Cannabis Law Group's Medical Marijuana Legal Blog

"Criminally prosecuting adults for making the choice to smoke marijuana is a waste of law enforcement resources and an intrusion on personal freedom," said Democratic Congressman Barney Frank.

U.S. lawmakers recently introduced a new bill that would legalize medical marijuana in Los Angeles and in every other U.S. city. The bill states that each state would have the ability to regulate, tax and control the drug itself. The bill is the first attempt to legalize production and consumption of marijuana nationwide, according to Reuters.

Our Orange Country medical marijuana attorneys understand that this new law could prove helpful as more than a dozen states now have medical marijuana laws on the books. It's time for the federal government to step back from this industry and stop trying to strike down state laws. With one set of laws in a state, medical marijuana production and consumption may finally be able to function properly, effectively and legally.

"Since 1932, marijuana has been a federally-prohibited substance, and this would undo that," says Sam Kamin, a law professor at the University of Denver's Sturm College of Law.

Currently, there are sixteen states and the District of Colombia that have made the production and consumption of marijuana legal for medical purposes. Fourteen states have decriminalized small amounts for consumption.

"I don't expect to pass it in this Congress," added Frank. "But I think we're making progress. This is an educational process."

It is estimated that roughly 850,000 Americans were arrested for marijuana-related offenses in 2009 alone. Roughly 90 percent of these cases were for possession, according to the FBI.

"The drug war has not worked, clearly," said Representative Jared Polis, a Democrat from Colorado.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon, whose country is the main supplier of marijuana to the United States, recently stated that legalizing cannabis throughout the entire country would make it tougher for countries like Mexico to prosecute farmers for growing a product that is legal in their neighboring country, according to the Edmonton Journal.

"I would say to President Calderon that he does what he thinks is right in Mexico and I'll do what I think is right in the United States," said Frank, who said the bill would not allow the importation of the drug.

Earlier this year, a number of medical-marijuana dispensaries in California were raided by the Drug Enforcement Administration, despite being legal in their area and despite promises from the Obama administration claiming that it would lay off dispensaries that operate within the laws of their particular state.

"I do not advocate urging people to smoke marijuana, neither do I urge them to drink alcoholic beverages or smoke tobacco, but in none of these cases do I think prohibition enforced by criminal sanctions is good public policy," said Congressman Frank.

Continue reading "U.S. Officials Propose Bill to Legalize Medical Marijuana Nationwide" »

You think of Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. and you think of weed killer, but did you know they're now looking into helping medical marijuana in Los Angeles and elsewhere?

It caught nearly everyone by surprise, but it's true. The company's top dog, Scotts Chief Executive Jim Hagedorn, says that he's looking into targeting medical marijuana to help boost sales at his lawn and garden company.

Our Orange County medical marijuana attorneys understand that this recognition, by such a high-powered company, may benefit the medical marijuana industry. If the owners of home-based products don't see anything wrong with growing medical marijuana, why should the government? This recognition from Scotts Miracle-Gro may be a sign, a sign that the use of medical marijuana may one day be accepted in deserving household across the nation.

"I want to target the pot market," Mr. Hagedorn said. "There's no good reason we haven't."

Scotts sales increase by 5 percent last year to nearly $3 billion. The company, that is based out of Marysville, Ohio, relies on three retail stores to make the majority of their sales -- Home Depot Inc., Lowe's Cos. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Since the slumped economy is causing consumers to hold on tightly to their money and these corporations are halting the building of new stores, Scotts is looking for smaller pockets of growth, like the marijuana market, to increase in their sales.

Currently, there are 16 states that have legalized medical marijuana, with California and Colorado being the largest.

A report on revenue from growers and dispensaries, by See Change Strategy LLC, an information data services company, concludes that the market for companies selling hydroponic equipment and professional services is alive and thriving.

"We see very good growth for these types of companies as the medical-marijuana business grows," said Kris Lotlikar, president of See Change.

Mr. Hagedorn is serious about increasing sales, no matter how small. To target marijuana growers, Scotts says they would likely buy niche dirt companies. Companies that already exist instead of creating its own line of newly branded products.

Enforcement officers have found Scotts products in a number of recent marijuana raids. Mr. Hagedorn is thrilled about it, claiming that it's a good sign of brand awareness. He does fear that some growers will be reluctant to use a mainstream product.

Before this recent plan, Scotts wouldn't even have considering pursuing a business plan or a product line that generated less than $10 million a year in revenue. That's not the case anymore. Since the medical marijuana industry has grown so large, the company has altered their strategy.

"We can't operate our business like that anymore," said Mr. Hagedorn.

Continue reading "Miracle-Gro Looks to Jump into Medical Marijuana Production in Los Angeles and Elsewhere" »

Local officials are finally welcoming medical marijuana in California -- if only because they now see it as a way to increase collected taxes for the city. Cities and states are looking to license commercial growing as the demand for medical marijuana is increasing around the country, but the Federal Government isn't having it.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys recognize that as companies continue to try to operate under a number of regulations, they're always facing new ones that aim to put them out of business. As a matter of fact, growers in Oakland recently celebrated their plans to open four industrial-scale medical pot farms under a new city ordinance. Those celebrations were short lived.

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan was even in on the action. He spoke with these companies and welcomed their operations, but also welcomed the potential tax windfall.

"When these cultivation facilities come online, we're estimating in the first few years five to eight million dollars. Now that's a sizeable chunk of change and it's going to be an important part of this city's economy," said Quan.

Eight months after the exciting news, the plans seemingly disintegrated right in front of the city after the U.S. Justice Department sternly warned the city that licensing of commercial marijuana growing, even for medical use, violates federal law.

