California Marijuana

July 30, 2011

Federal Government Declares Medical Marijuana in Los Angeles Has No Medical Use

Earlier this month the federal government ruled that medical marijuana in Los Angeles and elsewhere has absolutely no accepted use as a medicinal treatment and needs to remain classified as a highly dangerous drug like heroin and ecstasy. They’re pretty much saying that patients in California and a number of other states, including the nation’s capitol, are delusional.

Apparently this was no easy decision for the federal government either, or at least that’s how they made it look. The release of this information comes nine years after medical marijuana supporters requested that the government look into reclassifying cannabis and to take into account a growing body of worldwide research that clearly illustrates its effectiveness in treating a number of diseases, including glaucoma and multiple sclerosis.

Our Orange County medical marijuana attorneys doubt that the 55,193 medical marijuana cards that have been issued since 2004 have gone to patients that are “faking” their symptoms. As of January 2009, more than 200,000 California patients turned to medical marijuana to treat their conditions and are now medical marijuana card holders. This means less than 6 percent of the entire state’s population seeks this treatment.

“It is clearly motivated by a political decision that is anti-marijuana,” said Joe Elford, the chief counsel for Americans for Safe Access and the lead attorney on the lawsuit.. He noted that studies demonstrate pot has beneficial effects, including appetite stimulation for that are currently people undergoing chemotherapy. “One of the things people say about marijuana is that it gives you the munchies and the truth is that it does, and for some people that’s a very positive thing.”

The decision to deny the initial request was made by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. This decision comes just two months after advocates requested the U.S. Court of Appeals to force the administration to respond to their petition.

Those who support tmedical use of the drug have criticized the ruling but were ecstatic that the Obama administration finally acted. Now that the decision has been made, advocates are now able to appeal the decision to the federal courts.

“We have foiled the government’s strategy of delay, and we can now go head-to-head on the merits,” said Elford.

DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart wrote a letter back in June to the organizations that filed the petition and stated that the request was rejected because marijuana “has a high potential for abuse,” “has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States” and “lacks accepted safety for use under medical supervision.”

This is the third time a petition to reclassify marijuana have been rejected. The first petition was filed in 1972. It wasn’t denied until 17 years later. The second petition was filed in back in 1995 and was denied six years later. Both of the decisions were appealed, but the courts sided with the federal government.

“The regulatory process is just a time-consuming one that usually takes years to go through,” said Barbara Carreno, a spokeswoman for the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The DEA looked at their researcher’s evidence before making their decision. The federal government’s position on the study discourages scientists from pursuing research needed to test the drug’s medical effectiveness, reports Dr. Igor Grant, a neuropsychiatrist who is the director of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at UC San Diego. On the other hand, state-supported clinical trials continue to conclude that marijuana in fact helps with neuropathic pain and muscle spasticity.

“We’re trapped in kind of a vicious cycle here,” says Grant. “It’s always a danger if the government acts on certain kinds of persuasions or beliefs rather than evidence.”

Public opinion has also taken a stance behind medical marijuana. Americans overwhelmingly support it in a number of national polls. When the petition was initially filed, only eight states had approved medical marijuana. Currently, there are 16 states and the District of Columbia that have decided to give the okay to the medical treatment.

Medical marijuana was classified as a Schedule I drug when Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act in 1970. Schedule I is the most serious and the most restrictive of the five categories.

“At this time the known risks of marijuana use have not been shown to be outweighed by specific benefits in well-controlled clinical trials that scientifically evaluate safety and efficacy,” said Leonhart in her letter.
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July 28, 2011

City Council Aims to Shut Down Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in Glendale

By Cannabis Law Group

An ordinance that will put a permanent ban on medical marijuana dispensaries in Glendale was introduced by Glendale City Council earlier this week. This ban was introduced just two months before a moratorium prohibiting the shops is set to expire, according to the Glendale News-Press.

As it stands now, zoning codes keep the medical marijuana dispensaries under thumb. That’s not good enough for city officials though. They’re looking for more strict regulations and enforcement as they say interest has grown in recent years.

