California Marijuana Dispensaries

February 18, 2016

Report: Honey Oil Lab Explosion in Los Angeles

According to a recent news report from NBC Los Angeles, firefighters were called to the scene of a fire that is now believed to have started in marijuana grow house and processing lab. Authorities have said this lab was using butane to extract what is known as “honey oil” from marijuana when the fire started. Firefighters say these honey oil lab explosions are actually quite common.

After the fire was suppressed, the Los Angeles country sheriff’s office called in a special group of detectives know as “LA Impact” that deals with investigation of drug labs in our area. They reportedly found hot plates, large quantities of marijuana, and caustic chemicals and butane, which they alleged is used to to extract butane honey oil (BHO) from marijuana plants.
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February 6, 2016

Marijuana Sales in Colorado Nearly $1B in 2015

By Cannabis Law Group

Colorado has been seeing more green than ever since it granted approval of recreational marijuana.

The Colorado Department of Revenue has reported regulated and licensed marijuana stores in the state sold nearly $1 billion worth of medical and recreational cannabis last year.

Sales of recreational marijuana first started there on Jan. 1, 2014.

It’s safe to say other states are likely taking notice of this, particularly when you consider the state itself collected more than $135 million in fees and taxes last year. Of that, more than $35 million has been set aside for school construction projects.

One of the main drafters of the original amendment that legalized cannabis in the state called those figures, “amazing.” He was especially impressed with the tax revenue figures.
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February 4, 2016

Emergency Marijuana Rule Fix Signed by California Governor

By Cannabis Law Group

Gov. Jerry Brown signed an emergency bill that resulted from a legislative drafting error that had dozens of cities across California scrambling to enact bans on the cultivation of medical marijuana.

AB21, introduced by Assemblyman Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg), is an amendment to the medical marijuana reforms the state passed in September. There was a provision in that legislation that gave sole power to the state to license marijuana growers in jurisdictions that didn’t have some type of ban on the books by March 1, 2016 that expressly outlawed or allowed cannabis cultivation.

That sent dozens of states racing to pass bans on all commercial cultivation of the drug in their municipalities just in the last three months. Dozens more were slated to take similar action in the coming weeks. They did not want to cede total power on this issue to the state.
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February 3, 2016

New Statewide Regs Push for Local Bans on Medical Marijuana

By Cannabis Law Group

Since medical marijuana was legalized in the State of California back in the mid 1990s, there has been a lack of statewide regulation for the most part. The state did not want to get involved, so, for that reason, people often compared the emerging industry to the gold rush of mid 1800s, where there was very little regulation and people were fighting each other (and sometimes the law) in hopes of making as much money as possible.

It was a different world when the federal government, including the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), was making it clear that medical marijuana was very much illegal under federal law, as marijuana was and still is the most dangerous controlled substance according to Congress, even though that classification as a Schedule One Controlled Dangerous Substance was much more political than based in science or even facts of any kind.
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January 31, 2016

Florida Citizens Pushing for Medical Marijuana Ballot Initiative

By Cannabis Law Group

Every year, we see additional states legalizing medical marijuana. In some states and the District of Columbia, we have actually had votes for full legalization of marijuana, even for recreational purposes. This definitely seems the way things are going. However, for the most part, the states along the eastern seaboard have been more reluctant to legalize medical marijuana than western states like California. Even in NY, which has recently allowed for the first dispensary to be opened, it is very difficult to get a medical marijuana license to purchase medical cannabis unless you have a terminal illness or severe neurological disease.

However, the residents of Florida to a large extent are trying to buck this trend and get medical marijuana legalization on the ballot for the upcoming election. According to a recent report from the Sun Times, advocates for legal medical marijuana have just obtained more than 500,000 signatures on the petition for the ballot initiative.

