Articles Tagged with California compliance attorneys

Despite legalization of recreational marijuana sales earlier this year, Fresno remains one of the communities wherein marijuana businesscannabis-related activity is still banned: No recreational sales, no medical sales, no commercial growing, no testing, no distribution, no manufacturing. Residents can grow indoors for personal use or if they are a caretaker, but that’s it.

Still, officials know of more than 70 unlicensed sales operations in the city. Law enforcement agencies are stretched thin, however, so they have to prioritize their time and resources.

They recently focused their efforts on one specific dispensary, according to High Times, which was reported to be selling high-potency cannabis candy wrapped in packaging that was appealing to children. Agents seized 150 pounds of the candy and more than $200,000 after a two-month investigation of the dispensary. Six dispensary operators were given misdemeanor marijuana citations.

When it comes to sales of marijuana, which is still considered an illegal Schedule I narcotic under the federal Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. Section 812, it wouldn’t seem like packaging would be the top priority for law enforcement. However, keeping cannabis out of the hands of children has been a prevalent and important theme for everyone in the legalization process. No one on either side of the issue wants to see cannabis in the hands of children. Relevant restrictions have included keeping cannabis retailers a certain distance from parks, schools, and places where children regularly frequent, as well as making sure tax money is allocated for education and prevention programs geared at students. Further, regulations dictate that “packages and labels shall not be made to be attractive to children,” according to Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act Sec. 74. Continue reading

California is posed to instantly become the country’s largest marijuana market when lawful sales of cannabis for recreational use begin on January 2, 2018. While this presents vast opportunity for investors and entrepreneurs, it also presents a wealth of regulatory challenges. Businesses often face greater regulation in California than other states, simply due to the size of California’s legal and regulatory codes. Cannabis businesses will have the added headache of new and changing regulations in a brand new industry. Yet, with preparation and planning, and skilled legal advice from an experienced marijuana business compliance attorney, business owners can keep their operations compliant and profitable throughout the coming changes in regulatory framework applicable to California’s cannabis industry.cannabis compliance lawyers

California’s Compliance Rating

Forbes reports on recent compliance data issued by Adherence Compliance, a cannabis compliance company based in Denver, Colorado. Adherence Compliance has applied predictive analytics and machine learning to the cannabis industry in order to determine the compliance areas in which a business is likely to fail. Its data has found California cannabis business owners to be the least compliant across the country. Here, owners average sixteen compliance infractions per inspection, and score an average of 74.4 out of 100 on Adherence’s compliance metrics. By contrast: Illinois was found to be the most compliant state, and averaged 91.1 out of 100 on the same tests. It is worth noting that Illinois has a relatively new and small program of strict regulation. Colorado, in comparison, has an older and larger program of regulation, which has complex applications for both recreational and medicinal use. Its cannabis business owners scored an average of 82.9 out of 100 on the Adherence Compliance metric. Continue reading

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