Our Glendale medical marijuana attorneys understand how “convenient” this new ordinance is. As the City could enacted a moratorium back in 2009 to prevent any and all dispensaries from opening, the council is well aware of its expiration in September. What’s even more convenient is that this moratorium does not allow for an extension. This is exactly why City Council is looking to enact an entirely new ban on the industry.

Last month, city attorneys were instructed by council to draft out an all-out ban.

These same city officials were hoping that a decision by a state appellate court regarding a similar ban in Anaheim would provide their government with a legal precedent. Unfortunately for them, the state 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana sent a legal challenge of the city’s ban back to a lower court for yet another review. Even as courts fail to rule in favor of cities enacting such bans, the politicians continue to force the issue, incurring millions in tax payer legal fees and other expenses in the process.

Glendale’s proposed ordinance uses zoning code amendments to shut the door on dispensaries. This same ordinance specifically calls out medical marijuana dispensaries and bans them from operating in any zone.

“State law allows cities to make decisions about their zoning laws,” said Senior City Atty. Carmen Merino. “We really feel that this ordinance will protect the citizens of Glendale and be in compliance with both federal and state law.”

South Pasadena, La Cañada, Flintridge, Pasadine and Burbank are all among local cities that have also prohibited the operations of medical marijuana dispensaries.

Hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries were able to open in Los Angeles because the city did not enforce a moratorium. Last year though, Los Angeles passed an ordinance that was to limit the number of these dispensaries to only 70. Shops that were open before 2007 were exempt from the new rules. That fight is ongoing.

In cities in which dispensaries have been permitted, oppositional parties report that there has been an increase in burglaries, vandalism, illegal drug sales and other crimes. A number of studies have proven this to be completely false.

Supporters of medical marijuana report that California law prohibits all-out bans and local government officials should feel obliged to address the needs of local patients. It will be up to dispensary owners and patients to stand and fight for their rights.

Glendale City Council is expected to cast their final vote on the ordinance next week.
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July 26, 2011

New Regulations Looking to Limit Some California Medical Marijuana Patients to One Dispensary

By Cannabis Law Group

Proposed guidelines from Attorney General Kamala Harris could now make it possible for users of medical marijuana in Los Angeles to only belong to one dispensary at a time and for individual police officers to have the authority to determine whether someone is a legitimate patient or not, according to The Examiner.

Medical Marijuana advocates aren’t going to stand for it, saying that this will only make it harder for patients to obtain their medicine and easier for cops to improperly arrest them.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys would like residents to know that these guidelines have not been made public yet by the attorney general, but a copy of an April “discussion draft” has been obtained by members of San Francisco’s Medical Marijuana Task Force.

This draft consists of a number of guidelines that go further in some areas than those that were issued back in 2008 by Jerry Brown, Harris’ predecessor. The Attorney General’s office declined to comment on the proposed regulations.

These guidelines influence how cities and counties regulate their medical marijuana dispensaries and how law enforcement agencies should and can treat the operators and their patients.

“I’m first and foremost concerned that people can only be members of one collective,” said task force member Shona Gochenaur, the executive director of the Axis of Love medical marijuana activist group. “That doesn’t work.”

Advocates compare this shop regulation to if residents were only allowed to shop at one grocery store. It doesn’t make any sense.

“Officers should use their sound professional judgment to assess the validity of the person’s medical use-claim” if they do not have a state ID card. Advocates compare this writing to law enforcement jargon, as if it were written by the officers themselves.

Another concern of the advocates pertains to the restrictions on cultivators. Under these proposed regulations, cultivators would only be able to sell their product to one dispensary. This could lead cultivators to favor large-scale operations over smaller groups.

The industry continues to grow, expand and change with every passing year. Last year, Oakland started exploring large-scale taxable grow operations. Earlier this week, a major crackdown on illegal cultivation of marijuana in Northern California was reported. A number of legal conflicts continue to burden dispensaries in Los Angeles, San Diego and Butte counties.