The large industrial park, located just off Oakland's 880 Freeway, was once the home to one of the four planned industrial-scale medical pot farms. It now just sits empty.

"This building was dubbed the football field of cannabis during our heyday. We were going to have 380 employees, and the average pay was about $52,000 [a year] per person," said developer Jeff Wilcox.

Wilcox had it all planned out. They thought they would remain safe from the feds as long as they were to comply with the city's regulations and the state's laws. That wasn't the case.

"The industry is scared that there's a big push back coming against us," said Wilcox.

Oakland wasn't the only city to get the smack down from the feds. The Justice Department warned officials in eight other cities about their intentions of violating federal law if they allowed commercial production of medical cannabis.

"That, in very simple terms, is what drug traffickers do. That is drug trafficking period," said Tommy LaNier, director of the National Marijuana Initiative, a program funded by the White House Office on Drug Control Policy.

The Justice Department isn't just focusing in on the operators of the facilities. They report that even local officials could face criminal charges for allowing these companies to operate.

A number of advocates are furious that the government is going back on their word. Through a Justice Department memo, they made a promise in 2009 that essentially stated: "comply with state law and the feds won't prosecute you."

City officials in Oakland aren't giving up just yet on their plans to license marijuana cultivation. Unfortunately, this recent scare has turned away potential investors of the legitimately regulated business.

"You want to try to start an industry and then you have the IRS working against you, the federal government working against you -- you've got a real problem," said Wilcox. "So the problem is if you don't grow this industry what happens is that it remains a black-market industry, and it's always going to be that way."

Continue reading "Medical Marijuana Dispensary in Oakland - City Says Yes, Feds Say No" »

Another city is one step closer to keeping medical marijuana dispensaries out of its city limits. The Glendale City Council considered the permanent ban after it spent close to two years examining and studying their legal standing to do so.

Cities have continued attempts to shut down medical marijuana dispensaries, including five recent closures in Frenso that we reported on our Marijuana Lawyer Blog.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys recognize the battle that these shops are up against.

Dispensaries are prohibited under a number of city zoning codes. In areas where they are permitted, they're to follow strict guidelines. Other areas have proposed unfair taxes on these companies. Many of these businesses are physically unable to operate under these strict regulations, and that's exactly the idea behind many city plans.

In Glendale, medical marijuana dispensaries are indeed prohibited under the city zoning code, according to Glendale News-Press. Back in 2009, the City Council decided to adopt a new moratorium that completely closed the city's borders to marijuana shops so that the city's attorneys could comb through the legal issues associated with a complete ban.

The 2009 moratorium is set to expire in September and no longer has the ability to be extended. This is exactly why police and city attorneys are recommending that the city enact a full-out ban. After all, they wouldn't be the first city in California to do so.

Currently, there are zero dispensaries open in the Glendale city limits, but interest in the area for future operations has increased over the past few years. Glendale has been considered a virtual island in the Greater Los Angeles area. There were 187 dispensary shops that registered to continue operations when the Los Angeles City Council approved a moratorium back in 2007.

"I'm against dispensaries in Glendale," Councilman Ara Najarian said. "I wish we could go outside our buffers and create a buffer zone as well."

City officials are anticipating a decision by a state appellate court regarding Anaheim's ban on marijuana dispensaries to provide firm legal precedent with the motion.

"We know that the legal landscape is continuing to evolve; however, review of the cases to date help support the recommendation that we are making," said Carmen Merino, general counsel for the Police Department.

Many anti-cannabis groups continue to read through faulty facts that claim dispensaries come with an increase in illegal drug sales, vandalism, burglaries and other criminal behaviors. In fact, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department or the San Diego Police Department have produced official documented reports on medical marijuana facilities and their correlation with crime. They have both shown that there has been absolutely no correlation between the two, according to the Imperial Beach Patch.

"It's illegal under state law to ban outright this kind of activity," said Kris Hermes, a spokesman for the medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access. "Local governments should feel an obligation to address the needs of patients in their community and be able to regulate activity that is shown to be lawful under state law."

As a matter of fact, Hermes cites interviews with public safety officials in cities where the dispensaries are allowed regulated that concluded that crime has absolutely nothing to do with these shops. If fact, they help to lower crime rates.

"These are public officials that are talking to us on the record. They've found that crime actually decreases around these facilities," he said.

Continue reading "Glendale City Council Forces Outright Ban on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in City Limits" »

This past weekend, Miss California Alyssa Campanella was crowned as 2011 "Miss USA." What surprised audiences wasn't her stunning beauty or her glitz and glamor on the stage, rather it was her answer to one specific question that raised some eyebrows.

During the question-and-answer part of the competition, Miss California was asked about the legalization of marijuana in Los Angeles and elsewhere throughout the United States and her perspective on the medicinal cannabis.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys understand the popularity of this debate. It seems that everyone, including Miss America, has something to say about the topic. As you can see, the topic is so prevalent in American culture that it was used as a question during the award show.

"Well, I understand why that question would be asked, especially with today's economy, but I also understand that medical marijuana is very important to help those who need it medically," she said. "I'm not sure if it should be legalized, if it would really affect, with the drug war. I mean, it's abused today, unfortunately, so that's the only reason why I would kind of be a little bit against it, but medically it's OK."

This particular question and response bit has been seen by more people that actually watched the pageant, according to The 420 Times. That's what type of reaction our country gives to this issue. Many marijuana advocates offer a big high-five to the young Miss America saying that this girl somewhat understands the battle that these patients are going through, regardless of her lack of life experience. Some even say it's because she from California.

