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

Articles Tagged with California marijuana lawyer

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In just a few days, we’ll know the results of what has undoubtedly been an arduous election. But no matter who wins the presidential race, our marijuana lawyers anticipate one of the biggest winners will be legal marijuana. Five states are slated to weigh marijuana for adult recreational use. Four other states are considering measures that would legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. Every single one of these initiatives are leading in the polls. As it already stands, 25 states have legalized the drug four (so far) have legalized adult recreational marijuana. money

All of this has understandably caught the eye of investors. The fact that marijuana sales are expected to balloon from the current $7.4 billion to $20.6 billion by 2020 isn’t lost on them. If the November ballot initiatives passed in California, Florida, Arizona, Nevada, Montana, Maine and Massachusetts, those states alone are going to see $2.7 billion in sales by 2018, which is going to grow to about $8 billion within just two years.

Although the potential financial benefits are significant, investors need to be cautious. Consulting with an experienced marijuana attorney is a smart move, considering the volatility of the market, and the fact that not all of these stocks are going to survive. The Marijuana Index, a benchmark firm that follows U.S. and Canadian stocks in the industry noted that public companies in the marijuana market are still highly speculative at this point. Most of the shares are traded over-the-counter, so they don’t have to submit audits to financial regulators. The SEC suspended five marijuana companies in 2014 for engaging in fraud. Investors need to be especially cautious when it comes to start-up companies.  Continue reading

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During pregnancy, cannabis is among the recreational substances used most commonly. Physicians predict as it becomes more readily available across the country, its use among new mothers will rise. Although it’s historically been taboo, that’s largely because we haven’t known that much about it. Research on the health effects of marijuana is scant as it is, and it’s even more sparse when it comes to the effects on fetuses. pregnancy2

To be clear: The American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecologists state in no uncertain terms to abstain from both alcohol and marijuana. But we all know that many doctors have excused the occasional single glass of Cabernet later in pregnancy. Could having a few puffs of a joint soon be seen in the same way?

A recent report indicates that research on the effects of marijuana during pregnancy aren’t as concrete as some health care professionals may have let on. This certainly doesn’t mean we’re encouraging mothers-to-be to rush to their nearest dispensary to cure their nausea or other pregnancy symptoms. However, the research should come as an important reminder that there is much we still do not know. Continue reading

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California voters are going to be asked in November to decide whether they support the legalization of marijuana for recreational – not just medicinal – purposes. Polls indicate public support for this is at an all-time high of 60 percent, so the measure has a good shot of winning. But opponents haven’t given up just yet, and they’ve seized on something they hope will sway voters who might otherwise be on-the-fence. Problem is, it’s not actually true. television

The argument: That if you vote for legalization of recreational marijuana, the television and radio airwaves are going to be flooded with marijuana advertising.

For 45 years, there has been a ban on the advertisement of tobacco and smoke-related products. Now, some lawmakers are arguing that Prop. 64, the marijuana legislation, is going to undo all that. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Ca.) argued that if California voters approve Prop. 64, they’ll be opening the door to marijuana smoking advertisements during prime time, when millions of teens and children will be tuning in.  Continue reading

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In what has turned out to be a contentious and unusual election, Democrats are hoping they can edge out the Republican nominee in the White House bid with an issue that has gained a groundswell of support: Marijuana.election

While the legalization of medical marijuana has gained a significant amount of bipartisan support, conservatives are less likely than liberals to support it and that gap is even greater when the topic is legalization of recreational marijuana.

Democrats are hoping that even if their top candidate doesn’t ignite voters, maybe the marijuana issue will. It’s true that in past presidential elections, “down-ballot races” – that is, those issues and offices that were farther down the ballot from the presidential nominee – have turned the tide in a number of key states. For example, the proposed same-sex marriage ban helped President George W. Bush snag reelection in 2004. And then in 2012, voters in Colorado were swayed to vote for President Barack Obama at the same time they voted to legalize recreational marijuana. Continue reading

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Recently, President Obama commuted the sentences of a record 214 federal inmates, which was the largest single-day commutations grant in our national history. It means the total number of presidential commutations the president has issued is now at 562, which is more than any other president who actually granted federal prisoner commutations since Calvin Coolidge. In fact, it’s more than the last nine presidents combined. handcuffs6

Most of these commutations have occurred in this, Obama’s last year in office. Undoubtedly, they are part of a larger state Obama is making about the existing failures in our criminal drug system. Of those whose sentences were commuted on this recent round, 197 were serving life sentences for non-violent drug crimes. Almost every one of the total 214 were serving sentences for non-violent crimes that were in some way connected to drugs. They will all be freed by December 1st.

