Bay Business Journal article Sonoma County Wineries Get Advantage over Breweries under California’s Latest Public Health Order, “[The wine industry] made the case. I don’t know if the beer or the spirits industry has the same clout or access to be able to make that case.” July 22, 2020.
Quoted in Super Lawyers Northern California Magazine article Nipping Startup Concerns in the Bud: the Cannabis Industry Is Financially Rewarding, but Complicated, in NorCal, “While there certainly is opportunity in that environment, it is one that can get very legally complicated very quickly. Obviously, we’re still dealing with federal illegality. A lot of localities in California have not permitted [retail] cannabis. … And even when they do, they have their own licensing structures and restrictions.” July 20, 2020.
Contributor: National Cannabis Industry Association, Policy Council’s federal legalization White Paper: Adapting a Regulatory Framework for the Emerging Cannabis Industry, Oct. 1, 2019.
Quoted in Beverage Industry News article, Cannabis: Friend or Foe of Alcohol?: “The goal with vertical integration was to emphasize local control, and to avoid the complications of three-tier,” April 2019 edition.
Included in Forbes article, Rules for Legal, Wine-Focused Social Media Posts are Changing: “Now it’s explicitly permissible to advertise these events with photos, which is helpful, since every social media platform these days focuses on photos and video,” Feb. 19, 2019.
Quoted in Forbes article, Cannabis Beer And Wine Are Here, But Are They Here To Stay?: “[For the time being, alcohol and cannabis products need to stay in their own lanes – they need to be either cannabis beverages or alcohol beverages, not both,” Nov. 6, 2018.
Mentioned in SevenFiftyDaily article, Exploring the Legal Ramifications of Wine and Weed Events, “If you have an 02 [winery] licensed premises, I would not recommend doing cannabis events [there],” Aug. 9, 2018.
Included in North Bay Business Journal article, Lagunitas Brewing Leads Rush by Beer Companies into Cannabis Space: “I talked to folks who want to do a whiskey experience with cannabis.... I think cannabis drinks (are) going to be huge,” Aug. 3, 2018.
Quoted in Mother Jones article, Pot-Infused Beer Has Hit Shelves. Is it Legal? "Every state that has a legal cannabis program deals with on-premises consumption a little bit differently, with most not permitting it[...]," Aug. 2, 2018.
Author, The Daily Journal, Will CBD land California business owners in hot water? July 21, 2018.
Mentioned in The Press Democrat article, Lagunitas Brewing Unveils Cannabis-Infused Drink: "I think the alcohol industry is very much paying attention to cannabis and finding out ways to get involved," June 26, 2018.
Quoted in Wine Industry Advisor article, Considering Wine & Weed Events...Not So Fast, “The situation is not ideal, to say the least. The options are not really intended to permit the consumption of both alcohol and cannabis on the same premises,” Feb. 1, 2018.
Featured in Beverage Industry Enthusiast article, Wine & Weed Symposium Explores Joint Issues, “Lawyers like to crush dreams… I’ll give you free legal advice: If you have a TTB bond, don’t bring on cannabis,” Aug. 7, 2017.
Informs Wine Business online article, Six Ways Wine and Weed are Similar -- and One Major Difference, Aug. 7, 2017.
Quoted in The Press Democrat article, At Wine and Weed Symposium, vintners find themselves surrounded by economic opportunity, “Most (winery) people are calling to find out what the opportunities are. Certainly, there are opportunities, but they are complicated. It’s not a casual endeavor,” Aug. 3, 2017.
Interviewed on Airtalk "Discussing the CA bill looking to restrict how state-licenses cannabis businesses advertise," July 31, 2017.
Quoted in Spirited Magazine article, Going Green: Legalization of Marijuana for Recreational Use Brings Challenges and Opportunities to the Alcohol Beverage Industry, “We’ve seen wineries asking about cultivation opportunities and looking at possibilities for converting vineyards, and we’ve seen all beverage categories looking into whether and how they can use cannabis or hemp in alcoholic beverage recipes. We’ve also had restaurants, wineries, breweries, cannabis collectives, and event production companies navigating the legal considerations for events pairing food, alcohol, and cannabis,” July 13, 2017.