Some are hesitant to reward her full answer as she made references to the substance being "abused" and to it being involved in "drug wars."

You can see Miss California Alyssa Campanella, now 2011 Miss USA, submit her answer regarding medical marijuana for yourself, if you haven't already.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recorded that these symptoms or conditions requiring the use of medicinal marijuana under Appendix IV of their 2002 report, "Descriptions of Allowable Conditions under State Medical Marijuana Laws":

-Alzheimer's Disease

-Anorexia

-AIDS

-Arthritis

-Cachexia

-Cancer

-Crohn's Disease

-Epilepsy

-Glaucoma

-HIV

-Migraine

-Multiple Sclerosis

-Nausea

-Pain

-Spasticity

-Wasting Syndrome

Cannabis has been used for a number of medicinal purposes for a quite some time now, throughout the entire world. It has been used in a variety of medicines in the U.S. until the 1940s. It was previously referred to the best treatment for migraine headaches in the 1800s by Dr, William Osler, the father of modern medicine.

The rights of patients that use this healing drug are being stripped from them from every direction. It is important for us as residents of the United States and as active members in the medical community to stand for and protect what little rights we have left. This drug is important for the cure and healing of a number of conditions and it is no one's right to take these away.

"It is extraordinarily safe -- safer than most medicines prescribed every day. If marijuana were a new discovery rather than a well-known substance carrying cultural and political baggage, it would be hailed as a wonder drug," says Lester Grinspoon, MD, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Continue reading "Miss America Favors Medical Marijuana in California" »

The Golden Rain Foundation, a group of volunteers that govern a local residential retirement community, is putting their foot down on medical marijuana grow efforts of their community's residents, according to TIME News Feed. There are approximately 150 residents in the community of 18,000 that have been recommended the use of medical marijuana in California. Laguna Woods Village, the retirement community, says it's not happening in their neighborhoods.

The neighborhood enforcement squad of resident volunteers disallowed the cultivation of marijuana in their neighborhood's gardens. Under their state-mandated legal right, any one senior who possesses a medical marijuana card is allowed to grow up to six mature plants in their private residences. Laguna Woods Village is trying to stop the growing on their properties.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys understand that medical marijuana patients have a number of rights that many oppose. First it was the federal government fighting against them, then the state government and now residents in their very own neighborhoods. The use of marijuana, medical or not, has not been universally accepted in Laguna Woods Village and patients are fighting back.

"This did stir up a lot of feelings," says Laguna Woods Village resident Susan Margolis. "There are a lot of people that have never used marijuana and there are younger people who have used marijuana who say, 'Come on now, this is just ridiculous.'"

Right off the bat, the resident's growing plan was quickly shot down by the community's governing board. They moved on to the next plan, which was the attempt to run their own greenhouse in a rented spot located away from the neighborhood. That plan backfired when they reportedly lost thousands of dollars worth of their product when a light was plugged into the wrong outlet.

It was on to the third plan. They offered seedlings to a grower that operated a greenhouse in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, the police shut down this facility and destroyed the plants in the process.

In a final attempt, a collective member started up two greenhouses outside of the neighborhood. The marijuana grown at these facilities is reportedly sold to collective members. They use a sliding scale to price the product. This scale is predicated on the need and the ability to pay. Prices at this operation range from $35 an ounce to about $200 an ounce.

Many of these residents are suffering from some serious health problems, including osteoarthritis, debilitating nausea and the after-effects of a stroke.

"Look, whether it's a legal thing or not a legal thing, it helps you. I am 90 years old and I don't mind talking about it," collective member Joe Schwartz.

Many of these residents believe that with the growing population of elderly residents in the United States, the use of this product will grow as well hopefully one day providing more normalcy from the perspective of others. As of now, it's not looking too promising.

"We've got people who don't like it here, they don't like marijuana and they still have that 'communism' and 'perversion' and 'killer weed' attitude," says Lonnie Painter, director of a group known as Laguna Woods for Medical Cannabis.

According to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration the number of people that are aged 50 and older that reported marijuana use during the previous year went up from 1.9 percent in 2002 to 2.9 percent in 2008.

Continue reading "Retirement Community Says NO to Medical Marijuana in Los Angeles and their Communities" »

A new medical marijuana dispensary in California is about to open and you'll never guess by who -- the host of the Montel Williams Show, Montel Williams himself. Williams is a sufferer of multiple sclerosis and has been a medical marijuana advocate for years now, according to OC Weekly. He recently took his supporting role one step further by opening his new shop, the Abatin Wellness Cooperative, in Sacramento.

His new shop is generating a cloud of controversy in Sacramento, which currently has a moratorium on new marijuana clubs. There are a number of clubs that have been grandfathered into the city's collective ordinance and are not happy about the arrival of their new, high-profile competition.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana lawyers recognize that all owners and operators of these dispensaries are held in a bad light, at least by law enforcement and government officials. Many of these shops aim to do nothing more than serve patients who need this treatment for their medical conditions. They look to hurt no one, break any laws or cause any other problems, yet they're always being harassed by law enforcement for merely existing.

"It's absurd. I can go get morphine pumped into my system and nobody's got a problem. But all of a sudden they're really worried if I smoked a joint," says Williams.

So, how did Williams get around the moratorium? The location of the new shop, 2100 29th St., used to be the home of the Capitol Wellness Collective. The previous owner of this club is now Williams' executive director.

Williams' already has a handful of critics, including a contractor who claims the previous dispensary owes him a grand total of $20,000. Some of his other critics accuse him of just trying to cash in on a local movement that they've created. Either way, Williams says that he's not in it for the money.

