California Marijuana Dispensaries

November 2, 2011

California Medical Association Gives a Big Thumbs Up to Legalize Medical Marijuana in Los Angeles and Elsewhere

Officials from the California Medical Association recently announced that they support the legalization of marijuana in Los Angeles and elsewhere.

The support has drawn mixed reviews from physicians, doctors and others. The California Medical Association says that to be able to offer the best treatment to patients, the drug needs to be legalized so more studies can be conducted.

This support comes after the federal government’s decision to crackdown on medical marijuana operations in California and elsewhere throughout the country. The feds have been sending threats to those who may be operating under state law, but who they say are still violating federal law.

Our Orange County medical marijuana lawyers understand that this recent decision from the California Medical Association is a huge point on the industry’s scoreboard as feds attempt to terminate all operations.

The announcement from the association stated that it was recommending the regulation and legalization of recreational and medicinal marijuana because physicians and doctors needed to conduct more research on the drug, according to amednews.com. More research could mean better treatment for suffering patients.

Federal policy says there hasn’t been enough tests done on marijuana to conclude that it is in fact beneficial. According to the President of the California Medical Association, this is the first wave of support of the drug from a state medical society.

“It’s a new era in medicine in how people are regulating and treating medical marijuana,” said the director of political affairs and education for the Colorado Medical Society, Diana Protopapa.

Protopapa goes on to say that the association thought long and hard on this decision and drew the conclusion to support the industry on both scientific and medical grounds. She says that both she and other physicians would like to get to know more about the drug to help ensure that the best treatment can be provided for patients.

As of now, there are 16 states that have laws that have legalize medical marijuana.

She goes on to say though that physicians are stuck in limbo with prescribing the drug because the drug remains illegal under federal law. More needs to be done to regulate this industry and to help it grow to ensure that patients are receiving the best treatment for their conditions.

The California Medical Association board chair, Paul Phinney, MD, says that there are currently no labeling standards for the drug. Physicians, doctors and other medical personnel need the drug to be legalized before they’re able to properly examine it.

This recent rally of support from the California Medical Association was announced as a recent Gallup poll concluded that about 50 percent of Americans support the drug and only about 46 percent are opposed to it. This is up significantly from the 20 percent who supported it in 2000.

The American Medical Association is not on board, though. It still claims that the drug is extremely dangerous and that it should continue to be illegal. It supports the drug as a Schedule I.
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October 31, 2011

Officials Look to Redesign Feds Outlook on Medical Marijuana in Los Angeles and Elsewhere

By Cannabis Law Group

With the federal crackdown threatening the medical marijuana industry in California, seven San Francisco supervisors are urging federal agents to reroute course. Obama previously claimed that he wouldn’t be focusing federal enforcement efforts on the medical marijuana industry. You’d never know that was ever said with the way things are looking now.

“I believe it’s important for us … to be very clear that we support the right of patients to have access to medicine,” said the chief sponsor of the nonbinding resolution, Supervisor David Campos. He is also has the support and co-sponsorship of Supervisors Scott Wiener, Jane Kim, Ross Mirkarimi, David Chiu, John Avalos and Eric Mar.

Our Orange County medical marijuana attorneys continue to work with dispensaries after federal agents launched a crackdown on the medical marijuana industry last month. The viewpoints of these officials see dispensary operations violate federal law. Since the announcement of this crackdown, Federal enforcement agencies, the DEA and the IRS started targeting dispensaries in cities that regulate currently medical marijuana. These areas include Claremont, Lake Forest, Laguna Hills, Chino, Temecula, Wildomar, Dana Point, Rancho Santa Margarita, Laguna Niguel, Montclair, Upland, Murrieta and Pomona.

Rachel Gordon from the San Francisco Chronicle writes that this isn’t the first time that these supervisors have stepped up to support the industry. Back in 2001, the Board of Supervisors named the city as “a sanctuary” for medical marijuana. Just four years later, the city adopted some serious regulations and ordinances for dispensaries.

