KTLA Channel 5 News Story June 18, 2010: Lake Forest Medical Marijuana Dispensary Appealing Injunction Order
KTTV Channel 11 News Story June 4, 2010: Los Angeles Medical Marijuana Dispensary Challenges LA's Ordinance
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 
California has kicked off a multi-lingual public awareness campaign, urging cannabis users throughout the state to ensure they’re purchasing from legal dispensaries.
Amid growing calls from licensed cannabis dispensaries, The California Bureau of Cannabis Control’s “Get#weedwise” program aims to educate consumers on the risks they face when buying from unlicensed retailers. It also advises that safest pot purchases are made with licensed dispensaries and warns illegal business operators of consequences they can expect if they continue to trade without a license.
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Marijuana supporters in California rejoiced late last month as legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives could afford the industry more freedom to grow. Currently, the recreational use and sale of marijuana is legal in California, along with 10 other states, and Washington D.C. But federal law continues to classify cannabis as a Schedule 1 narcotic. While it is yet to happen, this makes folks in the cannabis industry weary, as the door remains open for the federal government to prosecute against cannabis related businesses, even in states that have legalized marijuana.
The Blumenauer-McClintock Amendment
The lauded legislation, known as the Blumenauer-McClintock amendment, would prohibit the Department of Justice from using federal funds to interfere with California state laws, or the laws in any state or district, legally permitting the regulated adult-use of cannabis.
Supporters for marijuana law reform are praising the legislation. Justin Strekal, Political Director for pro-marijuana organization, NORML, called it “the most significant vote on marijuana reform policy that the House of Representatives has ever taken.” That’s because the cannabis industry would certainly welcome extended protections within states that already permit the legal use and sale of marijuana.
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California shoppers are about to see a brand new line of cannabidiol (or CBD)-infused beverages hit supermarket shelves this week, despite the fact such products are still illegal. Even though federal U.S. law now allows for the creation of CBD based products (in the form of tinctures, capsules, lotions and oils, etc.), FDA guidelines restrict CBD food and beverage interstate product sales.
Alternative health food observers can likely tell you that locally made CBD food products have been steadily propping up all across the country for a couple of years now. As functional foods, CBD products have grown in popularity thanks to their relaxing properties, but they won’t produce a ‘high’ as they lack the psychoactive tetrohydrocanabidiol (THC) found in marijuana.
To buy CBD products until now, consumers have typically had to seek out alternative health food stores, neighborhood dispensaries, or mom-and-pop market stalls. Now, the Oki brand is about to change that. With its CBD-infused, flavored water and iced tea lines, Phivida – the premium functional food and beverage manufacturers of the Oki brand – is among the first to mass produce CBD-infused beverages and is poised to make its 360,000 bottles already produced, available in mainstream grocery stores.
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Federal reclassification of marijuana could soon be on the horizon sooner than we think, thanks to a recent appellate ruling in a case that pits parents of sick children against the U.S. Department of Justice. 
The case, Washington v. Barr (previously Washington v. Sessions), challenges marijuana’s status as on of the most dangerous narcotics listed in the U.S. Controlled Substance Act, on par with heroin and LSD.
Such challenges aren’t new, and it appeared initially as if this case might go the way of all the others. But what our cannabis lawyers noted as unique – and possibly groundbreaking – in the recent U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit’s ruling wasn’t only that justices denied the government’s motion to dismiss and allowed the case to proceed, but that the court:
Took the rare step of asserting it would retain jurisdiction of the case, holding it in abeyance, citing the dire medical needs of children involved;
Effectively put the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on notice of the expectation that reclassification needs to happen soon – within a matter of months. Continue reading
The threat of marijuana monopolies seem like a tangible possibility in many markets across California, where costly regulation, a still-thriving black market and retail “slotting” practices that charge up to $50,000 a month for prime shelf space. Small cannabis companies are being squeezed for every penny, a growing number broke and out of the game.
Monopolies run contrary to basic free-market capitalism, and both federal and state laws exist to break them up.
In the California cannabis industry, the fear is that monopolies or near-monopolies will lead to reduced product quality, fewer mom-and-pop small businesses and more revenue funneled to large outside entities.
In some regions, just getting in the game in the first place without money or clout proves an efficient enough barrier. This is suspected by some in the city of Oceanside, an hour south of Los Angeles. Continue reading
The legal cannabis is a high-stakes game, and many companies are clamoring for insurance. It’s a $9 billion industry (expected to hit $21 million by 2022) where regulation and standards remains spotty, rules are a mishmash depending on jurisdiction, companies deal largely in cash, the product itself alters chemical brain function and remains against federal law.
At The Cannabis Law Group, our Los Angeles legal team has noted that while it is getting markedly easier for many marijuana business clients and related ancillary firms to obtain insurance coverage, it’s still a hugely under-served market, particularly given its vulnerability to litigation on several fronts.
Almost all businesses face some type of legal threat at some point or another, which is the whole point of why they buy insurance. But firms that deal in marijuana aren’t “just any other firm.” Continue reading
Anymore when we talk about criminal charges for cannabis companies, it has to do either with unlicensed dispensaries or unlawful sales. Since the 2013 Cole Memo de-funded prosecution of state-legal marijuana businesses and especially since Prop. 64 nixed pot prohibition in the state three years ago, it’s rare that federal authorities will pursue charges against cannabis companies or operators in connection with their work.
Recently, though, two California cannabis company top executives were arrested, their company also charged, for allegedly dumping 1,500 pounds of toxic waste in violation of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations.
The indictment, filed last month in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of California, notes a history of illegal dumping of waste material from the firm’s cannabis extraction lab. Specifically, drums of ethanol waste. Continue reading
California may soon be the the first-ever in the country to pass a hemp-derived CBD food, drug and cosmetic bill, not only legalizing the non-psychoactive cannabidiol oil for these applications, but taking effect immediately upon passage.
Assembly Bill 228 was first introduced about six months ago, has since passed the state assembly and is nearly completed its rounds in the state senate – with bipartisan support and little resistance. Legislative watchers believe the bill is poised to pass, possibly as soon as next month.
The news is sure to please the growing number of restaurants and retailers already selling CBD products under such labels (primarily food and beverages) – in defiance of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s stated stance, one backed by the California Department of Public Health in its Industrial Hemp CBD in Food Products FAQ memo released last year.
Truth be told, these business owners are taking a big risk. What’s more, there’s no guarantee AB-228 would fully shield them either. State lawmakers have neither the power to alter federal agency policy nor to force the state DOH to defy federal regulatory authorities. Still, having a state law in place will serve as an additional legal safeguard. Continue reading
There was a time when “I need a cannabis lawyer” meant you were most likely looking for a criminal defense attorney. But the legal landscape of marijuana law has changed drastically – from the early days of becoming the first state to legalize the drug for medicinal purposes in 1996 to the incessant federal raids and civil forfeiture action to the uneasy truce of the Cole Memo to Prop 64’s legalization of marijuana for recreational sale and use in 2016.
Through all of this, the Los Angeles marijuana lawyers at The Cannabis Law Group have been on the forefront of these evolving laws.
Today, “cannabis law” encompasses a broad array of legal services, including:
And yes, cannabis criminal defense lawyers are still needed too – not only so long as marijuana prohibition is in effect at the federal level but also to handle marijuana DUI cases.
We have been centrally focused on all-things-cannabis law in Los Angeles for the better part of two decades, cultivating a highly-skilled team of knowledgeable, dogged attorneys known for consistently-favorable client results. Continue reading
Cannabis Law Group's Medical Marijuana Legal Blog