"I've been doing this for the last 10 years," he said. "It's not like I'm doing this make a buck."

As you know, California allows anyone with a doctor's recommendation to use medical marijuana for proper treatment for whatever their health condition may be. Critics still claim that these dispensaries are nothing more than a front for drug traffickers.

"We've been caught up in culture surrounding medical marijuana that's 20 years old," Williams said. "While adhering to every single state law, we want to provide safe access for patients and really medicalize this. Patients should be put first."

Williams says that he wants his shop to be a place that patients could go to and feel comfortable bringing their parents. For this reason, his parents were guests during the unveiling of his shop last week.

This dispensary is different from all of the others, according to Williams, because it's high-end. The operations here won't have the patients sticking their nose in jars and jars of weed.

"You see people standing around, sticking their nose into things," Williams complained. "I don't go to CVS to pick up an individual Vicodin."

Sticking your nose in a jar may be the best way to figure out which weed is best for your conditions, state Toke of the Town's Steve Ellliot. There are all different types of marijuana strains that are available to treat different ailments and customers oftentimes use their noses to inspect the weed and make sure it's fresh.

Continue reading "Montel Williams to Open Medical Marijuana Dispensary in Sacramento, California" »

The Imperial Beach Patch reports a study found no connection between crime and medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles and elsewhere in California.

The Imperial Beach City Council was scheduled to open the floor to public comments and read proposed ordinances last week before voters cast their votes on whether or not to adopt a ban on the dispensaries. They currently have a temporary moratorium that was first approved in 2009, but will expire in August.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys understand that oftentimes officials directly correlate crime with the presence of medical marijuana. The thing is, there has been no evidence to prove this claim. Crime has remained the same in areas with and without medical dispensaries. These theories are just another attempt for the government to paint the industry in a bad light in an effort to shut it down completely.

Back in December, City Manager Gary Brown recommended adopting a ban on these businesses because of what he thought was an increase in crime. He strongly believed that there was a significant increase of criminal activity near dispensaries in San Francisco and Los Angeles -- or so he said.

Neither the San Diego Police Department or the San Diego County Sheriff's Department could show any official report that linked an increase in crime to the locations of these medical marijuana facilities, according to the Imperial Beach Patch.

The Police Department has conducted a number of reviews on the information and the department has continued to come up empty handed, with no evidence of any increase in criminal activity in these areas.

"Since our opening in mid-February [2011], we have had no incidents or problems with our community, patients, law enforcement, neighbors or local businesses," said Pat with the American Treatment Advancement Cooperative Inc., or ATA, who declined to state his last name.

This information is supported by evidence that has been provided by the San Diego Police Department's Narcotics Division. Medical marijuana co-ops reported a large boom in operations between May 1, 2009, and April 30, 2011 and during this time no marijuana crime related activity was reported at the ATA.

Throughout the last two years, five medical marijuana dispensaries that border Imperial Beach reported no crime related to the cultivation of their product, selling or possession of medical marijuana.

Data was provided, specifically on marijuana related offenses, from May of 2009 to April of 2011 by Sheriff's spokesman Mark Walters. During this time, there were more than 1,300 drug-related charges in the city of Imperial Beach. More than 500 of them were for possession of marijuana, seven for selling marijuana and nine for cultivating the substance. These charges resulted in more than 450 arrests on marijuana related offenses. These charges included 55 juvenile offenders.

There are currently zero marijuana dispensaries operating in Imperial Beach.

According to the San Diego Police Department, crime statistics report that the overall crime in the area is at its lowest point since 1969. It has been on a constant decline in 2003.

"If we can come up with proper legislation we feel is adequate for Imperial Beach, the moratorium could be lifted," Mayor Jim Janney said at the July meeting.

Back in December of 2010, City Manager Gary Brown recommended an outright ban of dispensaries for these reasons:

-Their presence could possibly result in an increase amount in crime.

-Dispensaries are easily accessible in San Diego.

-"The complexity of regulation and enforcement will place a costly burden on the city's limited resources."

Patients and a coalition of medical marijuana co-ops recently submitted a referendum that consisted of more than 47,000 signatures that forced council to amend the ordinance or let voters determine the fate of these co-ops through a special election. A decision regarding this matter is expected late this month. The group Stop the Ban IB is currently promoting a letter writing campaign to achieve this goal.

Continue reading "Feds Fail at Linking Crime to Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in Los Angeles and Elsewhere" »

Medical marijuana was legalized by California fifteen years ago. Still, to this day, lawmakers are trying to regulate and tax the billion-dollar industry as medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles and elsewhere throughout the state continue to fight for survival.

Recently, lawmakers made a number of attempts to regulate the locations of these pot shops. They banned them from being located with residential neighborhoods and school zones and gave local officials the authority to bust in and shut them down. Proposals to reduce the penalties for illegal pot cultivation and to protect medical marijuana users from workplace discrimination were also rejected, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys understand that the government is using every bit of its energy to regulate and ultimately shut down this industry. They're regulating the locations of these stores, throwing unjust taxes at them and violently raiding their shops for minor code violations. It seems we've reached the point of no return in the battle of medical marijuana against the government. It is only with the proper knowledge and a tactical approach that medical marijuana can prevail in this battle.

"You have medical marijuana dispensaries in residential areas where you have children exposed to secondhand smoke from pot smoking," said Sen. Louis Correa (D-Santa Ana). He has proposed legislation, SB 847, that would ban dispensaries within 600 feet of homes and apartments. It recently passed the state Senate.