The new legislative efforts comes after the announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice, which said it was going to shut down what U.S. Attorneys called a profit-making industry that had little concern for patient’s needs and more concern for money.

Melinda Haag, a U.S. Attorney in San Francisco says that the medical marijuana industry is nothing more than a disguise for people to make tons of money.

Dispensaries around the state have already received letters from federal prosecutors that said they were violating federal law and that they’re now subject to possible prosecution and property forfeiture. Medical marijuana advocates cried foul and stated that the fed’s tactic is in direct violation of state’s rights.

Banks and landlords are being threatened in the process as well. Banks who own mortgages for companies are facing threatening letters and are instructed to pull the plug on funding. Landlords are being instructed to evict tenants who run medical marijuana operations. If they don’t, they could face federal prosecution.

Medical marijuana was legal in the U.S. until the 1930s. California was the first state that was able to claim back its rights and passed the Compassionate Use Act of 1996. Today, there are 15 other states across the country that have regained their rights and made the product legally available to deserving patients.
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October 30, 2011

Advocates Push New Ballot in Light of Federal Enforcement against Medical Marijuana in California

By Cannabis Law Group

Medical marijuana in Los Angeles and elsewhere is under attack by the federal government. Advocates of the medicinal treatment in California are creating a 2012 ballot initiative that would allow the state to look over all operations. The draft of this ballot comes after a federal threat to wipe out the industry completely, according to Politics Wires.

A San Francisco news conference recently announced the ballot push. Creators of the failed 2010 Proposition 19 are constructing the ballot. This Proposition would have legalized the drug for recreational use.

Our medical marijuana attorneys in Orange County recently told you about a new wave of enforcement efforts, announced by four U.S. Attorneys, against medical marijuana in the state. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California reported that it was going to target commercial marijuana operations. The enforcement efforts they’re exerting on the industry include property forfeiture lawsuits, criminal drug trafficking enforcement and threatening letters to landlords.

Dispensary owners are urged to seek the representation of a qualified law firm to help fight for their rights and to protect their company and investments made under the protection of state law. Federal enforcement efforts have already been exercised in Orange County, Riverside County and Inland Empire. The efforts are reportedly targeting “commercial grow operations, intricate distribution systems and hundreds of marijuana stores across the state.”

Steve DeAngelo, of California’s largest medical marijuana dispensary, and United Food and Commercial Workers Unions are also working on a draft for a new 2012 initiative. The framework for the new ballot if still being drafted, but advocates say that they’re pushing for a Colorado-style system of regulating. This system would provide for licensing regulations and state inspections on medical marijuana cultivators and providers.

A lot more funding is needed for the ballot though. Richard Lee, the Oaksterdam founder who contributed nearly $2 million to Proposition 19, says he can’t afford to provide the funds for another ballot.

According to Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, local governments are scrambling to figure out how to regulate every single medical marijuana store that has opened in the state since 2009. That’s hundreds of stores.

“Right now, zip is happening,” Ammiano said at the recent new conference in San Francisco.

That news conference in San Francisco was called discuss the recent actions of the federal government and to illustrate the advocates’ disgust with the move. Advocates protested as President Barack Obama visited the city for a political fundraiser.

Dispensaries and collective have rights to operate in accordance with state law. The federal government is still able to charge you with whatever it wants for violating the federal law. Without proper legal representation to fight in your defense for following state law, you may be in big trouble. Contact an experienced attorney to help you preserve the rights and to help you save time, money and a legal headache.
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October 27, 2011

Fed Enforcement Threats Patients and Medical Marijuana Industry in California

By Cannabis Law Group

Patients who rely on medical marijuana in Los Angeles to help to treat illnesses and debilitating conditions may soon be forced to buy the product off the streets.

While no one wants that, it may be the only choice left to patients if the feds continue their forceful sweep on the industry. Every year, thousands of patients with various conditions turn to this treatment for help. Medical marijuana can help to treat conditions from post-traumatic stress disorder to chronic pain, cancer and AIDS.

