Center for Cannabis safety

CCS was founded in 2019 to support the emerging landscape of regulated cannabis farming practices and production. The CCS team has decades of experience working in the legal, policy, advocacy, and farming realms related to food, water, and the environment, with proven track records in securing local and state legislation, implementing state regulations, protecting consumer rights and the environment, and securing legal victories.

REBECCA SPECTOR, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Rebecca Spector is Founder and Executive Director of Center for Cannabis Safety, and also West Coast Director at Center for Food Safety, where she champions policy initiatives at the state and federal level and coordinates public outreach campaigns to promote healthy and sustainable food systems. She has been working in the environmental and agricultural sector for more than 20 years, and she has led numerous successful legislative campaigns in California and nationally, resulting in laws to restrict antibiotic use in livestock; provide protections for farmers; secure legalization of small-scale seed sharing; preserve county rights to pass agricultural laws; and more. Most recently, she co-created the “Global Seed Network,” a peer-to-peer seed sharing website. Rebecca is associate editor of Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture (created by Doug Tompkins) and Your Right to Know: Genetic Engineering and the Secret Changes in Your Food. Previously she worked at Green Seal, one of the first eco-labeling organizations in the U.S., and Mothers and Others for Livable Planet, founded by Meryl Streep. Spector has authored numerous articles and reports and is regularly featured in national news outlets such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, CBS Evening News, Good Housekeeping, and many others. For ten years, Rebecca was co-owner of the first certified organic farm in Half Moon Bay, California. She holds an M.S. in Environmental Policy from the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment.

ADAM KEATS, LEGAL DIRECTOR

Adam Keats has been working as an environmental attorney for more than 20 years. He primarily works on water supply and water privatization issues, focusing on agricultural water use. He is a 2016 recipient of the California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) award for his work fighting a major sprawl development project in southern California. He is currently litigating several cases regarding water privatization, including a major fight to reverse the privatization of the Kern Water Bank, one of the world’s largest water banking facilities. This work was featured in the 2017 film Water & Power: A California Heist, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and aired on the National Geographic Channel. Keats is a frequent speaker and author on water supply and water privatization. In 2015 he co-authored “Not All Water Stored Underground is Groundwater: Aquifer Privatization and California’s 2014 Groundwater Sustainable Management Act,” published in the Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal. Keats is currently Senior Attorney at Center for Food Safety, and prior to that was a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity and director of that organization’s Urban Wildlands program. He received his law degree in from UC Davis School of Law and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

SIMON HARRIS, OUTREACH DIRECTOR

Simon Harris has been working on sustainable food issues for over 20 years as a campaigner and also a small business owner. For five years he was the Campaign Director for Organic Consumers Association, supervising a national team of organizers working to promote sustainable agriculture and Fair Trade. He also worked as Outreach Coordinator for Californians for GE-Free Agriculture, helping to coordinate statewide county resolutions to stop genetically engineered crops. In 2006 he founded a sustainable catering business, Portland Curry Company. Simon has also worked on farms in the US, England and India. He holds an M.S. in Sustainable Agriculture from London University, Wye College in Kent, England.

SCIENCE AND LEGISLATIVE CONSULTANTS

CCS also works with a number of experienced scientists and legislative consultants on various projects.