Rod Kight is a cannabis business law attorney. He created the “Source Rule”, which is widely credited as a primary legal foundation for the contemporary hemp market in cannabinoids and other cannabis materials. Rod represents legal cannabis businesses throughout the world, is editor and chief writer of the cannabusiness.law blog, and is the author of “Cannabis Business Law-What You Need to Know”, published by Aspatore Books. Rod has served on the advisory board for the American Journal of Endocannabinoid Medicine (AJEM), for which he wrote a legal column. He also served on the board of directors for an international cannabis and psychedelics company.
Rod is frequently quoted on cannabis matters by trade publications and major media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, NPR, Time, Washington Post, Forbes, Politico, Salon.com, and Business Insider. Additionally, Rod has been listed in MG Magazine’s list of “”30 Powerful Litigators””, Hemp Connoisseur Magazine’s list of “100 People You Should Know”, and High Time’s “”2020 Leaders in Cannabis Law.”” In 2024, Rod was also nominated for an EmJay in the category of best cannabis lawyer in the US at MJBizCon. He has been part of the legal teams in several high-profile cases against the DEA and various states regarding hemp, has drafted and presented cannabis legislation to a foreign head of state, testified to the FDA about CBD and cannabis compounds, and has served as an expert witness in cases involving hemp. Rod routinely advises in-house counsel and C-suite level executives on cannabis matters and is regularly asked to be a guest speaker on US and international podcasts about cannabis and psychedelics..