The recent federal enforcement effort to shut down medical marijuana operations in California was announced by four U.S. attorneys in California. Agents don’t appear to be letting up anytime soon either.

Our medical marijuana attorneys in Los Angeles understand that areas targeted for enforcement include Temecula, Wildomar, Rancho Santa Margarita, Laguna Hills, Pomona, Laguna Niguel, Lake Forest, Murrieta and many other areas in California. If you’re a dispensary owner in the state, you’re urged to seek experienced legal representation to help you in the battle.

Medical marijuana was approved for medicinal use in the state of California back in 1996. There have been 15 states who have passed laws since then. A 2010 California Supreme Court ruling even stated that residents should be able to possess in “reasonable amounts” with permission from a doctor.

Federal enforcement is a new threat, as the Huffington Post reported.

“Federal prosecutors are not trying to clean up the regulated medical cannabis industry, they are trying to destroy it,” said Steve DeAngelo from the Oakland medical cannabis club Harborside Health Center.

Attorney General Eric Holder had previously directed field offices not to make enforcement of federal law a priority in the 16 states where medical marijuana has been legalized. This new enforcement effort is a sharp reversal, with feds targeting landlords with threats of property enforcement and the IRS and DEA being used to go after large dispensary operations in Southern California.

Not everyone’s sure as to why the feds have decided to go on the offensive. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) and State Senator Mark Leno (D) have requested that the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service share its reasoning for the new efforts, but they’ve yet to receive a response.

Many find it odd that the enforcement efforts have shifted from gang-related distribution to the legally-regulated portion of the industry. Many advocates claim that this shift in enforcement is causing state’s millions and millions of tax dollars in addition to thousands and thousands of jobs. Closing up our state’s dispensaries is hurting patients tremendously by cutting off access to medicine.

Many find the new enforcement odd considering that support for the industry is stronger than ever, too. About 35 percent of U.S. citizens supported the industry back in 2006. More than 50 percent of residents support it in 2011.

Closing up our state’s dispensaries is hurting the economy, our rights as citizens and patients by cutting off access that is a constitutional right under state law.
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October 26, 2011

California Medical Association Supports Medical Marijuana in Riverside and Elsewhere

By Cannabis Law Group

It’s time to fight back and fight back hard. As the federal government continues its crackdown on medical marijuana in California, the California Medical Association is campaigning for the legalization of marijuana, according to the Los Angeles Times. The California Medical Association is the state’s largest doctor group and supports the use of marijuana as medicine as well as the benefits it provides to deserving patients.
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The Association represents about 35,000 physicians around the state. California’s law says that patients can receive medical marijuana through a doctor’s recommendation, but physicians are hesitant to grant the recommendation with the federal government’s recent enforcement against the treatment. Feds are using its power to triumph over the state’s law. While this has been a seemingly never-ending battle, the feds are calling upon all its power to take out the industry.

Our Orange County medical marijuana attorneys understand the threats that are being forced on the industry in the state. For this reason, it is important for all medical marijuana dispensaries to seek the representation of a qualified attorney to stand by you and help to protect your rights in the state of California. In recent federal government enforcement efforts, many dispensaries have been raided even though these operations are deemed legal in the state.

“It is important to note that for-profit, commercial marijuana operations are illegal not only under federal law, but also under California law,” said United States Attorney André Birotte Jr.

The California Medical Association says it recognizes that there are some health risks that can be associated with the treatment, but says the benefits outweigh those consequences.

There are many who are fighting against the call to legalize the treatment, including Robert DuPont, M.D., and a professor at Georgetown Medical School. He says that the call for legalization completely disregards the best interest of the public and its health.

But Dr. Igor Grant of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis at UC San Diego is defending the treatment, saying that there’s plenty of evidence that proves it has a significant medical value. He says it’s not foolproof, but says that it’s efficient in treating a plethora of conditions.

As we’ve recently reported, the U.S. government believes that medical marijuana has virtually no place in medicinal treatments. While President Barack Obama previously supported its use, he and his administration are stopping at nothing to hold strong to its stricter reclassification and to ban the drug throughout the country.

