Los Angeles marijuana attorney

June 23, 2017

Legal Recreational Marijuana Use and Employment Issues

For a long time, people have been wondering how medical marijuana use will affect their employment and what happens if they get a drug test. That is a complicated issue, and it depends a lot on your employer. With marijuana being legal for recreational use as Proposition 64 was voted into law at the last election, many more are concerned if they can lose their jobs for using marijuana for recreation.

cannabis Lawyer Riverside Some argue that it should be okay as long as you are not under the influence of marijuana while on the job. This is how things work with alcohol. After all, anyone who is 21 or older can legally drink alcohol, but cannot come to work drunk. It is also true that a worker can take his or her prescription Xanax and be at work so long as that is not interfering with their job, and they are not operating heavy machinery. Continue reading

May 12, 2017

One California City Looks to Ban Outdoor Marijuana Cultivation

By Cannabis Law Group

Medical marijuana grow operations in California can take various forms. In some cases, we are dealing with large outdoor grow operations that are similar to any other farms. In other cases, we are dealing with smaller indoor hydroponic grow operations. These grow operations can produce very high quality strains of marijuana in a heavily controlled environment, but cannot produce the quantities anywhere near a large outdoor grow operation.

marijuana attorney There are grow operations that use massive indoor spaces, some as big as 200,000 square feet, which is around the size of a big box store, to grow marijuana in a traditional growing medium. These indoor grow operations are secure and have special features to keep any types of mites or other pests from getting to the plants. Modern ones require workers to wear clean suits with no pockets, and then they must go through a wind tunnel prior to coming in contact with plants to keep the pests away. The air in these large medical marijuana operations is recycled multiple times a day or even a few times an hour to make sure there is not any contamination. Continue reading

September 21, 2016

Medical Marijuana Patients Denied Second Amendment Rights

By Cannabis Law Group

The Second Amendment, which guarantees citizens’ right to keep and bear arms, is one of the more controversial in our U.S. Constitution. It’s been the source of much contention in our nation in recent years, but the fact remains: It is still considered a fundamental right. gavel211

Now, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has issued a ruling saying it is a right that should be denied to users of medical marijuana. In Wilson v. Lynch et al., the court ruled that a federal law that prohibits medical marijuana cardholders from buying firearms does not actually violate those patients’ Second Amendment rights because users of marijuana are prone to behavior that is “irrational” and “unpredictable.”

The case stemmed from a lawsuit filed by a Nevada woman who sought to buy a handgun five years ago. However, she was refused the sale after the owner of the store recognized her as being a medical marijuana patient. Plaintiff asserted that in fact, she didn’t really use marijuana, but obtained a medical marijuana card in order to make a political statement, saying she supports the liberalization of marijuana laws nationally. Continue reading

September 13, 2016

Nuisance Abatement Laws Result in Eviction for Marijuana Users

By Cannabis Law Group

Nuisance abatement laws, codified at the state or local level, allow municipalities to fine landlords who allow “nuisances” on their properties. It was intended to curb violence and repeat police responses to the same location. However, it’s reportedly having a negative effect on those who use marijuana. rent

The Washington Post recently reported on the issue, beginning with the case of a D.C. law firm employee who, after eight years renting a residence on a quiet street in the Northeast section of the city, was evicted over the discovery of a marijuana joint. The report indicates the woman’s adult son – who had not lived with her for years – was arrested for possession of a firearm outside of a popular nightclub. Two weeks later, D.C. police officers raided her home, looking for more drugs. They didn’t find any when they stormed the home as she and her husband were helping her 8-year-old with his homework. However, they did find three cigarettes – one of them reportedly containing marijuana. No one was arrested or charged.

