California Marijuana Dispensaries

April 13, 2011

San Jose Medical marijuana Dispensaries Face Even Tough Restrictions from City Council

Early last week, a divided City Council tentatively approved sharper limits on where medical marijuana shops in San Jose can operate, restricting them largely to certain industrial and commercial zones, according to Mercury News.

The council, that has been struggling with the issue for more than a year now, didn’t rally behind the efforts of Mayor Chuck Reed to shut down more than 90 percent of the city’s marijuana clubs by capping their number at 10.

San Jose, currently housing the largest concentration of shops in Northern California, has allowed at least 100 medical marijuana establishments to open in recent years.

The San Jose Police Department and city attorney insist that no one is operating under current laws. As officials continue to reduce the number of shops in San Jose, the question most wonder about is how many will be allowed to stay and how will the city will decide which ones make the cut.

The city clerk’s handling of the medical marijuana ordinance has been nearly as disastrous as the council’s. Our Los Angeles medical marijuana defense lawyers currently represent more than a dozen dispensaries and collectives in San Jose and the surrounding area. We recommend fighting for your rights. The judge has already rejected criminal penalties for dispensaries that remain open — while you may be subjected to a civil lawsuit, we see forced closure as the ultimate civil penalty anyway. Those dispensaries that are fighting for their rights are enjoying the best chances for success.

“Realistically, the city cannot close up shops right away,” said 7th District Councilmember Marti Emerald, who seconded the motion by 3rd District Councilmember Todd Gloria to pass the ordinance. “As of today, our zoning laws do not allow for collectives,” said Gloria. “This is certainly more restrictive than I like.”

Officials would like to reiterate that the ordinance was not a ban, and said there are industrial areas in every single district where dispensaries could be located as long as they’re located at least 600 feet away from schools, libraries, parks, and churches, according to LGTB Weekly.

The new restrictions of the medical marijuana ordinance may cause a lot of businesses to close up shop, at least temporarily. The ordinance will take effect in roughly three weeks, and the council’s vote was the official second reading to make it official. Medical marijuana collectives are also required now to operate as nonprofits and they are required to have some sort of security system in their establishment. They are allowed to operate between 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. any preferred days of the week. Lastly, the ordinance allows patients with a state identification card to possess no more than one-pound of pot. Patients are also allowed to grow 24 marijuana plants, all depending on their doctor’s recommendation.

The debate in San Jose comes as other major California cities search for an effective way to evenly and fairly regulate a marijuana boom that caught them off guard. U.S. authorities had lit the fuse, in 2009, when they announced that they would stop busting medical marijuana providers who abide by their states’ laws.

California was the very first state to legalize medical marijuana even though the drug is still illegal under federal law. In November, San Jose voters approved the taxing of marijuana businesses, and city officials began imposing a 7 percent tax in March.

Officials in Los Angeles, San Diego and the surrounding areas have been struggling to enforce limitations on the number of dispensaries. According to the California Police Chiefs Association, 228 cities and counties have banned already marijuana dispensaries and 98 have passed moratoriums on new ones. They add that 42 cities have marijuana ordinances. Oakland’s ordinance allows only four marijuana dispensaries, while Santa Cruz allows only two, according to the LA Times.
Continue reading

April 6, 2011

California Measure Would Prevent Workplace Discrimination Against Medical Marijuana Patients

By Cannabis Law Group

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys applaud the move by state lawmakers to pass legislation making it illegal for an employee to be filed for using medical marijuana.
target=”_blank” The Patch reports the measure passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, making it one step closer to becoming law. Workplace discrimination against medical marijuana users is just another way the opposition seeks to subvert the state’s medical marijuana law. Senate Bill 129 is sponsored by Americans for Safe Access and is sponsored by Senator Mark Leno, D-San Francisco.

“When Californians approved the compassionate use of cannabis, they never intended for it to apply only to unemployed people,” Leno said. “With unemployment at record-high rates, we should be doing everything we can to keep productive and responsible members of the workforce in their jobs.”