City leaders, law enforcement and lawmakers continue to justify these "necessary" crackdowns saying that they're needed because of the hundreds of newly-opened medical marijuana dispensaries that turned on their open-sign with little to no oversight. These recent shop openings, officials believe, are a direct result of a moratorium that was imposed in 2007. Now, shops across the state are suing cities that step up their enforcement efforts saying that they have no right to regulate an activity that was approved by voters.

"As usual, legislators feel like they've gotta get tough," said Dale Gieringer, state coordinator for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "If there's a problem, we have to pass more laws for people to break. It's classic legislative syndrome."

There are somewhere between 1,000 and 1,500 dispensaries that are open for business across the state, according to Americans for Safe Access, a medical marijuana advocacy group.

Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield (D-Woodland Hills) isn't too thrilled about these statistics as he was reported saying that there are now "more marijuana dispensaries than Starbucks."

"The inadequacy of medical marijuana laws has created a Wild West lawlessness," said Blumenfield.

Blumenfield recently proposed a bill, AB 1300, that would clarify the rights of a city to regulate dispensaries. It easily passed the Assembly and is waiting on an action in the Senate.

A separate bill, SB 676, that aims to allow farmers to grow industrial hemp, a non-psychoactive variety of marijuana was barely made it through. Senate. Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) proposed the law and had to reassure his lawmakers that the hemp was not a drug.

"Even with 80% of Californians supporting medical cannabis use, the Legislature traditionally has been very frightened by it, which is nonsensical to me," Leno said.

Continue reading "Battle Continues Between Government Officials and Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in Los Angeles" »

It's no secret that cities are having a tough time regulating dispensaries, especially our medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles. It's also no surprise that after a number of lawsuits challenging these city crackdowns, a new state law has turned up aiming to allow municipalities to put their foot down on these shops.

California's AB 1300 that does just that, and the proposal recently passed the state Assembly. It was originally introduced by local Democratic Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield, according to LA Weekly. He says that the ambiguity over who has authority over these marijuana collectives has only led to higher crime and illegal sales.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys recognize that this is the last thing we need in our area. If the last two years have been any indication of what is to come, our medical marijuana dispensaries have quite the fight against unnecessary and frivolous laws aimed at regulating the industry. Previous attempts at regulation clearly indicate that cities are incapable of passing rational, logical laws that don't violate patient rights under the state's medical marijuana law. The industry must continue to fight back in hopes of one day operating on a fair and level playing field.

This new bill says that your locality can adopt "local ordinances that regulate the location, operation, or establishment of a medical marijuana cooperative or collective ..." Basically, it would give the cities power over location, hours, licensing, possession, cultivation, transportation, processing, or use of limited amounts of marijuana, as specified of collective operations. Ironically, these proposed regulations were one of the complaints opponents of Prop. 19 made last fall. They concluded that it would establish too much local control over cannabis.

In addition, it clearly states that cities have the right to put local shops out of business, which is nothing new for our shops here in Los Angeles as the city continues to go after dispensaries for "out-of-compliance" charges.

The new bill was approved 53-1 last week and will now go to the Senate. The dissenting vote came from San Francisco's Tom Ammiano, a pro-pot advocate. He objected to the lack of the word "dispensary" in the language, which he said would further recognize the legitimacy of the storefronts.

This is a continuous battle with no end in sight. The industry is continually fighting to retain what little rights medical marijuana patients and dispensaries have left.

If you disagree with this law as much as our local medical marijuana shops do, you are urged speak out and change it. It's important to remember that your chances of being heard are much better in your town than in the state capital. Oftentimes, it is our state governments that continue to run our shops out of town. We need to keep fighting for our rights before officials yank them away.

Continue reading "New Bill to Hold Down Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in Los Angeles" »

States across the country are legalizing the sale of medical marijuana, and the federal government isn't happy about it. U.S. attorneys recently voiced their warnings, urging local governments to rethink their plans of opening medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles and elsewhere throughout the country.

Rhode Island recently attempted to open one of its first medical marijuana stores, but that didn't go as planned, according to NPR.

We'd like to recognize that President Obama's administration has yet to push federal laws in states where medical marijuana is legal, but our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys understand that could be a thing of the past. Feds have begun focusing their attention back to these dispensaries.

"The U.S. attorney was very direct," Rhode Island's governor spokesman Michael Trainor says. "The governor believes that if we proceed on the present course, he'd be putting the compassion centers and people associated with compassion centers at great risk."

Rhode Island isn't the only state receiving these letters. Eight other states with medical marijuana programs received the threats. Advocates believe that these threats are a complete opposition from the Obama administration's original stance on the medical marijuana industry. The Justice Department refuses to clarify the decision, saying only that its policy remains the same. The warning states that the U.S. attorneys that are assigned to each state can use their own discretion about how to enforce the policy.

What's the policy, you ask? Well, it depends on how you interpret the "the Ogden memo."

"In 2009, the Department of Justice indicated that it would be a low priority to prosecute anyone who was complying with state medical marijuana laws," explains Jay Rorty of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Rorty says that the 2009 memo from the former Deputy Attorney General David Ogden led advocates to believe that the federal government wouldn't interfere with state medical marijuana stores.

"I think the ACLU takes that statement out of context," says U.S. Attorney Michael Ormsby from Washington state. He believes that the memo simply means that the federal government won't go after the patients who choose to grow their own marijuana, but retail stores were never part of that exception.

Each area interprets these vague letters differently, and despite the risk, many are pressing forward with with their programs. Others are in the same limbo as Rhode Island, where patients are getting frustrated and these companies are at a standstill.