“The extraordinary rate of incarcerations of non-violent drug offenders has created its own set of problems,” Obama said at a news conference announcing the commutations. These consequences include:

  • Stressed communities
  • Families forever broken
  • Huge swaths of people – most lower-income minorities – locked out of legal economic opportunity.

Continue reading

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What exactly is a marijuana plant? marijuanaplants

Seems a fairly straightforward question with a simple answer. However, the issue has been muddled in Michigan, where the Court of Appeals had to take on the issue in Michigan v. Ventura.

The issue was raised after police in Grand Rapids raided the home of the defendant in this case, who was a medical marijuana card holder. Once inside, authorities discovered 21 marijuana plants – plus an additional 22 “clones” of those plants. Either way, he was over the limit of 19 that he was allowed to grow under the state’s 2008 medical marijuana law. Still, the language of the law was a bit hazy to begin with. Beyond that, the difference between being three plants over and 25 plants over is significant in terms of charges and penalties.

Defendant argued the 22 clones – which were portions of the plant that had been transplanted to different pots – were simply leaves and cuttings. However, after referencing the dictionary, a federal case and decision handed down recently by the Idaho Court of Appeals, the three-judge panel all agreed the clones were in fact plants. That means defendant violated the law by owning 43 plants, meaning he’ll get no reprieve on the penalty that requires him to serve two years on probation and 120 hours on community service.  Continue reading

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A growing percentage of U.S. adults are using marijuana, according to a new Gallup poll on marijuana use.marijuana1

At this time, approximately 1 in every 8 adults in the U.S. is smoking marijuana. That’s about 13 percent, and it’s almost double the number who answered in similarly in the affirmative just three years ago.  In 2013, it was 7 percent of U.S. adults who reported being current marijuana users.

Overall, 43 percent of Americans say they have tried marijuana at some point, though the percentage of experimentation and regular use varied by respondents’ religion and age.

This is, of course, despite the fact that marijuana remains illegal under federal law. As it now stands, four states have legalized the drug for recreational purposes and half have some variation of medicinal marijuana law on the books.  Continue reading

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Legalization of recreational marijuana is on the horizon in California. But meanwhile, there are a lot of employers who still drug test as a condition of employment. In many cases, testing positive for marijuana is grounds to deny someone a job. marijuana1

Will legalization change that?

That question was explored recently in L.A. Weekly, which noted that if voters agree to approve recreational marijuana on Nov. 8, employers could find themselves in hot water if they ask prospective or current employees to pee in a cup. Continue reading

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One of the ongoing threats to California marijuana dispensaries, growers and users is the ongoing federal prohibition on the drug. marijuana2

To this day, despite the increasing research findings proving the medicinal and societal benefits of the drug, it remains under a Schedule I narcotic designation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). This is true even as lawmakers in four states plus Washington, D.C. have approved the cultivation, sale and possession of recreational use. This prohibition is what has forced marijuana dispensaries to operate in cash, because banks won’t handle their money. It’s the reason marijuana cultivators and distributors have faced criminal prosecution, even when carefully following state laws.

The good news is that there are many signs this could be on the verge of changing. For one thing, national polls show 89 percent of Americans support medical cannabis – and that includes 81 percent of Republicans.  Continue reading

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Taxation of legalized marijuana is slated to boost funds for homeless services in L.A. County. That’s if a ballot measure, just approved  by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, is green-lighted by local voters. homeless

Following a four-hour public hearing on the issue, the board agreed in a split 3-2 decision to impose a county-wide tax on recreational marijuana – if it’s approved by voters statewide in the fall.

This action pays lip service to the confidence county leaders have that the Adult Use of Marijuana Act Initiative is going to pass in November. If both the state and local measures are approved, that could mean an estimated $80 million to $130 million annually helping the homeless in L.A. County. That’s based on projections of a 5 to 10 percent sales tax on recreational marijuana.  Continue reading

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