The measure is necessary to protect the rights of medical marijuana patients in the wake of a 2008 California Supreme Court ruling that permits employers to fire workers or to refuse to hire workers who have a physician’s recommendation for medical marijuana.

A similar measure passed through the legislature in 2008 but was vetoed by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

While the bill aims to prevent workplace discrimination against medical marijuana patients, it does prohibit on-the-job impairment and workplace consumption. It also exempts certain workers, including health care workers, school bus drivers and operators of heavy equipment.
Continue reading

April 4, 2011

Los Angeles Receives more than 200 Medical Marijuana Dispensary Applications

By Cannabis Law Group

The Los Angeles City Clerk’s Office is reviewing 231 applications from medical marijuana dispensaries that have applied to be part of a lottery to choose 100 the city will permit to operate, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The city clerk’s handling of the medical marijuana ordinance has been nearly as disastrous as council’s. Our Los Angeles medical marijuana defense lawyers expect lost paperwork, bad rejections and more or less arbitrary decisions to be commonplace. Our attorneys currently represent more than a dozen dispensaries and collectives in Los Angeles and the surrounding area. We recommend fighting for your rights. The judge has already rejected criminal penalties for dispensaries that remain open — while you may be subjected to a civil lawsuit, we see forced closure as the ultimate civil penalty anyway. Those dispensaries that are fighting for their rights are enjoying the best chances for success.

Displaying the attention to detail that always makes for a good clerk, the city clerk’s office initially announced 228 filings, then said it had accidentally left three off the list. It now estimates it could take 4 weeks to determine which applicants are “eligible.”

We would suggest saving the city a lot of time by deeming all of the applicants eligible under state law. The city has decided to conduct the drawing because its ill-conceived ordinance, which went into effect last summer, has been so disastrous it would have forced the closure of nearly all of the city’s more than 400 dispensaries.

On March 9, the city released a list of 141 dispensaries ordered to close.

The city is now attempting to shut them down under a new ordinance — a judge gutted much of the previous ordinance. The new interim emergency ordinance is likely to fair no better but the city is moving before there has been enough time for legal challenges.
Continue reading

April 1, 2011

Lobbying Feds Could Benefit Los Angeles Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

By Cannabis Law Group

The medical marijuana industry has officially opened the doors of its lobbying association in Washington D.C., the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana lawyers applaud the move. We understand it is the patients, growers, collectives and dispensaries that fight for their rights that are most likely to prevail against unfair regulation in the end. As we reported recently on our Marijuana Lawyer Blog, medical marijuana is a nearly $2 billion-a-year industry.

And, while California was the first and remains the most well-known state to permit medical marijuana, the drug is currently legally sold to patients in California, Colorado, Michigan, Montana, Oregon, Washington and New Mexico. Five other states will open for business this year, including Arizona, Maine, New Jersey, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia.

Yet it remains illegal under federal law and we recently reported the Internal Revenue Service is causing tax problems for marijuana dispensaries. The federal government and the amateur politicians at the local level remain the two biggest threats to the legitimacy and survival of the medical marijuana industry.

“We simply feel that our industry should be treated like any other legitimate industry,” said Aaron Smith, director of the National Cannabis Industry Association. He spoke at a news conference kicking off the association’s first day of lobbying, which included meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

While the Obama Administration has directed federal prosecutors not to pursue medical marijuana cases in states where the drug is legal, dispensaries, collectives and medical marijuana farms exist in a legal twilight zone as far as the federal government is concerned.

Lobbyists will work to promote changes in the tax code, which still categorizes dispensary owners as drug traffickers.

California has 76 percent of the nation’s medical marijuana market — the state has issued 51,550 medical marijuana cards in the last 5 years.
Continue reading

March 31, 2011

San Diego approves Tough New Rules for Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

By Cannabis Law Group

San Diego, the state’s second-largest city, approved restrictions on medical marijuana dispensaries, barring them from doing business within 600 feet of places of worship, parks, schools and other “sensitive” locations.