The federal government continues to push these anti-pot laws and regulations because of how marijuana is currently rated and categorized with other drugs. Currently, marijuana is a considered a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). In a Schedule I drug classification, the drug is determined to have a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug under medical supervision.

States continue to face new risks as more and more of them legalize and open dispensaries. Local governments focus on a lawsuit filed by the governor of Arizona to determine the federal government's official stance on state medical marijuana programs.

"Unfortunately, with this piece of legislation, there are some pretty serious consequences if we don't get them resolved. And I, as governor, am not willing to put those people at risk," said Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer.

Continue reading "U.S. Attorneys to Close Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Nationwide" »

Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims alleges local collectives are illegal "money-making drug operations."

Five medical marijuana collectives in Fresno dispute the claims, according to AOL News.

"The Board of Supervisors made it clear in December that instead of regulating [the collectives] they wanted to ban them all," said attorney Brenda Linder of Fresno, a spokesman for EarthSource, one of five collectives raided Wednesday. "I assume they set about doing it any way they could."

Once again, feds have ransacked these marijuana companies with unnecessary force -- all in search of "paperwork." Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys have reported about this before. These companies are experiencing dramatic and unnecessary raids from the federal government. No letters of warning or notice were received by these companies prior to the raids, as most would willingly cooperate.

Last week's raids reportedly enlisted nearly 200 law-enforcement officers. Enforcement reportedly seized the collectives' marijuana and served search warrants seeking their bank and telephone records.

Cash transactions at collectives can cover the cost of marijuana, but that doesn't necessarily make them for-profit companies. Collectives may charge their customers enough to cover employee salaries, rent and other operating expenses.

Currently, these collectives are able to charge legal marijuana card holders a reasonable amount of money for their products, but they can't make a profit.

Customers of the Buds-4-Life Collective, a recently raided company, gathered outside of the building as the raid proceeded last week.

Currently, authorities are reviewing the evidence from the raid in an attempt to determine which charges and indictments will be filed against the collective. This review and determination could take months.

There are roughly 15 medical marijuana collectives in unincorporated Fresno County.

At a recent sheriff's news conference, items seized in each of the raids of five different dispensaries were put on display. In this display were various medical marijuana products, about $300,000 in cash and five weapons.

Officials believe that the collectives were bringing in $25,000 to $50,000 a day, much of that being pure profit.

No arrests were made and all five collectives are currently closed because of the raids.

Continue reading "Raids Close Five Medical Marijuana Collectives in Fresno" »

A case was recently dropped against the longest-serving medical marijuana dispensary in Los Angeles, and the owner publicly vowed to continue to cultivate marijuana in his own backyard for seriously ill HIV/AIDS patents.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office dropped a criminal case against the owner just days before it was due to go to trial, according to the Los Angeles Wave.

Paul Scott, the founder and executive director of the Inglewood Wellness Center and the Los Angeles Wellness Center was arrested and charged last June for the cultivation of marijuana and the possession of marijuana for sale. He no longer faces any of these charges.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana lawyers understand that in many cases, law enforcement can't back up their zealous raids in court. They can, however, cause a defendant years of headaches, delays and confusion. Oftentimes these cases may leave a defendant eligible to pursue a civil recovery or other means of redress in return for inconvenience.

"There was a 'ghetto bird' over head, I'm in handcuffs; they go through to the back garden and pull up the plants and put them in big bags," Scott recalled. "I was trying to tell them who I am ... that I am a founder of a medical marijuana collective and that I have all the paperwork. They just sit me on the sofa asking me questions about money and bank accounts and search the house from top to bottom. They also rip the lights out from the indoor green house."

Scott compared his arrest at his South Los Angeles home to that of a Hollywood movie scene.

The founder reportedly spent $30,000 on the services of a Santa Monica-based attorney. The District Attorney eventually offered a deal to dismiss the case in exchange for a 90-day jail sentence.

"Jury selection was becoming imminent ... there were some pre-trial procedures, but had we not succeeded in the pre-trial phase, we would have been picking a jury," Scott's attorney said. "My first thought when Paul approached me to take the case was ... is there a legitimate medical marijuana collective? And as we did our investigation it became clear that Paul's collective, the Inglewood Wellness Center, is probably the most legitimate collective I've ever seen."

The defendant received plenty of support from members of the community who Scott had helped. He didn't only help them with medical marijuana, but he also created Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets, and backpacks for school children in the area. To his supporters, he wasn't just a pot dealer, but a true member of the community.

"Their dilemma is that the rules are not clearly established in distinguishing between legal and illegal distribution of marijuana. If it is done for medical marijuana purposes and on a collective basis, it's not illegal, but the lines are not clear," Scott's attorney said. "It's difficult for lawyers advising collectives; it's difficult for the courts to enforce the rules because they are so vague. It's hard for police to know when someone is acting illegal or not. But the facts in Paul's case came down very clearly on the legal side of the equation."

Scott believes that had the officers known then what they know now, he may not have been arrested. Officers often fail to use logic during these raids and focus on the bust.

Scott now plans to help those who may not be able to afford medical marijuana. He would like to help them grow their own plants in his backyard. All he asks is for their help watering and caring for the medicinal plants.

Continue reading "Case Dropped Against Oldest-Running Southland Medical Marijuana Dispensary" »

Many government officials are contemplating new sources of tax revenue as they learn about the cash that could be collected from San Francisco medical marijuana dispensaries.

Currently, every other major Bay Area city enlists a gross-receipt tax on their medical marijuana dispensaries. Every California medical cannabis company pays 9.5 percent in state sales taxes, and Los Angeles and San Jose require an additional tax in which local officials collect an extra 5 and 7 percent from these companies, according to San Francisco Weekly.

