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Video 1 KTLA Channel 5 News Story June 18, 2010: Lake Forest Medical Marijuana Dispensary Appealing Injunction Order Video 2 KTTV Channel 11 News Story June 4, 2010: Los Angeles Medical Marijuana Dispensary Challenges LA's Ordinance Video 3 Cannabis Law Group's Attorney Damian Nassiri Sues the City of Los Angeles To Block It's Ban on Medical Marijuana as Featured on PBS's So Cal Insider - Part 1

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The town of Nipton, California is a small, unincorporated community in San Bernardino County bordering the Mojave National Preserve. An old cattle-loading and mining town, its population today fluctuates somewhere between 6 and 30. About three decades ago, a gold miner from Malibu purchased the ghost town. As The New York Times reported, the goal was to a community that could run on clean energy entirely of its own making. It was this foundation that recently attracted the business eye of a cannabis technology firm, which purchased the town for $5 million.ghosttown

Now, owners of American Green Inc. say the goal is to turn the 80-acre community into an eco-tourism destination for conscious cannabis consumers. The fact that the city runs totally on a self-sufficient, off-the-grid energy system from a solar farm is likely to be attractive to many marijuana enthusiasts across the country. Already existing in the town is old western hotel, an RV park, a coffee shop and a handful of homes. American Green plans to expand the farm to manufacture and sell marijuana-infused water from the town’s aquifer. The company is also in talks with others in the marijuana industry business, in hopes of interesting them to relocate and bring more jobs to the tiny town.

As for whether it will be renamed, that’s not yet clear.  Continue reading

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Marijuana has been legalized – slowly – in more than half the states in the U.S., either for medicinal or recreational purposes (26 in all). And yet, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (the non-profit that regulates athletes in some 1,300 programs and organizes athletic programs in many colleges and universities throughout the U.S., overseeing some 450,000 college athletes) continues to test college athletes for marijuana. Those who test positive still face substantial punishments – up to an including expulsion from the team.cannabis lawyer

This is true even in states like California, Colorado and Washington, where the drug is legal for those over the age of 21.

Recently, CBS Sports polled college coaches – anonymously – for their views on college athlete marijuana use and whether it should continue to be penalized the same way, given the current legal climate. Continue reading

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Proponents of the failed “War on Drugs” have long characterized marijuana as a “gateway” drug, meaning it opens the doors to use of heavier, more dangerous narcotics.marijuana lawyer

But now, a new drug rehabilitation center in Los Angeles is touting cannabis as an “exit” drug – a way out of the prison of addiction. As Leafly reports, the center, called High Sobriety, does not focus on complete and total abstinence of all substances (the hard-line approach advocated by groups like Narcotics Anonymous and other 12-step model programs). Instead, participants are encouraged to rely on marijuana as a means to cope with the difficulties of withdrawals and more. Although many treatment models staunchly discourage replacing one drug for another, that’s exactly what facilitators hope to do here. Marijuana, they say, is much less threatening than the harder drugs like heroin, cocaine and prescription narcotics for which the cannabis serves as a substitute.

The facility and its treatment model are quite new, but there is a high likelihood we’ll see more of these centers crop up if there are continued success stories. Although medicinal marijuana has been available in California for those with certain debilitating medical conditions since the 1990s, those in the treatment center won’t need a prescription, so long as they are over 21, thanks to the passage of Prop. 64 last year. Continue reading

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Cannabis businesses have many legal issues with which to contend, from banking to bud-tending. Commercial leases for cannabis businesses raise special concerns for both landlords and tenants.marijuana business

Because of the federal civil asset forfeiture program, which allows the U.S. Justice Department to seize assets of any real property used to manufacture or distribute drugs that are illegal under federal law, the typical boiler plate lease won’t cut it. That’s why in many cases, property leases that involve cannabis businesses use something known as an “escape clause,” for instances when there is federal intervention or enforcement action. This can help protect the property owner, but it’s likely to end – or at least halt – the marijuana business indefinitely, likely costing a great deal of money.

