California marijuana legalization

August 3, 2011

Officials Looking to Crack Down on Drivers Using Medical Marijuana in Los Angeles

Nearly 20 percent of drivers nationwide stopped randomly at night are under the influence of legal and illegal drugs, according to the Los Angeles Times. Half of these drivers are reportedly high on marijuana. Crash accident statistics report that there are approximately 1,000 injuries and deaths resulting from drivers that are high on marijuana in Los Angeles and elsewhere in California. Law enforcement agencies throughout the state blame a majority of these accidents on the rapid growth and use of medical marijuana. Reports get even more detailed and claim that drugs, not alcohol, were the primary cause of fatal accidents; such accidents have increase by more than 50 percent over the past decade.

“Marijuana is a significant and important contributing factor in a growing number of fatal accidents,” said Gil Kerlikowske, director of National Drug Control Policy in the White House and former Seattle police chief. “There is no question, not only from the data but from what I have heard in my career as a law enforcement officer.”

Our Costa Mesa medical marijuana attorneys take such studies with a grain of salt. It’s difficult to test for the presence of marijuana at the time of an accident because marijuana stays in your system for approximately 30 days. While a driver may have tested positive for marijuana, they may not have been high on the drug during the traffic accident. These vague statistics are just another way to crackdown and punish patients for taking medicine to treat their symptoms.

Currently, about a third of the United States now permits the use of medical marijuana.

This issue is compounded by the lack of a national standard focusing on the amount of marijuana that a driver should be permitted to have in their bloodstream. As it stands now, there are 13 states that enforce zero-tolerance laws. California and 34 other states have no formal standard. These states rely on the judgment of police to determine what exactly impairment is.

It is unclear as to whether or not residual low levels of marijuana can in fact impair a driver days or weeks after the drug is smoked. Medical marijuana advocates continue to claim that federal and state officials are trying to make it impossible for residents to use marijuana and drive legally for days, even weeks, afterward.

“A lot of effort has gone into the study of drugged driving and marijuana, because that is the most prevalent drug, but we are not nearly to the point where we are with alcohol,” said Jeffrey P. Michael, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration‘s impaired-driving director. “We don’t know what level of marijuana impairs a driver.”

Federal scientists are anticipating the day in which they will discover a way to have police quickly swab saliva from drivers’ mouths to figure out whether or not they have an illegal level of marijuana. This theory still requires years of research. Until that day comes, officers can only make arrests on their professional judgment. This leaves citizens open to false arrest and unwarranted criminal charges.

Now, police can only administer a lengthy 12-point exam on drivers that they expect to be under the influence of marijuana.

The national coordinator for the International Association of Chiefs of Police based in Washington, D.C., Chuck Hayes, says that the current system seems to be working well to spot an impaired driver. He also says that any future legal limit or medical test would be just another tool rather than a revolutionary change in the detection of these drivers.

“We are not concerned about levels or limits. We are concerned with impairment,” Hayes said.
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July 12, 2011

Promises from Obama Administration to Medical Marijuana Industry in Los Angeles Fade Away

By Cannabis Law Group

Marijuana is unsafe and its alleged benefits have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), according to the Obama Administration. This sounds like medical marijuana in Los Angeles is now going to have to face yet another battle — the flip-flop arguments of the Obama Administration.

“While there may be medical value for some of the individual components of the cannabis plant, the fact remains that smoking marijuana is an inefficient and harmful method for delivering the constituent elements that have or may have medicinal value,” the White House’s National Drug Control Strategy for 2011 says.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys understand that this anti-marijuana campaign is more than likely a direct result of the Justice Department’s decision against reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug. The Obama Administration has yet to make up its mind on where it stands with regard to the medical marijuana industry. As it stands now, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). This means that medical marijuana has a high potential for abuse and that is has no currently accepted medical use for treatment. It puts it in the same category as hardcore narcotics.