The tax has reportedly been paying off, as San Jose officials brought in $290,000 during the first month of taxing.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana lawyers understand that officials throw around these companies like rag dolls and seek to obtain all they can if they're going to allow these companies to continue operations. Often new laws, regulations and taxes virtually force these businesses to shut down, proving a win-win for government.

"On these types of issues, San Francisco tends to lead, and in this instance, we're way behind," says Phil Ting, San Francisco's potential mayor, who says he's not officially backing a tax at this time. "It's a bit controversial, but we want to think out-of-the-box in these tough budget times."

This marijuana tax would have to be approved by the voters, which would stir up a cluster of opposition among medical marijuana providers and patients.

"The response will be overwhelmingly negative," says David Goldman, a patient advocate who sits on the city's Medical Cannabis Task Force.

Marijuana companies currently run as nonprofits. An increase in the cost of business would only be passed on to customers.

A new legislation, sponsored by Sen. Ron Calderon, a Democrat from Montebello, originally favored to increase the taxes on medical cannabis. A study of how to tax these companies raises the eyebrows of many officials, according to San Francisco Weekly.

"The reason that's important is because medical cannabis exists in a very complicated legal framework," says Don Duncan, California director for Americans for Safe Access. "Most people see there'll be some taxation scheme around medical cannabis in the state of California both at the local and state level; but how we can do that and still protect patients and protect providers and cultivators is still really unclear."

Americans for Safe Access are backing the proposed law, SB 626, as they believe that any and all taxation that is applied to medical cannabis should be justified and necessary -- not a source of income for state legislators in a bind.

"What we're concerned about is that cities and the state are looking towards medical cannabis as a revenue source in tough economic times. And that's not necessarily how we look at [it]," says Calderon.

Our state lawmakers continue the debate on taxing these companies, but cities such as Oakland and San Jose already tax their local industry. San Jose officials reportedly collected nearly $300,000 in collectives throughout the city. The city predicts that this tax could reel in as much as $3.5 million a year.

"The conversation that SB 626 will facilitate is going to be very important for finding a tax structure that works," Duncan says. "At least until federal law changes."

He continues to stress that he's not fighting for legalization of marijuana, but instead fighting for the fair use and regulation of something that is already legal in our state.

Continue reading "Yet Another Tax Aimed at Medical Marijuana Dispensaries -- This Time in San Francisco" »

"The county does not have any existing zoning laws that allow for this kind of business to operate," said Sacramento County spokeswoman Chris Andis. "This is 'step one' toward creating rules and regulations for these kind of businesses. We want to create a careful planning process that balances the needs of the neighboring communities, the dispensaries and the medical patients."

Earlier this week, the Sacramento board decided to revisit a previous urgency ordinance. The ordinance would be able to codify the right for medical marijuana dispensaries in Sacramento to operate, according to the Rosemont Patch. It would also allow patients to grow their own medicine. These are all activities that are legal under California Prop 215, but these companies have been operating against building and zoning codes or in uncharted territory, depending on which story you've heard.

Our Riverside medical marijuana attorneys understand that these companies that are operating in unincorporated areas are currently conducting business without any specific set regulations.

"The county has had their hands in this for a long time," said Mike Kiano, operator at AMF. "They've watched this steady spread of dispensaries happen day-to-day for two years now. They had to have known that eventually it would leak into unincorporated areas, because there are people there who need our services too."

Records show that there are nearly 50 open code enforcement cases on dispensaries that are located in unincorporated areas of the county.

There are at least three dispensaries in the area have received notices that they are violating county zoning laws.

The local government looks to regulate the system, meaning that individual patients would not be allowed to grow their plants outside. If they were to grow them inside, they would have to do it in a structure that was at least 100 feet from all property lines and 600 feet from things like school bus stops, according to The 420 Times.

Dispensaries would be subject to similar rules. They would not be able to sell any "drug paraphernalia" or edible medicine. They will also be under distance requirements. Any dispensary that is looking to operate legally would also have to remain far from schools and churches and 300 feet from any residence.

Medical marijuana dispensaries in the area fear they'll end up like dispensaries in San Diego, where nearly all of them have been forced to relocate in industrial areas, which are difficult, dangerous, or just plain impossible for many patients to travel to.

Continue reading "Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in Sacramento Face Urgency Ordinance" »

According to California NORML, there are now an estimated 1.1 million medical marijuana users in the state. These users make up roughly 3 percent of the population.

This number has continued to increase, as has the demand for the product. There were an estimated 300,000 patients in 2007, 150,000 in 2005 and 75,000 in 2004. The increase is consistent with the registration rates of other comparable states that have similar access to medicinal clinics and dispensaries in Los Angeles and elsewhere, according to The Weed Blog.

Patients are not currently required to register in California, making the exact number uncertain. California's current medical marijuana law, Prop. 215, states that patients only need a doctor's recommendation to legally purchase and use the product. As of now, a tiny fraction of the state's medical marijuana users are enrolled in the state's voluntary ID card program. This program issued 12,659 cards in 2009 and 2010.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys understand that these numbers represent a large number of legitimate patients who are permitted by state law to consume medical marijuana, but local politicians continue to prevent their treatment by shutting down these shops with more restrictive laws, regulations and bans.

There is still no proof that liberal access to the drug has caused any type of increase in the overall marijuana use in California.

"The data show that medical marijuana users are becoming an increasingly important constituency," said California NORML Director Dale Gieringer. "It is time for the federal government to stop ignoring the facts and recognize their right to medicine."