In an effort to cut off the resources of California dispensaries, the federal government is threatening landlords with possible criminal offenses if they don’t shut down these operations.

A recent survey conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California concluded that a majority of Californians support the complete legalization of the product.

The medical marijuana industry is battling against the world to protect a product that has already been deemed legal in the state.

The federal government has already started its mission to fight against dispensaries and landlords in Inland, Riverside and Orange Counties.
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October 26, 2011

Stricter Ordinances Expected for Medical Marijuana in Los Angeles

By Cannabis Law Group

A judge’s ruling in favor of ordinances regulating medical marijuana in Los Angeles is by no means a sound victory for the City of Los Angeles and its much maligned ordinance.

“It has been a long wait but well worth it,” said Jane Usher, a special assistant city attorney. “It is absolutely gratifying to have the city’s ordinance validated.”

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys understand this is but one court ruling. Several recent rulings have been in favor of the medical marijuana industry. What is more concerning is the recent federal crackdown.

In the beginning of Obama’s term in office, his administration said targeting the medical marijuana industry would not be a priority in the states where it had been legalized. Either that was a lie or the administration changed its mind because now the DEA, the IRS and federal law enforcement agents are targeting dispensaries in cities that allow these operations — including Los Angeles. As we recently reported, feds are going after banks and dispensary bank accounts in an attempt to close them up and move them out.

Many medical marijuana advocates say the recent push from Los Angeles and the enforcement efforts of the U.S. government are threatening patient rights and access to legal medicine. Many residents throughout the state rely on this treatment to regulate debilitating conditions.

In the recent L.A. ruling, the judge ruled that the dispensaries in the city have no vested right to operate. The City Council will no doubt blend this into an overall strategy of incompetence when next it tweaks its ordiance. This would be the third version of this ordinance to regulate the local industry. The plan was that the city was going to hold a lottery to determine which 100 dispensaries would be allowed to stay open, but now officials are arguing that option would be “authorizing the distribution of a drug that is illegal under federal law.”

Many shops in the area report that they’re willing to work with city officials to help to solve the problem, but many are worried that the recent claim against “vested rights” will have a strong impact on the city’s new ordinance.

Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Mohr handled the recent ruling, which has been called “a victory for the city attorney’s office in its long fight to defend the law.”

Medical marijuana dispensaries are fighting a battle against the whole country now. In addition to laws regulating their operations throughout the city, they’ll now have to fight against the feds — U.S. Attorneys recently announced the feds’ efforts to shut down operations.

Some of the feds’ scare tactics already include warning letters to landlords, property forfeiture lawsuits and criminal drug trafficking enforcement.

The following areas have already had a taste of federal enforcement:

-Inland Empire
-Riverside County
-Orange County
You’re urged to recruit qualified legal representation to help you to prepare for the upcoming battle. Medical marijuana was legal in the United States until the 1930s. Our state was the first state to reassert its rights against federal regulations with the passage of the Compassionate Use Act of 1996. Since then, there have been 15 states that have decided to legalize the medicine.
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October 21, 2011

Feds Threatening Banks in Fight against Medical Marijuana in California

By Cannabis Law Group

Banks are now being victimized in the fight against medical marijuana in Los Angeles and elsewhere. Chase bank was recently instructed by the federal government to evict Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana, according to ABC News. The banks are being targeted because they hold the mortgages for many clinics in the area. Feds know that without these banks, they may not be able to survive. By cutting off their resources, the feds are hoping to shut down dispensaries easier and sooner. Many of these letters make threats to the banks saying that if they don’t shut down these operations then they would face criminal action.

As we’ve recently reported on our Marijuana Lawyer Blog, the federal government is kicking its enforcement efforts into high gear in an attempt to put an end to medical marijuana throughout the country. This is news that threatens a large number of residents in California, both for workers and users. This enforcement effort includes threatening letters, lawsuits and criminal drug trafficking enforcement. The enforcement against medical marijuana is starting in California, hoping to make an example for the rest of the country.