The federal government has spent the last 9 years responding to requests from a number of medical marijuana advocates to reevaluate the drug and to take into account studies that have concluded that medical marijuana does indeed provide benefits to the user. After the review, the Justice Department stood by its decision to keep marijuana classified as a Schedule I drug. This means that medical marijuana is grouped together in the same category with dangerous drugs like heroin and ecstasy. The Americans for Safe Access group is appealing the decision in federal court.

The Justice Department recently stated in a memo that state-approved marijuana dispensaries and growers could potentially face prosecution. These companies worry that the federal government will be upping their enforcement even more, forcing them to shut their doors for good. The Department also stated that those involved in the medical marijuana business in the 16 states and Washington, D.C. could face severe consequences for allowing the distribution and use of the drug.

The Department’s report also noted that while tobacco and alcohol are both legal and taxed in the United States, neither product provides a “net economic benefit to society.” There is no monetary gain from the sale of these products because of health-care expenses and various criminal justice costs from incidents such as drunken driving arrests.

The anti-marijuana tone of Obama’s Administration is disappointing, says Nail Franklin, director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.

“It’s sad that the drug czar decided to insert a multi-page rant against legalizing and regulating drugs into the National Drug Control Strategy instead of actually doing his job and shifting limited resources to combat the public health problem of drug abuse,” Franklin said.
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July 9, 2011

Robbie Waters – From Sacramento City Council to Political Consultant for Marijuana

By Cannabis Law Group

The tables have turned. Cops and City Council members are joining the industry of Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library was named after him and his name appears on a number of plaques affixed to many other buildings around town. No one thought he’d take this route next, a career in the medical marijuana industry. Waters had opposed the industry for years. no_smoking

Robbie Waters is a legacy in Sacramento. The Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library was named after him and his name appears on a number of plaques affixed to many other buildings around town. No one thought he’d take this route next, a career in the medical marijuana industry. Waters had opposed the industry for years.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys welcome the news. If you remember, it was Waters that lead the raid on the medical-pot dispensary on 16th Street a few years back and seized 22 pounds of marijuana and nearly $50,000 in cash.

“I was 100 percent opposed to medical marijuana in the city of Sacramento,” said Waters, the former lone Republican on the Sacramento City Council.

Waters and his council members often felt it difficult to find a middle ground between the rights of patients and the rights of other citizens who opposed the industry. Through the political negotiations, Waters eventually developed a friendship with a medical-marijuana activist, Ryan Landers, and grew more familiar with some of the clinics around town. After time, Waters started to view dispensaries as legitimate businesses.

“Little by little, I started to lose my prejudice that everybody out there is a criminal,” said Waters.

Remember Sacramento’s medical-pot ordinance? It was this ordinance that eventually led to city’s taxation of the product. It was this ordinance that brought about the tax that brings in nearly $2 million in revenue every year. Waters was a major force behind that ordinance.

After failing to make it to the runoff election against two well-funded challengers, pot lobbyist Max Del Real brought him on as a paid consultant. Since then, the two of them have been traveling throughout the state trying to export what they call Sacramento’s “model ordinance.”

Waters still claims to be against the legalization of marijuana for recreational use.

The two men reports that it was the testimony of Waters’ that ended up breaking the tie on the Chico City Council. It was Waters’ that influenced the approval of two medical-marijuana dispensaries in that area.

Waters didn’t stop there. He also testified to the Planning Commission in Stockton on behalf of a similar ordinance there.

Del Real thinks Waters has even more to offer the industry. He’s hoping that he can get Waters to help persuade the more conservative Sacramento County Board of Supervisors to adopt an ordinance similar to Sacramento’s. Previously, the Sacramento board was considering adopting an urgency ordinance that would ban the sale of “edibles” and only allow dispensaries in areas zoned for industrial use, or areas that are often not well-served by public transit.

Many advocates view Waters as an effective tool for the industry, saying that if he can change his mind on the issue of medical marijuana then maybe he can get others to change their minds as well.