As our Los Angeles medical marijuana lawyers reported on our Marijuana Lawyer Blog, proponents had pushed for new pot shops to obtain permits and prove they were nonprofit businesses. This could be particularly problematic because proving non-profit status requires filing with the federal government, which still deems the sale of marijuana illegal under federal law.

SFGate reported council voted 5-2 to enact the ordinance, which will apply to more than 150 existing medical marijuana clinics and pot shops. The initial restrictions called for a 1,000 foot buffer zone, but that was amended to 600 foot.

Critics argued 1,000 foot would push clinics into far flung industrial zones near the U.S. Mexican border. That area is patrolled by federal agents. More than 3,700 people wrote to council, requesting less severe restrictions so that AIDS patients, veterans and other patients could maintain access to medical cannabis.
Continue reading

March 29, 2011

IRS Rules could Result in Capone-like Prosecution for L.A. Marijuana Dispensaries

By Cannabis Law Group

Forbes reports that the feds could use the Al Capone treatment to target those dealing in medical marijuana in states where it is legal, including California.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana dispensary attorneys reported recently on our Marijuana Lawyer Blog about the recent IRS audit of an Oakland dispensary.

In 1931, mobster Al Capone was finally put behind bars for tax evasion. Forbes reports the IRS is now notifying many California dispensaries of audits, which could result in medical marijuana businesses being cited for millions in back taxes. At issue is IRS Code 280E, which “precludes deductions for any business trafficking in controlled substances.”

Because marijuana is legal under federal law, the IRS is arguing that many normal business expenses cannot be deducted from dispensary income. A Fairfax, California dispensary was the first to be hit with this ruling earlier this month. The owner told the media that the IRS disallowed all of her business expenses, like renting office space and hiring employees. The agency then hit her with a tax bill totaling several million dollars.

By some accounts, at least a dozen California dispensaries have been notified of pending IRS audits.
Continue reading

March 28, 2011

San Diego looking to Regulate Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

By Cannabis Law Group

California’s second-largest city is looking to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries, the Mercury News reported.

As our Los Angeles medical marijuana defense lawyers continue to report on our Marijuana Lawyer Blog, far too many cities are establishing laws that ignore the rights of marijuana collectives, dispensaries and patients under state law. In other cases, the actions of local law enforcement and government is leaving these legitimate businesses open to harassment or even criminal attack.

Under a proposal before the San Diego City Council, existing and new pot shops would have to obtain a permit and prove they are non-profit businesses. The issue of non-profit is also an increasingly contentious issue. Many marijuana businesses are hesitant to apply for nonprofit status because the sale of marijuana remains illegal under federal law. In other cases, municipalities have decided to tax marijuana businesses, despite a prohibition against taxing nonprofits.

The new ordinance would also limit dispensaries to operating hours between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. and would prevent them from operating within 1,000 feet of churches, schools, parks, libraries, playgrounds and other so-called sensitive areas.

Proponents of medical marijuana rights claim the move will push legitimate businesses to the far-flung industrial areas near the border, which are heavily patrolled by federal agents. Our medical marijuana dispense attorneys in San Jose and Los Angeles are also seeing county ordinances that ban dispensaries from establishing outside cities where such restrictions have passed.

Currently, about 80 dispensaries are operating in San Diego.
Continue reading

March 26, 2011

Los Angeles Orders more Medical Marijuana Dispensaries to Close

By Cannabis Law Group

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana dispensary attorneys urge any dispensary or collective who receives a medical marijuana shutdown order from the city to call us for a confidential consultation to discuss your rights.

The dispensaries that have sought legal representation and chosen to fight have enjoyed a number of recent court victories. As we reported on our Marijuana Lawyer Blog, a judge has ordered the city into settlement negotiations with attorneys for dispensaries after several legal victories. But dispensaries that have not fought the city are facing increasing harassment and are among those receiving shutdown orders.

