Federal Enforcement/ California Marijuana

April 17, 2012

California Marijuana Lawyers Show Solidarity With Defiant Pot Shops

Los Angeles Marijuana Lawyers have expressed solidarity with those California marijuana dispensaries to the north of us that were ordered to close by the federal government by April 6 – or face severe prison sentences, fines and forfeiture of their property.

The state as a whole loses when these licensed and taxpaying facilities, which have contributed so greatly to the health and well-being of our populous, are forced to close due to a political tug-of-war.

This time, it was HopeNet, the first marijuana dispensary in San Francisco. On their last day, the owners prepared accordingly – by grilling hotdogs. About 220 in all.

The dispensary remained open until the very last moment it could, offering free hotdogs to patients who were there to get their last dose of cannabis in concentrate, flower and edible form.

It was one of three dispensaries that were shuttered that day. It was in company with Shambhala Healing Center and Valencia Caregivers. Landlords for each of the three centers were handed down warnings from the U.S. Attorney in Northern California. It gave the landowners 45 days to close down the dispensaries or face swift and severe consequences. The reasoning given by the federal government was that the shops were operating too close to parks or schools. Never mind that they have been there for years without incident.

The fact that these dispensaries have been strictly following both state and local laws and zoning rules governing medicinal marijuana has been deemed irrelevant by the feds. Medical marijuana, they say, is barred under federal law, and the fact that the dispensaries are nearby an area where children frequent is seen as an aggravating factor to the offense.

Since November, six other dispensaries in San Francisco have been forced to close due to the same letter, the same faulty reasoning. It’s the same story all cross the state – in Los Angeles, San Diego and Sacramento. Hundreds of legally-operating medical marijuana dispensaries have been forced to close.

And who really suffers? Of course, the pot shop owners have lost their livelihoods and the struggling cities are poorer for it. But mostly it’s the patients, who have a right to medical marijuana under California law and have for more than 15 years.

Certain extensions were given to some landlords so that they could work out a legal deal with the dispensaries who had secured long-term leases. But those will only last a month or so, and then they must cease to operate or face federal sanctions. Some of the dispensaries have been served eviction notices – and at least one has indicated that it plans to fight that eviction, and may have strong legal grounds to win that case. That’s because evictions are decided in state – not federal – courts, which recognize the legality of medical marijuana under state law.

So it’s unclear what that may mean for the federal order.

Our Los Angeles Marijuana Lawyers will continue to keep a close eye on that case and the outcome.
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April 9, 2012

California Medical Marijuana: A Legal Quagmire

By Cannabis Law Group

The issues surrounding medical marijuana in Orange County and throughout the state have become a legal quagmire – one that the state’s supreme court has agreed to take on.

Our Orange County medical marijuana attorneys will be closely following the developments of the supreme court’s decision, stemming from cases involving four cannabis dispensaries. Two other cases could be lumped in as well, including the recent appeal of an Orange County decision which determined that municipalities aren’t allowed to ban pot stores, but the stores have to grow all of their product on site – something most have said is impossible.

As the state’s director for the National Organization for Reform on Marijuana Laws was recently quoted in the Sacramento Bee as saying: “It’s chaos.”

Fueling a large amount of this legal confusion are the recent actions by federal enforcers against those who provide marijuana. Unfortunately, those crackdowns aren’t likely to be affected by what the state’s supreme court rules, but at least there may be some uniformity among the various cities and counties.

Appeals courts throughout the state have differed widely on how the federal laws should affect the actions taken by cities and counties when the state permits marijuana for medical use. In one recent decision, a panel of judges decided that U.S. law blocks cities from allowing marijuana dispensaries. But then another recent decision said that federal law can’t be used as a basis to ban dispensaries.

In 2010, there was a ruling in the 4th District Court of Appeals, which held that Anaheim city officials weren’t allowed to ban dispensaries just because federal law considered them illegal.

Then you look at conflicting rules even originating from the same court. Last fall, the 2nd District Court of Appeals handed down a sweeping judgment, saying Long Beach city officials weren’t allowed to issue permits to marijuana dispensaries because federal law has deemed the drug unlawful. Any move by the city to regulate medical marijuana within its limits would be seen as violation of federal law. But then just last month, that same court tossed the convictions against the operator of a Hollywood marijuana club, deciding that he had been legally transporting more than a pound of cannabis from one dispensary to the other, which he was allowed to do under state law.

What’s more, there have even been conflicting rulings within the same case. This example comes straight out of Orange County: The appeals court ruled that while local governments weren’t allowed to outright ban dispensaries, the dispensaries had to grow the marijuana at the site where it is distributed. First off, this is next to impossible, and the courts know that. Secondly, state law doesn’t require this, so the judges’ reasoning is puzzling.

As a reporter for the Bee so succinctly put it: The courts have a serious case of multiple personality disorder.

It could take as long as two years, if not more, to sort through the legal mess. In the meantime, that leaves patients and dispensary owners in the lurch, wary of attracting the ire of both state and federal authorities, and yet still wanting to practice their right to safe, legal access to medical marijuana.

April 7, 2012

Register Orange County Medical Marijuana Patients, Lawmakers Say

By Cannabis Law Group

Orange County medical marijuana patients may soon be required to register their status with the state, which lawmakers say will help to further legitimize the industry.

Our Orange County medical marijuana attorneys support the rights of patients to reap the medically-proven benefits of cannabis for a wide range of ailments. But varied attempts at regulation across the state, combined with an unnecessary federal crackdown on dispensaries, has muddied the legal waters on the issues. Lawmakers believe that a statewide registration system could help legal users avoid criminal prosecution.