“[Medical marijuana] is something brand new,” said Stephanie Tucker, a spokeswoman for The City’s Medical Marijuana Task Force. “As the community evolves, so do some of the best practices.”

Currently in San Francisco there are more than 25 permitted medical marijuana dispensaries and more than 10 applications that are pending, according to the Department of Public Health.

Advocates have been in continuous support for industry regulations because they believe that the controls are a way to maintain a legitimate medical industry, address residents’ complaints and prevent a federal law enforcement crackdowns. Advocates believe that government officials are taking these regulations too far and are doing nothing more than hurting residents and business owners.
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July 16, 2011

Thousands Gather at Kush Expo in Anaheim to Support Medical Marijuana in Orange County

By Cannabis Law Group

The event organizers of the Anaheim Convention Center’s marijuana expo were so thrilled with the turnout of their first annual Kush Expo that they’ve already jumped the gun and celebrated their second annual event just eight months later. Organizers were so overwhelmed with the turnout of advocates for medical marijuana in Orange County from the first event, they decided to keep the momentum going with the second annual event that was held last weekend.

The Kush Expo was held, again, at the Convention Center. Organized are already planning a third expo and have it booked it for November 18th through the 20th of this year.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana lawyers understand that these events truly illustrate the number of supporters and active members we have in the medical marijuana industry. This is an industry that provides so many residents with healing medications that allow them to function properly on a daily basis and to reduce the side effects of terrible diseases and conditions. The first annual expo that was held last November attracted thousands of people during the three-day event.

“There’s such an upward swing,” said on participant, who has a doctor’s recommendation to use marijuana for panic attacks and sleep problems. “More and more states are legalizing it for personal use, for medical use. I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be legalized.”

Some people were a little disturbed by the event. The expo included a smoking patio where card-carrying medical-marijuana patients were able to smoke pot during the event, just outside the Convention Center doors.

“I think that it’s a pretty cool sign for those of us who support legalization of marijuana that this kind of event goes on in the heart of Orange County – and it’s accepted,” said one medical-marijuana user and attendee of last year’s Kush Expo. “I think society is beginning to get the picture that cannabis isn’t as dangerous as previous generations have made it out to be.”

Only those who were 18-years-old and older were allowed into the expo. The Kush Expo was coined the biggest marijuana convention in Orange County. There were dozens of vendor booths with representatives from collectives and dispensaries throughout the state. There was also growing and smoking equipment available as well as doctors who there to offer exams to issue medical-marijuana cards.

“This is not just a party card,” said Dr. Lucia Ferraro, from Sherman Oaks. “My typical patient is not a 20-year-old stoner. It’s somebody 40-plus who needs help from prescription medicine or from pain.”

Anaheim has an ordinance that bans all medical-marijuana dispensaries within its city limits. The city has been battling that decision in court to defend its stance.

City officials understand that the expo provided visitors with a smoking section. It was after all approved by city council. Security officers were on scene to ensure that it was only open to qualified patients. There were no pot sales during the expo.
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July 14, 2011

Targeting Medical Marijuana Industry Only Hurts Patients who rely on the Treatment

By Cannabis Law Group

Without medical marijuana in Los Angeles, a number of residents would suffer needlessly from debilitating diseases and conditions. A 30-year-old medical marijuana patient, was the youngest diagnosed with teratoma and angiosarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer that doctors treat with equally aggressive doses of chemotherapy. These doses of chemo made him vomit up to 50 times a day during treatment. He lost about 60 pounds during the first two months of treatment alone.

“The doctors thought I was a dead man,” Rozman, now 46-years-old and a life coach in Guttenberg, N.J., said.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys understand that medical marijuana may be the only available treatment for a number of residents suffering from certain medical conditions. The drug may be their last hope at enjoying a normal life. He was able to experience the miracle treatment of the drug.