“Robbie Waters is standing up saying medical cannabis is good for the community,” Del Real said. “This is the same guy who four years ago was calling the feds.”

July 5, 2011

Business Owners of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in Los Angeles Not Treated Fairly

By Cannabis Law Group

While medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles aren’t completely banned from applying for bank credit, they’re probably not going to get approved for it when they do. This is because anti-money laundering statutes are set up to stop illegal drug dealers. It is these statutes that are making banks hesitant to do business with legal dealers. Ironically, businesses that create and distribute products that have been proven to kill Americans are able to gain credit.

Late last month, Democratic congressmen, Jared Polis of Colorado and Pete Stark of California, introduced bills to remedy the federal government’s bias against the owners of medical marijuana dispensaries, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.

Representative Polis’s bill would permit medical marijuana sellers to borrow from banks. Congressman Stark’s bill would allow them to deduct business expenses from their taxes.

Our Orange County medical marijuana attorneys believe that no small business owner should be denied access to financing. They shouldn’t be held to unfair tax rules either just because they run a kind business that some in government may not like. We must join together to fight for equal rights for our medical marijuana industry.

“It is simply wrong for the federal government to intrude and threaten banks that are involved in legal transactions,” said Polis.

The government needs to create a level playing field for business owners of all kinds. This is why Polis has decided to introduce his bill.

It’s not fair to the operators of medical marijuana dispensaries. They are up against a law that is designed to root out illegal drug dealers, terrorists, fraudsters, and money launderers. The government only uses this as a back-door way to make life difficult for company owners in the pot industry.

It’s simple. If Congress disagrees with state medical marijuana laws, it needs to challenge the legality of these laws directly rather than throw rules and impossible obstacles at them.

Consumers are not the concern of the government. For example, we have two business owners. One sells a product that researchers have concluded to be a major cause of health problems, from cancer to heart disease. The other business provides a medical treatment that doctors prescribe for glaucoma, pain, the side effects of chemotherapy and a number of other conditions. Surprisingly it is the first company, or the seller of cigarettes, that can apply to borrow from a bank and deduct expenses on income tax returns. The medical marijuana operator is shunned.

Ironically, the federal government continues to support the sale of cigarettes, a product that kills Americans. These are the same products that cause cancer, yet they continue to discourage the sale of medical marijuana, a product used to manage the side effects of a number of conditions.

Medical marijuana laws, from the state and the federal government, have created a fuzzy area for the public and law enforcement as the two rulings have left some citizens free to use the drug as they wish and others are left facing prosecution.

“It used to be black and white: Pot’s illegal. Period,” said Kelso Police Chief Andy Hamilto. Now, he says, it’s “maybe” OK to grow and smoke pot.

The medical marijuana industry is currently estimated as a $2 billion industry. It is expected to reach nearly $9 billion in the next five years. That’s just about the same size as the dry cleaning industry and laundry service industry. Ed Orcutt, an 18th District State Representative, says that pot is slowly becoming more accepted by the public.

By opposing the medical marijuana industry, the federal government is passing up a chance raise taxes in one of the few areas where such actions would face little opposition by business owners.

A 2005 study by Jeffrey Miron, then a visiting economics professor at Harvard, concluded that government spending could be cut by nearly $8 billion and tax revenue increased by more than $6 billion if marijuana sales were legalized and taxed at the same rate as tobacco and alcohol. This would equal a $14 billion improvement in the government budget.

This surely seems like objectives that government officials should be striving for when introducing bills into Congress.

A number of marijuana advocates say that the public is starting to see eye to eye with the industry, saying that pot can provide more benefits to patients with fewer side effects than some of the highly addictive opiate pain killers that are currently available and legal. Now all that’s left is to get the government to join our perspective.

