Los Angeles marijuana attorney

September 10, 2021

Work With L.A. Cannabis Lawyer to Ensure Your Dispensary Carefully Screens Out Minors

California law prohibits children (under 21) from possessing, using, or buying cannabis. Marketing for marijuana must be tailored in a such a way that it’s less likely to reach them. Proposition 64 (California’s recreational marijuana law) requires a default buffer to keep dispensaries at least 600 feet away from schools, day cares, and youth centers; local ordinances be even more stringent in their requirements. Yet pot shops apparently aren’t doing a great job of keeping cannabis away from kids, according to new research. Los Angeles cannabis lawyer

A new study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics took a look at how well state regulations intended to keep marijuana out of the hands of minors have been working. The analysis examined the practices of 700 licensed marijuana dispensaries in the state. Researchers discovered that kids can be exposed to both marketing and products, in spite of the restrictions on both.

Dispensaries are required by law to screen out customers who are underage. Many do this with blatant signage, having a checkpoint with mandatory ID (inside or outside), and tailoring marketing efforts where ads are unlikely to reach those under 21.

For this study, researchers close to the legal age cutoff (between the ages of 21 and 23) went into hundreds of dispensaries throughout California to document their screening process. Of the shops they entered, 97 percent were compliant with ID checks. However, only 12 percent verified customers’ ages outside the shop, and nearly 70 percent did not comply in having signs indicating age limits. For the most part, dispensaries were only requiring proof of age once the person was already inside, where both products and marketing materials were in plain view. Continue reading

May 30, 2021

Licensed California Cannabis Shops are Successfully Blocking Sales to Minors, Study Shows

By Cannabis Law Group

Minors getting ahold of marijuana was a major sticking point in the lead up to the passage of Proposition 64, which legalized adult-use California cannabis. It’s also been cited as a reason to block cannabis business billboards on California highways. But as it turns out, licensed marijuana retailers are doing an excellent job keeping the substance out of the hands of youth. Los Angeles cannabis lawyers

You don’t need to take our Los Angeles marijuana business lawyers‘ word for it. This is according to a new study commissioned by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Despite a few isolated incidents of state law violations (i.e., workers giving out free samples of edibles), the analysis revealed workers at cannabis retail locations are committed to following the rules, protecting minors and staying in business.

Study authors say the largest loophole through which minors obtain cannabis in California is through unlicensed vendors. Consider that black market bud sales are three times bigger than the legal market. They don’t have the regulations and taxes to contend with. They sell products that aren’t verified for safety or quality, but they can sell them cheaper – and they don’t always ensure the people to whom they’re selling are of legal age to do so.

The proliferation of the black market in this state has served as a lesson to other states preparing to oversee the unveiling of similar recreational cannabis industries. Continue reading

January 14, 2020

Californian Lawmakers End Pot Smoking in Moving Vehicles

By Cannabis Law Group

California’s cannabis tourism may look a little different in 2020. That’s because the Golden state’s lawmakers recently closed a loophole with Assembly Bill 1810, to prevent passengers from smoking or vaping cannabis products while inside moving vehicles.

For some time, state legislators had been pushing for a bill that protects limousine and party bus drivers from the effects of second-hand cannabis smoke. Senate Bill 625 was first introduced by Californian Senator Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo).

marijuana legalization Senate Bill 625
SB 625 bill stated passengers were permitted to consume cannabis within a limousine, pedicab, camper, houseboat, bus or taxi. But it also required drivers were to be separated from passenger compartments, and provided with ventilation systems separate from those smoking pot. These measures were intended to protect drivers from inhaling second-hand smoke and unintentionally becoming high while driving. A measure drivers welcomed, because if consuming pot at the wheel, not only could they pose a risk on the roads, but if testing positive they could also lose their jobs, and their commercial driving licenses.
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November 19, 2019

Southern California Gets Its First Drive-Thru Dispensary

By Cannabis Law Group

Drive-thru cannabis dispensaries are banned in California, but thanks to a small loophole in the law, Southern California is getting its first in, in Desert Hot Springs. It is the second one in the entire state. Los Angeles marijuana lawyer

The state’s recreational cannabis law does expressly prohibits marijuana drive-thru operations – unless a dispensary applied for a permit prior to June 2018, when Prop. 64 rules were finalized. Harborside cannabis dispensary filed its application for a drive-thru shop earlier that year, so it’s allowed to proceed with its marijuana business plan.

Approaching customers will have the benefit of a large, electronic menu, where they can place orders for edibles, vape cards and pre-rolled joints – the same way one might order a Happy Meal (except you will have to show ID to prove you are of age). Passengers, however, will not need to produce identification.

Desert Hot Springs, located in the Coachella Valley geographic region of Riverside County, is a great place to start, considering it was one of the first to welcome legal recreational marijuana with open after Prop. 64 passed in 2016. (Eighty percent of California jurisdictions have decided not to allow cannabis to be sold in their jurisdictions.) Continue reading

July 19, 2019

The Problem with Legal Weed Getting Californian Dogs High

By Cannabis Law Group

Dazed-dog-300x208 California dogs are increasingly getting high. While this may sound harmless or even amusing at first, it’s imperative that pet owners become aware of the dangers associated with marijuana exposure to animals, so that beloved fur family members can be kept out of harm’s way.