In a last effort to heal his pain, his doctors prescribed him marijuana. It was the only drug with the purported ability to stave off chemotherapy nausea. He was not only was he able to stop vomiting, but he claimed that the marijuana calmed him and helped him cope psychologically with the chemotherapy sessions. Medical marijuana treated him as no other traditional anti-nausea medication could.

The Department of Justice’s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) doesn’t agree with his claims. Even though 16 states currently recognize marijuana as an effective drug with a number of important medicinal properties, the DEA shot down another a petition to reclassify marijuana as such, citing that it has “no accepted medical use.” The result is that marijuana will remain within the strictest categorization of restricted substances, alongside heroin and LSD.

“As a doctor and medical researcher, I find the DEA’s decision unfortunate,” said Dr. Igor Grant, a neuropsychiatrist and director of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the University of California-San Diego. “It looks like they underplayed what positive information there is in the literature about marijuana. This policy is guided more by certain kinds of beliefs in the dangers of marijuana, at the expense of advance of medical knowledge for patients.”

The refusal to reclassify the drug was presented to the public through a June 21st letter from Michele Leonhard, a DEA Administrator. The petition was initially filed back in 2002.

“The statement ‘it has no accepted medical use’ is simply wrong as a statement of fact,” said Rob MacCoun, psychologist and professor of Law and Public Policy at University of California Berkeley Law School. “There is now considerable evidence showing medical benefits, at or exceeding standards of evidence for many other pharmaceuticals. Prescribing physicians in over a dozen states clearly see an accepted medical value for their patients.”

A change in classification would mean that marijuana would remain a controlled substance. The only difference is that it could be used in medical contexts and would not be considered illegal under federal law.

“Frankly, we’re ready to go head to head with the Obama administration on this issue,” said Kris Hermes, spokesman for Americans for Safe Access. “We have science on our side and we’re hopeful the court will see it that way.”

A 43-year-old California resident and grower, a distributor and a patient that uses the product for treatment, knows its value. He was diagnosed with a serious seizure disorder back in 2005. He began marijuana treatment from a distributor from Edgewater, Colo. He decided to take up his doctors on the prescription after reading a number of studies that concluded that marijuana has anti-seizure properties.

He was able to wean himself slowly off the seizure meds and is now, years later, seizure free. Currently, he is handing on the healing drug, medicinal-grade marijuana, to at least 100 regular customers in his area.

What infuriates him and other marijuana advocates the most is that Obama campaigned with the promise to steer clear of states’ rights in the medical marijuana industry. Recent raids and enforcement efforts have said anything but.

“The government’s position is very clear,” Hermes said. “The number of raids on medical marijuana distributors is staggering, far beyond what the Bush administration was doing. And because the federal government won’t acknowledge marijuana as a medicinal substance, those arrested have absolutely no defense they can bring in federal court.”

The battle continues between state and federal government because states that allow the drug are in conflict with federal drug laws. Federal law criminalizes possession of marijuana, regardless of intended use. Unfortunately for this industry, federal laws trump those of the states.
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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 11, 2011

Government Officials Meet to Straighten Out Medical Marijuana Regulations

By Cannabis Law Group

California may have been the first state to legalize medical marijuana but we’re still struggling with medical marijuana issues both on the state and federal level. We’re not alone in this battle though, both Michigan and Montana are facing some serious issues regarding how the medicinal drug can be obtained and sold.

Currently in Michigan, a group of Republican state lawmakers are planning on working through the summer to sort through a new regulation of medical marijuana. State Rep. John Walsh, R-Livonia, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and chief sponsor of the proposed legislation, says that the new rules aren’t aimed at replacing the 2008 medical marijuana referendum approved by voters, but to crease some clear guidelines for law enforcement and legitimate medical marijuana patients, according to Detroit Free Press.

Our Orange County medical marijuana attorneys have been there time and time again. Lawmakers throw a number of laws, rules and regulation at the medical marijuana industry. The problem isn’t that there are a bunch of rules, but they all conflict with one another. These conflicting rules make it extremely difficult for users and sellers to operate legally without facing undeserving raids, fines, fees and shut downs.

