M. Allen Hopper is an experienced litigator with a focus on federal court and appellate litigation, as well as a policy expert with an extensive knowledge of federal, state and local cannabis and hemp laws and regulations.

Allen led the legal team that, working closely with the California Attorney General’s office, defeated San Diego County’s 2008 lawsuit seeking to overturn all California medical marijuana laws as preempted by federal law.

Allen was a member of the six-attorney drafting team for Prop. 64, the 2016 ballot initiative creating the framework for California’s regulated commercial cannabis market. Since then, he has represented private sector and local government clients seeking to navigate the new regulatory regime that he helped create. Allen has represented local government entities litigating cannabis regulatory matters in state and federal courts, including the City and County of Santa Cruz (challenging a DEA raid of a local medical cannabis collective garden), and Pueblo, Colorado (defending a RICO lawsuit seeking to invalidate state marijuana laws as preempted by federal law).

Prior to joining JRG, Allen spent a decade as a litigator and policy expert for the ACLU and was a staff attorney for the California Appellate Project, the non-profit law firm established by the California Supreme Court and the State Bar to oversee, train, and assist lawyers appointed by the Court to represent death row defendants in habeas corpus and direct appeal proceedings. Allen’s practice at JRG also includes advising and representing clients in the emerging field of psychedelic law. Allen is a founding member of the Psychedelic Bar Association (“PBA”), presented at the PBA’s inaugural Summit and currently co-chairs the PBA’s Litigation and Advocacy Committee.

Allen has co-authored two published law review articles, including Cooperative Federalism and Marijuana Regulation (62 UCLA L. Rev. 74 (2015)). He earned his B.A. degree from New College of Florida, the honors college of Florida, and his J.D. from the University of California, Davis.