As territory across the country allowing the legal use of marijuana has quickly grown – currently, medical marijuana is legal in 33 states, recreational marijuana in 11, and the District of Columbia permits both varieties – it should come as little surprise that more and more pets are inadvertently becoming exposed to cannabis too.
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March 10, 2019

With Unlicensed Cannabis Still a Moneymaker, L.A. Votes to Cut the Power

By Cannabis Law Group

Shops that are operating unlawfully throughout Southern California are widespread, but making a black-and-white distinction has proved difficult. Many of the illicit marijuana shops in Los Angeles are selling the exact same kinds of goods that are offered through licensed retailers and farmers – but at a fraction of a cost. It’s a reality that, as The Orange County Register reports, even has some legal marijuana company owners selling black market wares on the side to make ends meet. These double-dipping players are part of the reason why black market weed in California is believed to be eight times the size of the legal market, though many of those involved say they have no choice when regulation and taxation have created a situation wherein they could not financially survive otherwise. California marijuana lawyer

The stakes for illegal marijuana businesses in Los Angeles are high. As our L.A. marijuana business attorneys can explain, getting caught can mean loss of businesses, loss of assets (including homes, cars and bank savings), severe fines and even criminal penalties. Some have even designated so-called “go-to-jail-guys” to take the fall in the event they are caught.

City leaders say the only power they wield against the unlawful firms at this point is to make it so that black market sales isn’t worth the profit. Local government only has limited means to make that happen, but the Los Angeles Daily News reports the city has vowed to start with their power sources. Continue reading

February 6, 2019

The Legality of Listing Illegal Los Angeles Marijuana Shops: Weedmaps Cites Tech Company Protections

By Cannabis Law Group

Recreational marijuana use has been legal in California now for little more than a year, but access to the drug remains scarce in some regions. That’s why some – including those who seek non-psychoactive CBD oil – are relying on a technology app called Weedmaps to help them locate the nearest provider. Our Los Angeles marijuana attorneys are aware this has generated a few problems stemming from the fact that a number of the providers listed on the platform aren’t legally allowed to operate by the state and have not been subjected to the same rigorous quality assurance regulations as legal marijuana businesses. marijuana lawyer

From a patient’s perspective, that means the product they are receiving may not be 100 percent safe or accurately-labeled with proper potency levels. From the perspective of marijuana businesses, these other companies have carved an unfair advantage over them because they operate in regions they do not and/or have not had to pay the mountains of fees for taxes, licensing, workers’ compensation and quality assurance testing. From the state’s perspective, these businesses are flouting the regulatory framework of the law.

As reported by Wired.com, marijuana businesses can list their services on the site for free, but top billing requires an advertising fee. Some companies pay as much as $20,000-a-month for top-level billing on the site, which doesn’t vet firms to see which are technically legal and does not indicate those pot shops that pop up first on the site have paid for that placement.

September 11, 2018

Is Marijuana on the Ballot in Your State This November?

By Cannabis Law Group

All eyes in the cannabis community will be on four states this November as ballot initiatives could add more states to marijuana lawyer the growing list of places where either recreational or medical marijuana is legal. Two of the states — Utah and Missouri — currently have no marijuana protections and would be looking to add medical. The inclusion of these two would bring the number of states with some form of legal cannabis to 32. Meanwhile, Michigan and North Dakota are no strangers to marijuana legislation, each one already having medical marijuana permissions in place while looking to move forward into recreational cannabis in November.

According to The Motley Fool, early polling shows Michigan is expected to be a close call in their ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana. Proposition 1 would permit use and possession of marijuana for those 21 and older as well as sales and taxation on those sales. Under the measure, 12 plants would be allowed for personal growth in private residences. Like California and other states, though, cities and local governments would have the right to ban or regulate businesses in their jurisdictions. A 10 percent excise tax on retail sales would go toward education and be divided among local coffers. Continue reading

March 3, 2018

Sacramento Tries to Get Marijuana Delivery Services Back on Track

By Cannabis Law Group

The road to marijuana legalization is paved with regulations, for better or worse. And it’s a bumpy road that marijuana delivery service businesses have had to learn to navigate.

Delivery businesses specializing in cannabis have a unique set of rules to follow. They must abide by the laws in the local jurisdiction in which their home base is located. But they also have to take into consideration laws that dictate transport. This has led to a particular set of challenges in Sacramento County, according to the Sacramento Bee.

While adult-use marijuana was legalized in the state Jan. 1, under Proposition 64, each local government was allowed to set its own terms. Under the law, deliveries can only be made between cities that allow it. This can be a real disadvantage to patients, some who have difficulty leaving their homes, and business owners. And product must be kept in the city where the business has a license.

In Sacramento County, as of now only the city of Sacramento has plans to receive deliveries. The city has not issued any permits yet, but eight delivery companies have registered while the permit program is being established. Meanwhile Sacramento’s pot czar says many businesses are operating without licenses, and he is on a mission to rein them in. A recent tally on a marijuana delivery website showed about 200 delivery businesses in the county. Continue reading

January 2, 2018

Los Angeles Marijuana Businesses Miss Jan. 1 Rollout

By Cannabis Law Group

Proposition 64, which makes the sale and use of recreational marijuana legal in California, went into effect at the start of the year, but Los Angeles marijuana business owners had to wait to join in the fray of commercial businesses opening their doors.

Los Angeles city council approved guidelines for the sale of recreational marijuana late in 2017, and the city hoped to have the regulations put in place by the roll-out of the Adult Use of Marijuana Act on Jan. 1, 2018. However, the city now says it needs extra time to establish the intricate rules.

Therefore, Los Angeles could not start accepting applications right away. Additionally, it usually takes weeks for a business to receive a license and meet standards with local and state officials. Continue reading