Walsh is intending to clarify the following though his bill package:

-Aim to more closely monitor and regulate the relationship between doctors and the patients to whom they issue medical marijuana cards to.

-Look to prohibit patient-to-patient marijuana transactions. They aim to shut down the marijuana collectives and dispensaries that have begun operations in some areas of the state.

-They would like to find a way to give law enforcement instant access to the patient registry that is maintained by the state-run Michigan Medical Marijuana Program.

-Zoning needs to be clarified, seeking out communities that would like to restrict the use and the sale of medical marijuana.

Medical marijuana was legalized in Montana in 2004 though Initiative 148. As of now, they’re not even sure if the business will be legal come July 1st.

“Right now, us dispensary owners are in limbo-land,” said Tom Charlton, who owns M4U, a medical marijuana shop off North Reserve Street.

The new law looks to completely replace Montana’s 2004 voter-approved initiative. The new law aims to, among many other restrictions, require providers to give marijuana to their patients.

“We’re just sitting back and waiting for the dust to settle,” said Missoula Police Chief Mark Muir. “There’s no point in spending too much time planning.”

This new law would also allow patients to grow their own marijuana in limited quantities, or acquire it from caregivers. These caregivers would be allowed only to grow for three people apiece. Currently, they’re allowed supply an unlimited number.

The judge said that he might just wait until June 30 to issue a ruling. He says he may either strike down all or just part of the law.

More than 30,000 people in Montana now have medical marijuana cards.

Until government officials can reach an agreement and set forth clear and concise rules to regulate the industry, companies and patients will continue to operate in limbo, potentially facing serious fines, jail time or shut downs.
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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.”

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 29, 2011

Miracle-Gro Looks to Jump into Medical Marijuana Production in Los Angeles and Elsewhere

By Cannabis Law Group

You think of Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. and you think of weed killer, but did you know they’re now looking into helping medical marijuana in Los Angeles and elsewhere?

It caught nearly everyone by surprise, but it’s true. The company’s top dog, Scotts Chief Executive Jim Hagedorn, says that he’s looking into targeting medical marijuana to help boost sales at his lawn and garden company.

Our Orange County medical marijuana attorneys understand that this recognition, by such a high-powered company, may benefit the medical marijuana industry. If the owners of home-based products don’t see anything wrong with growing medical marijuana, why should the government? This recognition from Scotts Miracle-Gro may be a sign, a sign that the use of medical marijuana may one day be accepted in deserving household across the nation.

“I want to target the pot market,” Mr. Hagedorn said. “There’s no good reason we haven’t.”

Scotts sales increase by 5 percent last year to nearly $3 billion. The company, that is based out of Marysville, Ohio, relies on three retail stores to make the majority of their sales — Home Depot Inc., Lowe’s Cos. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Since the slumped economy is causing consumers to hold on tightly to their money and these corporations are halting the building of new stores, Scotts is looking for smaller pockets of growth, like the marijuana market, to increase in their sales.

Currently, there are 16 states that have legalized medical marijuana, with California and Colorado being the largest.

A report on revenue from growers and dispensaries, by See Change Strategy LLC, an information data services company, concludes that the market for companies selling hydroponic equipment and professional services is alive and thriving.

“We see very good growth for these types of companies as the medical-marijuana business grows,” said Kris Lotlikar, president of See Change.

Mr. Hagedorn is serious about increasing sales, no matter how small. To target marijuana growers, Scotts says they would likely buy niche dirt companies. Companies that already exist instead of creating its own line of newly branded products.

Enforcement officers have found Scotts products in a number of recent marijuana raids. Mr. Hagedorn is thrilled about it, claiming that it’s a good sign of brand awareness. He does fear that some growers will be reluctant to use a mainstream product.

Before this recent plan, Scotts wouldn’t even have considering pursuing a business plan or a product line that generated less than $10 million a year in revenue. That’s not the case anymore. Since the medical marijuana industry has grown so large, the company has altered their strategy.

“We can’t operate our business like that anymore,” said Mr. Hagedorn.
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