COURTESY OF: JOHN MOYNAN
John Moynan, General Counsel for SLANG Worldwide
Warren Bobrow: Where are you from? Why cannabis? Did you go to law school? Who is your mentor?
John Moynan: I’m originally a Southern California guy, but Colorado has been my home since I moved to Boulder to attend the University of Colorado School of Law in the summer of 2013. The first ever recreational marijuana sales occurred about six months later. At that point, there was a palpable buzz about the industry and its potential throughout Colorado. However, most seasoned lawyers and firms were reluctant to start representing cannabis clients. That summer, I was in need of an internship and the industry was in need of people with a legal skillset. Fortunately, I was matched up to work with the General Counsel for O.penVAPE, who at that time may have been the first ever GC in the adult use cannabis industry. He was not only my first professional boss, but also my first legal mentor. My favorite bit of advice from him has been “good lawyers negotiate points, great lawyers align incentives.” I’ve been lucky enough to be surrounded by a handful of professional mentors along the way that have helped me define my career path and shape my skill set. Much of that has been by way of legal mentorship, but I’ve also been extremely fortunate to partner with a group of amazing entrepreneurs through my career, many of whom are still with or around the company, and continue to facilitate my growth as an executive on a daily basis. One of the great things about working at SLANG, is our cultural commitment to mentorship– from the c-suite to customer service, we’re all mentors and we strive to raise one another up.