Featured prominently in Leafly's news article, California Bill Would Ban Cannabis-Branded Hats, T-Shirts, Other Merchandise, “SB 162 is broad enough in its language that it could cover branded merchandise worn by employees or even merchandise produced by an unlicensed third party if it was done so for the licensee. The [California] bill does not have the appropriate limitations that Washington has on their restrictions, which only prevent licensees from selling or giving away branded products from their licensed premises or on their website, but makes no attempt to regulate non-licensees producing or selling these products… SB 162’s restriction on ‘advertising’ generally would give enforcement authorities the ability to shut down all cannabis merchandising, including all kinds of branded products that do not contain cannabis, so this is a bill the industry should be actively opposing or working toward more precise language here… Restrictions on consumer alcohol merchandising are limited to what products may be given away to consumers, but there are not blanket prohibitions on the sale of branded products or restrictions on where these products can be sold as advertising. This bill is an attempt to restrict commercial free speech without a substantial state interest in doing so. I believe in restrictions on overly aggressive marketing (which is the constraint on giveaways) and marketing that is appealing to minors, but I think this goes too far,” June 27, 2017.
Featured in Tom Wark's Fermentation Blog article, "Time to Question the Weed & Wine Collaboration Scenario, “I think the risk of competition is being over-blown. It doesn’t have to be an either-or situation… There is room for collaboration, with consumers enjoying both industries at different points in time. For example, the food element is something the wine industry has done really well. Cannabis goes really well with food, so collaboration on the hospitality around food may be a great chance to work together,” Mar. 2, 2017.
Quoted extensively in Wine Industry Advisor article "Wine & Weed Symposium 2017: Strange Bedfellows or Opportunity Knocking? “I think the risk of competition is being over-blown. It doesn’t have to be an either-or situation; there is room for collaboration, with consumers enjoying both industries at different points in time. For example, the food element is something the wine industry has done really well. Cannabis goes really well with food, so collaboration on the hospitality around food may be a great chance to work together… The regulatory issues that the cannabis industry is facing are daunting. Unlike the alcohol industry, where licenses are issued at the state level and localities can restrict certain operations but do not issue their own licenses, for the cannabis industry, you have to have a state and a local license, and there may be additional limitations and taxes at the local level. If localities choose to restrict cannabis operations, these businesses won’t be able operate in those communities, even if they would otherwise comply under state law… You know the saying how do you make a million dollars in the wine industry? Start with ten million! That is becoming very true for cannabis businesses as well… Cannabis businesses can’t take normal business deductions on their taxes. IRS section 280E states that growers can’t write off business expenses. No other industry has that type of hardship… These people are extremely passionate about what they are doing; the plant, their craft, and the medical and lifestyle benefits. In that, it is very similar to the passion found in the wine industry.” Mar. 1, 2017.
Featured in Wines & Vines article Will Weed Tourism compete with Wine? “Every state approaches cannabis differently, but it’s still a controlled substance and illegal under federal law. [For tours] [t]here can be no consumption, and they’ll need a license to sell cannabis.” Dec. 13, 2016.
Featured on KRCB Radio in segment "Cannabis and Cabernet: Collaborators or Competitors?" interviewed by Bruce Robinson. Stream it here.
Featured in The Press Democrat article Sonoma County Wineries Ponder Possibility of Paring With Cannabis Industry, “A big one is the on-premise use and figuring out a way to do these events; to be able have consumers in that bar environment and tasting room environment where they can try new things with experts and be educated and learn how to pair with food,” Dec. 1, 2016.
Quoted in Leafly article, 13 Things You Might Not Know About California's Prop. 64, “The way it works in alcohol is, everything is advertising. It’s all commercial speech. When Snapchat came out, it skewed very young. That was a platform a lot of brands wanted to be on, but it took a while to rise above that threshold,” Sept. 30, 2016.
Quoted in Leafly article, Federal Court Bars Justice Department From Prosecuting Medical Cannabis, “I think they’re going to have a really hard time in the state of California demonstrating they complied with state law, just because there’s not a lot of it… It essentially makes it harder for the DOJ to bring these cases, [but] I certainly don’t think this ruling means anyone is safe,” Aug. 16, 2016.
Quoted in Wine Spectator: Unfiltered article, Renwood Winery Scores a Victory Over the ABC, “We’ve got the BottleRock cases going to the appeals board in January. The dismissal in the Renwood case is unfortunate [for them], because it allows the ABC to not have to deal with it, and to not have a precedent in the case that will change how they interpret these laws," Dec. 17, 2015.
Quoted in Wine Spectator: Unfiltered article: "California Tries, Fails to Address Confusing Social Media Laws":
"Continuing to add all of these narrow exceptions, instead of trying to create a more comprehensive solution to the tied-house laws, creates an environment where it's even hard for a lawyer specializing in alcoholic beverage law to figure out a compliant social-media strategy, let alone a small winery that doesn't have a legal team on hand to clear each social-media post,” Oct. 15, 2015.
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