“You’re starting to see a generation or two of folks who may have at one point in their lives experimented with marijuana and so they have direct experience with it,” said 19th District Rep. Brian Blake, D-Raymond, who voted for the Legislature’s medical marijuana dispensary bill. “It’s almost become mainstream.”
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July 3, 2011

Oakland Medical Marijuana Operation Shut Down

By Cannabis Law Group

An Oakland man was arrested recently after authorities accused him of running illegal marijuana farms in Sacramento and Sutter County. Federal authorities report to have confiscated thousands of plants.

The 33-year-old man has been released on a $150,000 property bond, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Sacramento. Authorities also arrested eleven other people that they believe were involved in various aspects of the growing and the processing of that marijuana.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys understand that federal and state laws may be foggy as the two compete to regulate the industry. Until there is are unified laws to regulate the farmers of the medical marijuana industry, arrests and unjust shutdowns are going to happen. It is your duty as an operator, a farmer and as a user to fight for your rights in the medical marijuana industry. If you’re facing a crime involving marijuana, contact an experienced attorney immediately.

The dispensary’s owner quietly left Oakland shortly after local and federal law enforcement pressure the city to give up on its plans to license his four industrial pot farms. Oakland ended up withdrawing the ordinance.

The 33-year-old entrepreneur was previously on the radar of local authorities in Oakland. He reportedly already converted a number of large warehouses into medical pot production centers. Authorities report that he even hired some unionized workers for these operations. His operations didn’t make it too far though, after he experienced thefts, financial problems and constant pressure from federal authorities, his facility went under.

Descriptions of the massive marijuana-growing efforts at a former tomato farm in Rio Oso in Sutter County and at a former wholesale commercial florist in Sacramento were described in a criminal complaint that was filed this week in U.S. District Court in Sacramento.

Undercover federal drug agents report that surveillance flyovers confirmed their suspicion of pot plants. Sutter County sheriff’s deputies reported seeing more than 7,000 plants growing in a greenhouse the size of a football field. According to court documents, the owners of the farm told deputies that they expected the operation would earn nearly $25 million each year from six harvests.

“He was very ambitious,” said Jeff Wilcox, an Oakland developer who, like the Oakland farmer, was competing for a marijuana cultivation license before the ordinance was withdrawn. “Most people don’t operate at that scale.”

Those who are advocates for the legalization of medical marijuana dispensaries in the area argue that this medicinal plant is a safe and effective way to treat the symptoms of cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, pain, glaucoma, epilepsy, and a number of other conditions and should be made available to deserving patients.

Opponents of medical marijuana argue that it is far too dangerous to use, lacks FDA-approval, and that various legal drugs make marijuana use unnecessary. They go on to claim that marijuana is addictive, leads to harder drug use, interferes with fertility, impairs driving ability, and injures the lungs, immune system, and brain. They don’t see the legalization of medical marijuana as a health treatment, but as a front for recreational use.

Back in 1972, the U.S. Congress put marijuana in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act because they considered it to have “no accepted medical use.” Today, 16 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have legalized the medical use of marijuana. Still, the legal industry faces a number of obstacles from both state and federal officials.
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June 30, 2011

U.S. Officials Propose Bill to Legalize Medical Marijuana Nationwide

By Cannabis Law Group

“Criminally prosecuting adults for making the choice to smoke marijuana is a waste of law enforcement resources and an intrusion on personal freedom,” said Democratic Congressman Barney Frank.

U.S. lawmakers recently introduced a new bill that would legalize medical marijuana in Los Angeles and in every other U.S. city. The bill states that each state would have the ability to regulate, tax and control the drug itself. The bill is the first attempt to legalize production and consumption of marijuana nationwide, according to Reuters.

Our Orange Country medical marijuana attorneys understand that this new law could prove helpful as more than a dozen states now have medical marijuana laws on the books. It’s time for the federal government to step back from this industry and stop trying to strike down state laws. With one set of laws in a state, medical marijuana production and consumption may finally be able to function properly, effectively and legally.

“Since 1932, marijuana has been a federally-prohibited substance, and this would undo that,” says Sam Kamin, a law professor at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law.