Under local law, in order for the initiative to legalize medical marijuana to get on the ballot for the upcoming election, the group needs to have at least 683,168 signatures no later than the first of February 2016. With the People United for Medical Marijuana organization having turned over approximately 523,000 signatures this week, there are still over a hundred thousand signatures left to get, but the group believes they are on track to get the medical marijuana initiative on the ballot.
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January 29, 2016

Medical Marijuana Laws in CA More Liberal than in NY

By Cannabis Law Group

There has been a huge increase in the support for medical marijuana legalization across the nation since California legalized medical marijuana 20 years ago. However, it has been in the past 10 years that we have seen such a large surge of support and more and more jurisdictions voting to legalize medical marijuana. Although, it should be noted that in most jurisdictions, politicians seem unwilling to pass legislation without a voter-driving mandate or proposition, because even though the majority of the public supports legalization of medical marijuana, politicians do not think it is politically expedient for them to make such a proposal.

The latest state to legalize medical marijuana was New York, where medical cannabis became legal on January 10, 2016. However, unlike in Los Angeles, where medical marijuana is easy to get and readily accepted by society, the governor of New York is only doing just enough to comply with the law, according to a recent news feature from Clapway.
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January 25, 2016

More Orange County Cities Race to Ban Medical Marijuana

By Cannabis Law Group

According to a recent news feature from the Orange County Register, cities throughout Orange County, California are “scrambling” to ban medical cannabis cultivation or distribution and delivery in their respective jurisdictions. For the most part, these were already places that did not permit medical marijuana dispensaries or grow operations, but now that the state has required an overt ban and a fast approaching deadline, these jurisdictions are going out of their way to fight against medical marijuana.

The deadline set by the state for these cities in Orange County and across the state to ban medical marijuana in their communities is March 1, 2016. The proposed bans will include cultivation of medical marijuana, brick and mortar dispensaries, and mobile delivery services. Much like so-called dry counties that exist in some parts of the nation that do not allow for the sale of alcohol by the drink or in stores, it does not mean that it is illegal for private citizens to purchase the banned substance elsewhere and bring it home.
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December 16, 2015

Los Angeles Medical Marijuana Telemedicine

By Cannabis Law Group

The medical marijuana industry in Los Angeles and Orange County is still growing at an astounding rate. With there being some room for improvement in developing new ways for patients in need to have easier access to their medicine, and a lot more money to made, it should not be surprising that there is such a high rate of growth.

However, despite the obvious damage, those entering the industry need to make sure that whatever they do to assist patients and maximize revenue will not be seen as interfering with the ever changing medical cannabis laws in the State of California and the local ordinances in the Los Angeles area.
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December 10, 2015

California Marijuana Dispensary Fined Nearly $2 million

By Cannabis Law Group

A lot of people get excited about the prospect of entering the medical cannabis business in Los Angeles but do not take the time to make sure they are following all regulations and laws prior to investing any money into their new business.

While many people act like California is essentially the Wild West when it comes to the medical marijuana industry, the truth is that there are lot of local regulations and statewide laws that must be adhered to or the business owner can find him or herself in a lot of trouble. This can include huge fines, having to close up shop, and, the worst-case scenario, being sentenced to time in a state or federal prison.
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October 18, 2015

California Marijuana Dispensary Prevails As Federal Judge Protects Cannabis Dispensaries

By Cannabis Law Group

A federal judge issued a landmark ruling recently, which was the first ruling to provide individual dispensaries with protections put in place under the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment passed as part of last year’s government spending bill. The Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment prohibits the Department of Justice from using federal funds to prevent states from implementing their own medical marijuana laws. When the Amendment passed, lawmakers and advocates agreed the law prevented federal legal action against marijuana dispensaries that were in compliance with their own state laws. Unfortunately, the Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Agency claimed not to interpret the law in this obvious manner.

Los Angeles medical marijuana dispensary attorneys know the DEA and DOJ have continued to pursue investigations and legal actions against dispensaries, despite the amendment intending to prevent such federal actions. The DEA contended the law only prevented legal action against states, not against individuals or businesses who were conducting business according to local medical marijuana laws. A federal court in California, however, issued a scathing ruling claiming that the DEA’s interpretation of the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment “defies language and logic,” “tortures the plain meaning of the statute” and is “at odds with fundamental notions of the rule of law.”
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