Ariel Clark (she/they) is an attorney and co-founder of Clark Howell LLP, a women-steered business, corporate and regulatory law firm focused on cannabis, hemp and psychedelics. As decriminalization and research efforts expand across the nation for plant-based and other historically misunderstood compounds, Clark Howell LLP is actively engaged in the conversation regarding interconnectedness-driven law reform and lawyering, and helping to shape policy that emphasizes open source, ethical business models that reimagine a new role for capitalism in commercialization.
Ariel is a founding Board Member of the Psychedelic Bar Association, Board Representative to the Religious Use Committee, and Member of the Legislation and Regulation Committee. Ariel is General Legal Counsel to Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines, serves on Chacruna’s Board, and is also a member of the Council for the Protection of Sacred Plants. Among other organizational leadership roles, she founded and ran the Los Angeles Cannabis Task Force, she co-founded and serves on the Executive Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Cannabis Law Section, and she co-founded the Cannaboss Womxn’s Circle. She has been recognized by Rolling Stone as one of 18 “Women Shaping The Culture of Tomorrow”; Cannabis Business Executive as “75 Most Important Women in Cannabis”; mg Magazine as “30 Most Powerful Cannabis Lawyers”; and Entrepreneur’s “Top 100 Cannabis Leaders.”