If you are the owner of a medical marijuana dispensary in California, you’re urged to contact an attorney to help you to prepare for the battle. The federal government is already playing dirty and using some serious scare tactics to force companies into submission. Medical marijuana was legalized in California in 1996. Since then 15 other states have followed in our footsteps and it’s no time to give in. We need to stand together and stand strong against the federal government. Medical marijuana is a treatment that many of our residents rely on to help regulate serious diseases, illnesses and conditions. It’s their right to treatment and we need to fight for the health of the state.

U.S. attorneys for Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento and San Diego have already taken action against nearly 20 medical marijuana dispensaries in their federal districts. Reports indicate that the enforcement will land solely on the distributors and providers and not on the patients. However, cutting off patients’ supply to their medicine will directly affect our ill residents.

“This destructive attack on medical marijuana patients is a waste of limited law enforcement resources and will cost the state millions in tax revenue and harm countless lives,” said California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano.

Many marijuana advocates are calling on President Obama to stop the games. California should be able to provide medicine to deserving patients. That was how the Obama Administration used to think as they made a previous statement to respect state laws governing medical marijuana. That idea’s been tossed out the window and the administration is going back on its promises.

The federal government will start its battle in California and warns that other states should pay attention.

Cities that are already feeling the effect of the federal government’s enforcement:

-Rancho Santa Margarita
-Laguna Niguel
-Lake Forest
-Laguna Hills
-Dana Point
-Temecula
-Wildomar
-Murrieta
-Chino
-Montclair
-Upland
-Claremont
-Pomona Continue reading

October 14, 2011

Long Beach May Consider Medical Marijuana Ban after Appeals Court Ruling

By Cannabis Law Group

Our Long Beach medical marijuana defense attorneys continue to monitor the fallout from the recent court decision, which ruled the city’s dispensary permitting scheme was illegal because it sanctioned activity illegal under federal law.

In light of the crackdown on medical marijuana launched by the federal government, we urge every dispensary in Southern California to meet with an experienced defense firm. This is not an alarmist message, we believe there is strength in numbers and that dispensaries have legal rights under state law. But the time has come to lawyer up and fight. We don’t believe that going without legal representation is a viable option at this point.

As we reported on our Marijuana Lawyer Blog, the appeals court ruled the city could not hold a lottery and collect fees, which put it in a position of authorizing the retail sale of marijuana, which is illegal under federal law. The Los Angeles medical marijuana ordinance contains similar provisions.

Combined with the federal crackdown, the unfortunate result could be a move toward outright bans — even by cities that had been otherwise prone to create regulations. Patient care and the medical marijuana rights of California residents could suffer. It’s important to remember that this is a voter-approved constitutional issue. We do not believe bureaucracy has the right to create legal hurdles and constraints.

In light of the Pack v. Long Beach decision, the city contends it may not be able to permit collectives. Officials may also consider a regulation process that may not run afoul of the law in the same way that registering as a sex offender does not condone sex offenses.

City council and the city attorney may decide to move toward a ban. Collective operators must stand and fight.

The Contra Costa Times is reporting council will repeal its 1-year-old law and refund about $700,000 in collected fees. It will also move to ban storefront dispensaries. It will appeal the decision to seek clarification regarding the city’s ability to regulate dispensaries.

Long Beach’s ordinance had permitted a qualified number of collectives to participate in a lottery for a permit. The non-refundable application fee was nearly $15,000.
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October 9, 2011

Fed Medical Marijuana Crackdown Targets Dispensaries in Orange County, Riverside County, Inland Empire

By Cannabis Law Group

The federal crackdown that began Saturday has already targeted NoHo Caregivers in North Hollywood, according to the announcement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

The feds contend NoHo Caregivers sold marijuana to other stores and sent marijuana to affiliates in New York and Pennsylvania. The indictment alleges the store distributed as much as 700 pounds of marijuana per month. Investigators reportedly intercepted encrypted BlackBerry email messages that discussed monthly profits of $194,000.