According to U.S. SAMHSA data, the number of users in California, including those non-medical users, equals less than 7 percent of the population just in the past month, or a little more than 11 percent in the past year. These rates put California only slightly above the national average in marijuana use, and below several states with even tougher marijuana laws.

The total retail value of the amount of medical marijuana consumed in California is estimated between $1.5 and $4.5 billion a year. The average use of the product is between 0.5 to 1 gram per day at an estimated cost of $320 per ounce.

California is the only state that allows the use of marijuana to treat any condition for which it provides relief, including psychiatric disorders such as PTSD, bipolar disorder, ADD, anxiety and depression. These conditions account for roughly 25 percent of the total patient population.

If companies, patients and users do not continue to fight for their rights as medical marijuana users, this treatment could be yanked from California and patients will be left to suffer. Users and business operators in the industry are urged to vote to preserve our rights. Until patients are truly united, user rights will continue to be trampled on by federal and state governments.

Continue reading "Medical Marijuana Users in California Estimated at More Than 1 Million" »

San Diego's medical marijuana advocates collected thousands of signatures to have a say in the fate of new restrictions on pot clinics, according to Mercury News.

Citizens for Patient Rights collected 46,000 signatures for the ballot initiative. The city only requires that 31,000 signatures be collected for an issue to proceed.

The issue is a recently ratified ordinance that seeks to limit medical marijuana dispensaries in San Diego to commercial and industrial zones. It also looks to prohibit them from operating within 600 feet of schools, playgrounds and other related facilities.

Our Southern California medical marijuana lawyers understand that if we want change, we must rally together and stand up for the rights of medical marijuana patients statewide. It is critical to take actions against state and federal government to protect the industry and the rights of legal users. Without voiced opposition, government will continue to place rules and regulation on these companies until they're all forced to shut their doors.

Citizens for Patient Rights recently told The San Diego Union-Tribune that the newly proposed law amounts to a de facto ban on these marijuana collectives.

If the signatures are certified, the city council is required to either overturn the ordinance altogether or issue it to a ballot within the next 11 months. Depending how long the city takes to tally the signatures, this new measure could end up on the ballot in June of next year.

"The people have made a statement to City Hall that they need to take care of the citizens' needs and not just City Hall's needs," Randall Welty of the Patient Care Association of California told the Union-Tribune. "This effort speaks exactly to patients' needs in San Diego."

The new ordinance was ratified in April, along with another measure that requires local dispensaries to operate as nonprofit organizations, hire security guards and curtail their business hours.

The city could make the change to avoid a pricey special election that could cost more than $3 million.

Medical marijuana collectives create millions of dollars in economic activity to the city and hundreds of thousands in tax revenue. In this economic downturn, many advocates believe that the city will see the wisdom of increasing economic activity rather than hindering it.

Earlier in the year, the city council voted to repeal its own ordinance that restricted retail supercenters after the local Walmart collected enough signatures to call for a special election.

"To put $3 million toward this effort wouldn't be a priority for me relative to restoring library hours," said Councilman Todd Gloria.

Continue reading "Advocates Join to Protect the Rights of San Diego's Medical Marijuana Dispensaries, Users" »

A group of high-profile war leaders recently joined together to urge the Obama administration to end the war on drugs. The group calls it a costly drug failure as the battle only focuses on "the criminalization, marginalization and stigmatization of people who use drugs but do no harm to others," according to the Los Angeles Times.

This focus on harmless medical use negatively affects medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles and elsewhere in California as they've fallen victim to raids, shut downs, and endless fines.

New recommendations from the Global Commission on Drug Policy urge governments to try new ways of legalizing and regulating drugs, especially marijuana, as a way to deny profits to drug cartels. This Global Commission on Drug Policy includes former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and past presidents of Mexico, Brazil and Colombia.

Our Orange County medical marijuana lawyers are not surprised that this recommendation was quickly dismissed by the Obama administration and Mexico's government. These governments are allied in a violent four-year crackdown on drug cartels. This crackdown has left more than 38,000 people dead in Mexico.

"The U.S. needs to open a debate," former Colombian President Cesar Gaviria, a member of the panel, said by telephone from New York, where the report is scheduled to be released Thursday. "When you have 40 years of a policy that is not bringing results, you have to ask if it's time to change it."

On the commission's website, resident can access a copy of the full report and the new recommendations in either English or Spanish.

"We can no longer ignore the extent to which drug-related violence, crime and corruption in Latin America are the results of failed drug war policies," Gaviria said in a prepared statement. "Now is the time to break the taboo on discussion of all drug policy options, including alternatives to drug prohibition."

Last week, the new drug-policy report was released in New York, and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy issued a statement arguing against its recommendations.

"The Obama administration's efforts to reduce drug use are not born out of a culture war or drug war mentality, but out of the recognition that drug use strains our economy, health, and public safety," the statement read.

The president of Mexico, Felipe Calderon, continues to state that he does not support the legalization of drugs. He does say that he remains open to debate the topic. This position was reiterated early this week by the president's top national-security spokesman, Alejandro Piore.

Piore stated that the Mexican government "categorically rejects the impression that in Mexico, by definition, a stronger application of the law on the part of the authorities shall result in an increase in violence on the part of the narco-traffickers."

The 2012 budget has requested $1.7 billion for drug prevention programs. This request is nearly 8 percent more than the previous year.

"Making drugs more available -- as this report suggests -- will make it harder to keep our communities healthy and safe," said Rafael Lemaitre, spokesman for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

It is not until effective reform is set forth and enforced that we will be able to begin to solve the problems and confusion surrounding medical marijuana is our area.

Continue reading "The War on Drugs Affects Legal Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in California" »