We must now also consider the recently-passed Medicinal and Adult Use Cannabis Regulation Safety Act (MAUCRSA). Structuring the business – and the commercial lease agreement – according to these provisions can help safeguard your financial investment and livelihood.  Continue reading

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The Trump Administration’s anti-marijuana policies adversely affect thousands of Americans who rely on the medicinal benefits of cannabis to relieve various forms of suffering. There is, perhaps, no more potent illustration of the harm these policies cause than in the military veteran community.medical marijuana lawyer

The American military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan have created a mental health crisis of unprecedented proportions within the veterans’ community. Post traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, night terrors, depression, suicide, opioid addictions and other symptoms are increasingly prevalent. According to the National Alliance for Mental Health, nearly one in four active service members shows signs of a mental health condition. The Veterans Administration reports that, in 2014, an average of twenty veterans died every day from suicide. Six out of these twenty daily deaths were veterans who had accessed VA services in an attempt to get help.       Continue reading

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Federal banking regulations have made the operation of a cannabis business both a complicated and dangerous proposition. Because cannabis is still classified as a Schedule I drug under federal law, any transactions made at a cannabis business operating lawfully under state law are, nonetheless, considered illegal drug money under federal law. This is a problem for banking institutions, because they are subject to federal law and banking regulations. Most cannabis businesses have no alternative other than to operate exclusively in cash. Continue reading

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It is a logical contradiction, but one which can benefit cannabis entrepreneurs: despite being banned by federal law, marijuana and marijuana products can be protected by federal patents. Problems with theory and logic notwithstanding, cannabis business owners can protect and enhance their business interests with an understanding of the patent process.   Continue reading

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Since recreational marijuana was legalized in California as of November 9, 2016, residents and government regulators have experienced many unintended consequences of the regulatory sea change. Perhaps one of the most bizarre outcomes is changing an increased power needs for those areas of California which house indoor grow houses.Cannabis farmer attorneys

This is not unlike the British phenomenon of “TV pickup”. There, utility administrators must respond to predictable surges in electricity use. Geek.com reports that these surges are a well-documented correlate of the widespread use of electric tea kettles immediately after popular TV programs end. The British National Grid allots an electricity reserve to manage these surges, and can even access reserves in France when needed. If there is a lesson to be learnt from British utility services, it is that careful planning around reliable data can be used to prevent interruptions in service and other problems as a result of increased electricity demand.   Continue reading

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The legalization of recreational marijuana in California has caused massive change in the regulatory framework guiding the industry. Many details remain to be settled. One that has recently come the attention of the state legislature could vastly impact sales for cannabis businesses by imposing advertising restrictions upon them.   Continue reading

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Marijuana use has always been an issue of heated political debate. Whether for recreational or medicinal use, staunch opponents fight he presence of  marijuana  just as vehemently as proponents fight its absence. California – with its diverse population and wide variety of political leanings – has a long list of cities and counties that are friendly to cannabis businesses, and just as many which fight to keep such businesses out altogether. These vastly different market climates can mean the difference between life and death for a business.

cannabis business lawyer

The Conundrum of Marin County

In the liberal cannabis climate of Northern California, Marin County is a conservative outlier on marijuana issues. Sonoma County has an estimated twelve thousand residents working in the cannabis industry. Nearby Humboldt, Trinity, and Mendocino Counties  form an area quickly becoming known as the “Emerald Triangle” for its vast marijuana farms. In contrast, every city and town council in Marin County (other than Fairfax) has either taken public positions against marijuana dispensaries or banned them altogether.  The San Francisco Chronicle reports that this lead Marin County officials to recently reject ten dispensary applications. The County also received two separate anti-dispensary petitions with hundreds of signatures. This is a confusing message from a county which approved the 2016 recreational use referendum by seventy percent.   Continue reading

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