The Los Angeles Times reports the city has widened its campaign, ordering another 60 dispensaries to close their doors immediately. Two weeks ago, the city’s attorney’s office notified 141 operators and their landlords that they must close. A judge rejected the city’s attempt to attach criminal penalties to noncompliance. The letters warn of possible lawsuits and financial penalties (as if being forced out of business wasn’t a financial penalty).

By the city’s own admission, it is unsure whether some of the locations are open and has no information as to whether or not they are selling marijuana — we guess the threats are just in case.

And they want the businesses to respond! As in, do the city’s job for it.

The city said it will use police resources to “gather evidence” and will then need to file lawsuits to force the closure of marijuana businesses that are not in compliance. Of course, what constitutes compliance is very much open for debate since most of the ordinance passed last year has either been rejected in court or has been changed by the city.

The city said dispensaries continue to open, close and reopen and that it was not possible to get an accurate count, let alone to know which ones are, in the city’s opinion, operating illegally.
Continue reading

March 24, 2011

California Dispensaries lead the Way — Medical Marijuana a $1.7 Billion Industry

By Cannabis Law Group

U.S. sales of medical marijuana are expected to reach $1.7 billion this year, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana defense lawyers see the picture getting more complicated for dispensaries and patients alike. Certainly money is a part of it. Los Angeles can’t decide whether it wants to trample the rights of patients or tax the product — so it’s doing both.

We reported recently on our Marijuana Lawyer Blog that the Internal Revenue Service is weighing in with audits.

The dispensaries that have fought unfair ordinances have met with some success. While those that have not have often been forced to close. Yet we are amazed at the number of these dispensaries that have never consulted with experienced legal representation. You enjoy a confidential relationship with your attorney. Most businesses with income rivaling local pot shops have legal counsel to back them up. Let’s just say we see it as especially essential when your product happens to be a narcotic that remains illegal under federal law.

In just a few short years, the medical marijuana industry has grown to rival that of Viagra, which has annual sales of $1.9 billion. Not only are there growers and dispensaries, but a host of secondary businesses that are profiting, including real estate companies and those selling hydroponic equipment.

Marijuana is currently sold in California, Colorado, Michigan, Montana, Oregon, Washington and New Mexico. Five other states will open for business this year, including Arizona, Maine, New Jersey, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia.
Continue reading

March 22, 2011

San Bernardino Cuts off Access to Medical Marijuana

By Cannabis Law Group

San Bernardino voted unanimously today to outlaw medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated areas of the county, the Daily Press reported.

Our San Bernardino medical marijuana defense attorneys urge patients, collectives and dispensaries impacted by this law to consult with an experienced law firm about your rights. Our firm is representing more than a dozen dispensaries and collectives in Los Angeles and the surrounding area.

It is those dispensaries that stand and fight that are enjoying the court victories that will be critical to ensuring their right to continue operating in the future. Those that do not fight are typically being forced to close. Los Angeles County and San Diego are two other large municipalities that have recently decided to ignore state law and the rights of collectives, dispensaries and growers by passing laws that are needlessly restrictive.

The Board of Supervisors passed the legislation in the face of years of demands by advocates to recognize the rights of marijuana patients. The new legislation replaces a 21-month moratorium that prohibited the establishment of dispensaries while county planners “researched” the issue.

The law also limited the rights of individuals, by permitting them to only grow medical marijuana indoors — a provision that blatantly ignores a patient’s rights under state law. County board of supervisor green-lighted the measure unanimously and without discussion after listening to two yours of public comment. Since Sunshine Laws prohibit them from debating issues amongst themselves in private, so they either ignored that law as well or else they ignored the comments from the public and set the county on course to incur millions in legal fees without bothering to discuss the issue at all.

Advocates for medical marijuana rights say the measure essentially cuts off the legal distribution of medical marijuana to the area.
Continue reading