Currently, there are sixteen states and the District of Colombia that have made the production and consumption of marijuana legal for medical purposes. Fourteen states have decriminalized small amounts for consumption.

“I don’t expect to pass it in this Congress,” added Frank. “But I think we’re making progress. This is an educational process.”

It is estimated that roughly 850,000 Americans were arrested for marijuana-related offenses in 2009 alone. Roughly 90 percent of these cases were for possession, according to the FBI.

“The drug war has not worked, clearly,” said Representative Jared Polis, a Democrat from Colorado.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon, whose country is the main supplier of marijuana to the United States, recently stated that legalizing cannabis throughout the entire country would make it tougher for countries like Mexico to prosecute farmers for growing a product that is legal in their neighboring country, according to the Edmonton Journal.

“I would say to President Calderon that he does what he thinks is right in Mexico and I’ll do what I think is right in the United States,” said Frank, who said the bill would not allow the importation of the drug.

Earlier this year, a number of medical-marijuana dispensaries in California were raided by the Drug Enforcement Administration, despite being legal in their area and despite promises from the Obama administration claiming that it would lay off dispensaries that operate within the laws of their particular state.

“I do not advocate urging people to smoke marijuana, neither do I urge them to drink alcoholic beverages or smoke tobacco, but in none of these cases do I think prohibition enforced by criminal sanctions is good public policy,” said Congressman Frank.
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June 26, 2011

Miss America Favors Medical Marijuana in California

By Cannabis Law Group

This past weekend, Miss California Alyssa Campanella was crowned as 2011 “Miss USA.” What surprised audiences wasn’t her stunning beauty or her glitz and glamor on the stage, rather it was her answer to one specific question that raised some eyebrows.

During the question-and-answer part of the competition, Miss California was asked about the legalization of marijuana in Los Angeles and elsewhere throughout the United States and her perspective on the medicinal cannabis.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys understand the popularity of this debate. It seems that everyone, including Miss America, has something to say about the topic. As you can see, the topic is so prevalent in American culture that it was used as a question during the award show.

“Well, I understand why that question would be asked, especially with today’s economy, but I also understand that medical marijuana is very important to help those who need it medically,” she said. “I’m not sure if it should be legalized, if it would really affect, with the drug war. I mean, it’s abused today, unfortunately, so that’s the only reason why I would kind of be a little bit against it, but medically it’s OK.”

This particular question and response bit has been seen by more people that actually watched the pageant, according to The 420 Times. That’s what type of reaction our country gives to this issue. Many marijuana advocates offer a big high-five to the young Miss America saying that this girl somewhat understands the battle that these patients are going through, regardless of her lack of life experience. Some even say it’s because she from California.

Some are hesitant to reward her full answer as she made references to the substance being “abused” and to it being involved in “drug wars.”

You can see Miss California Alyssa Campanella, now 2011 Miss USA, submit her answer regarding medical marijuana for yourself, if you haven’t already.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recorded that these symptoms or conditions requiring the use of medicinal marijuana under Appendix IV of their 2002 report, “Descriptions of Allowable Conditions under State Medical Marijuana Laws“:

-Alzheimer’s Disease
-Anorexia
-AIDS
-Arthritis
-Cachexia
-Cancer
-Crohn’s Disease
-Epilepsy
-Glaucoma
-HIV
-Migraine
-Multiple Sclerosis
-Nausea
-Pain
-Spasticity
-Wasting Syndrome
Cannabis has been used for a number of medicinal purposes for a quite some time now, throughout the entire world. It has been used in a variety of medicines in the U.S. until the 1940s. It was previously referred to the best treatment for migraine headaches in the 1800s by Dr, William Osler, the father of modern medicine.

The rights of patients that use this healing drug are being stripped from them from every direction. It is important for us as residents of the United States and as active members in the medical community to stand for and protect what little rights we have left. This drug is important for the cure and healing of a number of conditions and it is no one’s right to take these away.

