Medical Marijuana in Los Angeles Recognition as an Agricultural Crop

According to a recently ruling from a Tulare County Superior Court, marijuana is not an agricultural crop even though it’s a top money maker in our area. The ruling more specifically states that owners of medical marijuana collectives cannot operate on or grow products within lands zones that have been set aside for agricultural purposes, according to Mercury News.

During the ruling, a landowner voiced his belief to the judge about the benefits medical marijuana in Los Angeles and elsewhere. He says that a medical marijuana collective’s cultivation of the drug should be legal when it was in fact located in a zone that has been specified for agricultural crops. He recently came under scrutiny for being involved in this exact scenario.

Our Orange County medical marijuana attorneys understand the constant battles that these collectives have to go through on a daily basis. Collectives are oftentimes not treated fairly and forced to jump through hoops to keep their business up a running, a business that is legal in the state of California.

This specific ruling concluded that medical marijuana was in fact a controlled substance and that the court believes that as a matter of law, growing marijuana is not sufficient enough to constitute a good use of agricultural property.

Tulare County sued the landowner and the collective that he operated. This is the first time that the court has looking to specify the uses for these zones. The court has never had to differentiate which crops were classified as agricultural and which were not.

The owner defended his property and his business by saying that medical marijuana grows like any other crop and should be treated the same way. There is irony here: The history of marijuana suggests it may well have been the first agricultural crop — and agriculture ushered in modern civilization. Beginning in the late 1700s, marijuana plantations were commonplace throughout the United States.

The topic was addressed once before back in 2006 when Jon Gettman, who is a marijuana legalization advocate, reported that marijuana is in fact the country’s number on cash crop as it brings in nearly $36 billion every year. This total is more than the amount from wheat and corn combined.

It has been determined that the California Department of Food and Agriculture does not define cannabis as an agricultural commodity.

The CANNABIS LAW GROUP is a law firm dedicated to the rights of medical marijuana patients, collectives and growers and has built a reputation for high-powered, aggressive legal representation of the medical marijuana industry in Southern California. Call 949-375-4734 for a confidential consultation to discuss your rights.

Additional Resources:

Medical marijuana not an agricultural crop, judge rules, by Lewis Griswold, Mercury News
More Blog Entries:

San Diego Backing Off Restrictions Against Medical Marijuana Collectives, Marijuana Lawyer Blog, August 15, 2011

Medical Marijuana in Los Angeles and Elsewhere Regulated by Local Leaders, Marijuana Lawyer Blog, August 12, 2011