However, it was just a week later that the attorney general’s office in D.C. labeled the home a drug-related nuisance in a letter fired off to her landlord. That letter cited a nuisance abatement law passed in 1999 that grants the city broad power to prevail in civil lawsuits against landlords that don’t halt illegal actions on their properties. In response, the landlord evicted his tenant. Continue reading

September 11, 2016

Lack of Diversity in Medical Marijuana Licenses Raises Concern

By Cannabis Law Group

A lack of diversity in medical marijuana licensing has raised concerns in Maryland, specifically by a number of black state lawmakers – most recently including Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (D). marijuana1

Simultaneously, the Washington Post reports that there have been calls by the head of the legislative black caucus to prohibit elected officials from participating in the industry. Officials who backed the measure are questioning a fellow politician who also supported the legislation – and then later was welcomed aboard a company seeking a license to cultivate and distribute the drug. Del. Cheryl Glenn says the failure of Del. Dan Morhaim to make his dual roles clear. Both Glenn and Morhaim are Democrats from Baltimore.

These issues combined have proven impediments in a legalization process that has been marked with numerous missteps and delays since Maryland voters approved medical marijuana three years ago. Now, the state is clearing 15 companies for cultivation of the drug and another 15 companies for marijuana processing. None of those 30 companies are owned or operated by an African American – despite the fact that one-third of the population in Maryland is black. Continue reading

August 30, 2016

Report: Marijuana Industry Intellectual Property Disputes Increasing

By Cannabis Law Group

Intellectual property protections – like trademarks or innovations on creative marketing – is one of the many federal benefits afforded to legitimate businesses. Unfortunately, L.A. marijuana dispensaries have long been shut out from these sort of protections precisely because they haven’t been treated as if their operation is in fact legitimate. worldwidebrand

Thankfully, that is starting to change as states pass reforms that bolster the position of marijuana dispensaries – medicinal and recreational – in our communities.

The effect that is having on the marijuana industry is being explored in the Winter 2016 issue of the Washington and Lee Law Review. The study, “Trademark Laundering, Useless Patents and Other IP Challenges for the Marijuana Industry,” delves into some of the intellectual property challenges the marijuana industry faces and how the industry is tackling those issues today. Because cannabis remains a Schedule I narcotic under federal law, despite progressive state-level reforms, those who grow and sell the drug or its derivatives have found themselves unable to secure banking services, saddled with onerous tax burdens, unable to count on the enforcement of contracts they sign and trouble finding good marijuana lawyers who are willing to take on the complex and ever-changing regulatory landscape. In all of this, intellectual property protection has been largely put on the back burner. Continue reading

August 24, 2016

FDA: Liquid Marijuana Synthetic Approved for Cancer, AIDS Patients

By Cannabis Law Group

Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) quietly approved a drug called Syndros, which is a synthetic form of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. Its use is limited to patients who are suffering from AIDS and cancer. laboratory

Syndros is the liquid version of a drug called Marinol, which was approved back in 1985 as a synthetic cannabinoid. However, Marinol only comes in pill form. Syndros is the liquid form. Marinol was approved in the mid-80s to treat the same conditions as Syndros.

Interestingly, the approval of this liquid synthetic came around the same time the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) refused to reclassify marijuana as anything but a Schedule I narcotic, despite petitions from lawmakers to knock it down to a Schedule II. In the agency’s refusal to take this action, officials cited lack of proof that marijuana serves any legitimate medical purpose. Yet we are making synthetic versions of it for uses that are clearly legitimate and medical? Continue reading

July 9, 2016

Lt. Gov. Newsome: Campaign for Cannabis Legalization in November

By Cannabis Law Group

Speaking to a group of cannabis industry advocates and members, California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsome implored them to participate in the campaign to pass the legalization of recreational marijuana, slated for the November ballot. He warned a failure on this front would not only set California back on the marijuana issue, it would set the nation back. voterinformation

Newsome said a change in the law is essential because of the utter failure of the so-called War on Drugs.

At a conference in Oakland, sponsored by the National Cannabis Industry Assn., approximately 2,000 entrepreneurs and industry activists nodded as Newsome described the existing drug policies in California and the U.S. as essentially a war on the poor and on minorities. Continue reading