“It is extraordinarily safe — safer than most medicines prescribed every day. If marijuana were a new discovery rather than a well-known substance carrying cultural and political baggage, it would be hailed as a wonder drug,” says Lester Grinspoon, MD, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
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June 14, 2011

U.S. Attorneys to Close Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Nationwide

By Cannabis Law Group

States across the country are legalizing the sale of medical marijuana, and the federal government isn’t happy about it. U.S. attorneys recently voiced their warnings, urging local governments to rethink their plans of opening medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles and elsewhere throughout the country.

Rhode Island recently attempted to open one of its first medical marijuana stores, but that didn’t go as planned, according to NPR.

We’d like to recognize that President Obama’s administration has yet to push federal laws in states where medical marijuana is legal, but our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys understand that could be a thing of the past. Feds have begun focusing their attention back to these dispensaries.

“The U.S. attorney was very direct,” Rhode Island’s governor spokesman Michael Trainor says. “The governor believes that if we proceed on the present course, he’d be putting the compassion centers and people associated with compassion centers at great risk.”

Rhode Island isn’t the only state receiving these letters. Eight other states with medical marijuana programs received the threats. Advocates believe that these threats are a complete opposition from the Obama administration’s original stance on the medical marijuana industry. The Justice Department refuses to clarify the decision, saying only that its policy remains the same. The warning states that the U.S. attorneys that are assigned to each state can use their own discretion about how to enforce the policy.

What’s the policy, you ask? Well, it depends on how you interpret the “the Ogden memo.”

“In 2009, the Department of Justice indicated that it would be a low priority to prosecute anyone who was complying with state medical marijuana laws,” explains Jay Rorty of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Rorty says that the 2009 memo from the former Deputy Attorney General David Ogden led advocates to believe that the federal government wouldn’t interfere with state medical marijuana stores.

“I think the ACLU takes that statement out of context,” says U.S. Attorney Michael Ormsby from Washington state. He believes that the memo simply means that the federal government won’t go after the patients who choose to grow their own marijuana, but retail stores were never part of that exception.

Each area interprets these vague letters differently, and despite the risk, many are pressing forward with with their programs. Others are in the same limbo as Rhode Island, where patients are getting frustrated and these companies are at a standstill.

The federal government continues to push these anti-pot laws and regulations because of how marijuana is currently rated and categorized with other drugs. Currently, marijuana is a considered a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). In a Schedule I drug classification, the drug is determined to have a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug under medical supervision.

States continue to face new risks as more and more of them legalize and open dispensaries. Local governments focus on a lawsuit filed by the governor of Arizona to determine the federal government’s official stance on state medical marijuana programs.

“Unfortunately, with this piece of legislation, there are some pretty serious consequences if we don’t get them resolved. And I, as governor, am not willing to put those people at risk,” said Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer.
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May 31, 2011

Senate to Vote on Medical Marijuana Employment Discrimination Law

By Cannabis Law Group

The State Senators of California were called to debate a possible new law last week, Senate Bill 129. This bill would restrict the ability of an employer to fire an employee, or to discriminate against the hiring of future employees, because of legal medical marijuana use. This law would not allow patients to use the drug on the clock or on their work site. This saves an employee from job stress relating to possession and cultivation of medical marijuana in Los Angeles and elsewhere across the state, according to The 420 Times.

The Americans for Safe Access are currently sponsoring Senators Mark Leno’s (D-SF) bill as they believe that every medical marijuana patient is entitled to the same rights and those that protect an employee from being dismissed from the workplace simply because they use other prescription drugs.

We understand that the industry, doctors and patients continue to face a daily battle against the government and their idea of effectively regulating the industry. Our Los Angeles medical marijuana lawyers can not overlook the fact that patients, doctors and dispensary owners and employees face a laundry list of threats and restrictions day after day. If your are currently facing charges related to the use of medical marijuana, you are urged to contact an experienced attorney to help you right for your rights.

