Rachel K. Gillette is an American attorney who specializes in law relating to
marijuana and the cannabis industry. Gillette is based in
Lafayette, Colorado.[1] As a
lawyer, she is licensed to practice law in
Colorado and
Connecticut.[2]
Biography
Gillette earned her
Juris Doctor from
Quinnipiac University.[2] Starting in 2010, she began to practice law related to the cannabis industry.[3] That year, she opened her own law business in Colorado after House Bill 1284 was passed.[4] In 2016, she became the head of the Denver office of the law firm,
Greenspoon Marder LLP.[5] Gillette currently serves as the head of the firm's national cannabis law practice,[6] and is expected to help grow that sector for the firm.[7]
In 2013, Gillette was the executive director of the
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) in Colorado.[8] She advocates
drug-testing reform that would protect workers using cannabis while off-duty.[9] Gillette sued the IRS for a client who is in the cannabis industry who was penalized for paying taxes in cash, a common practice in the industry.[10] Gillette also worked on legal issues for the development of PotCoin.[11] Gillette is an outspoken critic of the "
War on Drugs," and considers state legalization of marijuana as an "exit strategy for the failed drug war," according to the BBC.[12]