Six defendants were arrested in Santa Clarita, Los Angeles, Grass Valley, Huntington Beach and in Pennsylvania. Defendants included an alleged bookkeeper and a grower. The feds accuse the defendants of drug trafficking and money laundering. The indictment seeks the forfeiture of nearly $15 million.

A raid on the store’s former location, which is now operating as the Green Camel Collective, reportedly turned up 23 pounds of marijuana and about one pound of hashish.

“NoHo Caregivers was illegally operating an enormously profitable marijuana store,” said Special Agent in Charge Leslie P. DeMarco of IRS-Criminal Investigation’s Los Angeles Field Office. “IRS-CI specializes in following the money in illegal drug operations, enabling increased criminal prosecutions and the forfeiture of assets. IRS-CI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to restore the respect for federal laws that has not been exhibited in the medical marijuana industry during the past several years.”

The Obama Administration had previously announced that the feds would not make a priority of enforcing federal marijuana laws in states where medical marijuana had been legalized.

Prosecutors also filed three forfeiture actions against property owners where marijuana stores operated:

-The Wildomar Patients Compassionate Group in Wildomar.

-Montclair Caregivers in an unincorporated part of Montclair.

-Eight stores located in a two-story strip mall at 26402 Raymond Way in Lake Forest
The government is also sending letters to marijuana stores in the following areas, notifying them they are operating in violation of federal law.

Orange County – the cities of Lake Forest, Dana Point, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, and Rancho Santa Margarita;

Riverside County – the cities of Murrieta, Wildomar, and Temecula; and
Inland Empire – the cities of Pomona, Claremont, Upland, Montclair, and Chino.

The letters tell store owners and landlords they “may result in criminal prosecution, imprisonment, fines, and forfeiture of assets, including the real property on which the dispensary is operating and any money you receive (or have received) from the dispensary operator.”
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October 7, 2011

Feds Threatening Crackdown on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries, Landlords in Los Angeles

By Cannabis Law Group

The feds have landed.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that federal prosecutors are moving to shut down medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the state. The feds have sent letters to landlords, warning them to stop drug sales on their properties within 45 days or risk property sale and seizures.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana defense lawyers are closely following this issue. As we reported recently on our Marijuana Lawyer Blog, the conflict between state and federal law continues to surface in medical marijuana court decisions across Southern California.

The specter of federal marijuana dispensary charges in Los Angeles is real. Despite initial indication from the Obama Administration that the feds were not looking to enforce laws contrary to medical marijuana patient rights, the federal government has steadily moved toward stricter enforcement. We reported earlier this year that the Internal Revenue Service was getting involved in going after medical marijuana dispensaries in Southern California.

This latest move is seen by many as a major escalation in federal enforcement after the previous announcement led to a boom in marijuana-related businesses.

“It’s basically the federal bureaucracy doing what it has done for the last 15 years and just continuing to put its head in the sand and saying no on this,” said Dale Gieringer, the director of California NORML.

The four U.S. attorneys have scheduled a press conference Friday morning in Sacramento, where they plan to outline the enforcement plans. Earlier this year, an internal memo suggested the feds would primarily target large-scale growers and dispensaries — those handling more than 200 kilos or 1,000 plants per year.

The landlord for the oldest dispensary in the state — Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana in Fairfax– is among those who have received a letter. That letter mentioned the prohibition against dispensaries within 1,000 feet of a park or other sensitive areas.

“There’s always been a different policy depending on where you are,” said Gieringer. “They’re going to try to clean up San Diego and just cause some random damage up here.”

While running for president, Obama said the government should not raid users and caregivers. It became the administration’s official policy three months after he was elected. Since then, the feds have consistently backpedaled from that stance.

The U.S. Attorney in the Bay Area opposed moves by Oakland and Berkeley to permit large-scale cultivation. These latest letters are just one more indication that the government is saying one thing and doing another when it comes to medical marijuana.
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