The new bill will protect patients who have been approved by a doctor to use medical marijuana. Patients will not be allowed to use the medical cannabis at their workplace or during their work shift. This Senate Bill would simply provide the same protection and rights that users of prescriptions drugs possess.

With this bill active, a worker would have the right to institute and prosecute a civil action for damages, reasonable attorney fees and costs and injunctive relief if they have suffered from any sort of discrimination in the violations of the bill.

Advocates for the legal use of medical marijuana oftentimes remind supporters of the drug that activism isn’t always protesting, sign-waving or marching, but sometimes the most effective way to induce change is to contact our California leaders with a phone call, a letter or an email.

ASA’s Online Action Center has provided medical marijuana advocates with this Senate Bill 129 support template to help effectively communicate with California leaders. Their website also allows you to enter in your specific zip code to help ensure that the letter gets to the right recipient.
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May 20, 2011

Government Fails to Reclassify Medical Marijuana in Los Angeles as it Remains in Heroin Category

By Cannabis Law Group

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Colombia Circuit was handed a lawsuit yesterday from a coalition of advocacy groups and patients. The suit demanded that the Obama Administration recognize and react to a petition, now 9-years-old, that would have marijuana rescheduled under the Controlled Substance Act (CSA). Many believe that marijuana falls into the wrong category in this classification system.

The favor of ruling would reclassify medical marijuana in Los Angeles and elsewhere under federal law. Advocates are looking to eliminate differences in the state and federal laws.

Oftentimes federal law and state law conflict in medical marijuana cases. Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys understand that various classifications of drugs come with different penalties if convicted of use or possession. Marijuana currently rests with drugs of a much higher class, such as cocaine and heroin. Meanwhile, it has been legalized for medical purposes in more than a dozen states and possession is typically a misdemeanor under various state laws.

In an effort to even out the playing field, Washington Governor Chris Gregoire suggests that states that currently allow medical marijuana request that the federal government reclassify the drug. If the Court of Appeals does indeed grant his request, other states that currently allow medical marijuana would be able to request the same.

The Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis (CRC) would like federal courts to reflect that marijuana no longer satisfies the requirements of a Schedule I prohibited substance. They are urging that federal law reclassified the drug.

“Marijuana has accepted medical use in the United States, it has a lower abuse potential than drugs like heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine, and it is safe for use under medical supervision. All of these characteristics are well-documented scientifically and legally. Federal law requires the Obama Administration to reclassify marijuana,” said According to Jon Gettman, coordinator of the CRC.

President Obama’s Administration has already received the petition and has had plenty of time to review it. The Coalition is now accusing the Administration of violating the Administrative Procedures Act. This Act requires a final action to be taken within a reasonable amount of time.

“The federal government’s strategy has been delay, delay, delay,” said Joe Elford, Chief Counsel of ASA and lead counsel on the writ. “It is far past time for the government to answer our rescheduling petition, but unfortunately we’ve been forced to go to court in order to get resolution.” The writ of mandamus filed accuses the government of unreasonable delay in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act.

Marijuana’s medical use is now accepted by 16 states:

-Alaska
-Arizona
-California
-Colorado
-Delaware
-Hawaii
-Maine
-Michigan
-Montana
-Nevada
-New Jersey
-New Mexico
-Oregon
-Rhode Island
-Vermont
-Washington
The advocate groups and patients are able to take this issue to the federal courts if they receive a formal rejection of the CRC petition.

“The Obama Administration’s refusal to act on this petition is an irresponsible stalling tactic; it denies us due process under the law and, more shamefully, it continues to deny countless patients a chance to use current law to seek legal access to marijuana for medical use,” said Gettman.

Currently, the CSA classifies drugs into various schedules. Marijuana is currently considered a Schedule I substance. This means that is has a high potential for abuse, has no currently accepted medical use in the United States and has a a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision.
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