Medical marijuana attorneys remain skeptical.

The Huffington Post reports that of the 16 states that have passed medical marijuana legislation, California, which is the largest, has the least number of patients – on paper. Only three of those 16 states require patient registration. California technically has fewer patients than Hawaii, Arizona, Montana, Michigan and Oregon.

However, the truth is that the exact number of medical marijuana patients in Orange County and throughout the state isn’t really clear. That’s something Democratic Senator Nora Campos wants to change. The bill would require legal users to file for a county identification card, and state records would note if the individual was purchasing the marijuana from a collective – and name which one – or if they intended to cultivate their own.

These changes, she said, would make it easier for law enforcement to determine who would be allowed to legally grow and use marijuana and who is simply exploiting the law to cover up illegal drug use and dealing.

The law enforcement lobbyist who wrote the bill said the intent is not to discourage people from consuming marijuana, but simply to organize in such a way that people who are legally using it won’t be harassed and those who aren’t using it legally can be stopped. Still, there isn’t any language in the bill that underscores that protection. Medical marijuana patients have become accustomed to empty promises – just look at what the Obama administration promised at the outset, versus the actions they are taking now.

The state already has a voluntary ID card program, which was designed for this very purpose. However, only a small percentage of patients have registered. In fact, as of late year, less than 1,000 individuals had done so.

In contrast, Colorado patients are mandated to register. There, the state has issued more than 82,000 registration cards. If California did the same, it’s estimated there would be some 615,000 registration cards issued.

One reason for the lack of participation in the voluntary program obviously stems from the federal crackdown that has continued over the last several months. Individuals may be concerned that as long as marijuana sale and use is deemed a violation of federal law, registering for the program may be akin to admitting they have committed a crime – even though their actions are perfectly legal according to state law.

The current system does have some privacy protections in place. For example, patients are identified by a number instead of their name. However, many are reticent to input their personal information into a government database, especially considering recent actions by federal authorities.

Our Orange County medical marijuana attorneys will be closely following the developments of this bill.
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March 19, 2012

Crackdown on California Medical Marijuana Impacts Everyone

By Cannabis Law Group

It’s been called “The Emerald Triangle,” and residents and law enforcement almost all agreed that the operation they had worked out for the sale of California medical marijuana was something of a model.

But with federal authorities barging through the door at every turn, it has thrown off a well-oiled system of cooperation, safety, health and profit that benefited the entire community.

As our Orange County medical marijuana attorneys know, marijuana growers and law enforcement officials Mendocino County initially had a tenuous relationship. They, like many counties throughout the state, had growing pains after the 1996 passage of legislation that made California the first state to legalize marijuana.

But then, a couple years ago, the sheriff there agreed to stop the incessant raids on medical marijuana growers. In exchange, the pot producers agreed to have their crops inspected. They paid a $1,500 fee, they had to adhere to ordinances that required them to control the smell and how far they could be from neighbors. They were also restricted to growing 99 plants for every five acres of land. The entire operation was overseen by a board of supervisors.

This one-of-a-kind program not only made for a peaceful environment, it was profitable too – for the county. In fact, the program generated nearly $700,000 for the sheriff’s office within two years. It was working so well, in fact, that other sheriff’s offices had reached out to Mendocino County officials to learn how to copy their system.

The board’s supervisor was quoted as saying that they thought they had a system that could make everyone’s life easier, and allow law enforcement to move on to more pressing matters.

It was not to be. Enter federal authorities. Nearly five months ago now, prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney General’s Office sent out hundreds of warning letters to dispensaries across the state, warning them they were in violation of federal law, threatening to prosecute landlords and warning cities they would go after them if they supported the dispensaries through local ordinances.

That has meant in Orange County, the number of marijuana dispensaries quickly plummeted from about a dozen down to one. In San Diego, the approximately 185 dispensaries is now down to about 10. In unincorporated Sacramento County, all 97 pot shops are closed.

All of this clashes with the general views of most Californians: If they are following local and state laws, let them be.

Federal authorities say their efforts came in response to cities that said the dispensaries had gotten out of control. The problem with that statement is that you have places like Mendocino County, in which local growers and law enforcement had come to a peaceful – and mutually beneficial – agreement. Mendocino County officials were not complaining to the federal government or requesting intervention.

This is just one illustration of the fact that the arguments made by the federal government regarding California medical marijuana are fundamentally flawed.
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March 14, 2012

Berkley Medical Marijuana Dispensary Forced by Feds to Close

By Cannabis Law Group

One of the largest medical marijuana providers in California has become the target of federal enforcement.

Our L.A. medical marijuana defense attorneys understand that Berkeley Patients Group, which was started in 1999, will close its doors at the beginning of May – another casualty in the war against marijuana, waged by federal authorities. It’s part of an agreement reached by the dispensary’s landlord and owners, and it was signed off on late last month by a superior judge in Alameda County’s Superior Court.

Even though the group has operated for more than a decade at its current location, the Northern California U.S. Attorney’s Office threatened to file a forfeiture on the property against the establishment’s landlord if marijuana continued to be distributed there. Never mind that the operation was completely legal under state law.

November 14, 2011

El Camino Wellness Center Files Lawsuit against Feds, Fighting for Medical Marijuana in California

By Cannabis Law Group

A number of advocates for medical marijuana in Los Angeles and elsewhere are fighting back against the federal government’s crackdown on the industry.

According to ABC10, there are a number of these advocates, shops, dispensaries and patients who have filed numerous lawsuits in an attempt to block the fed’s crackdown on pot growers and dispensaries in California.

There have been lawsuits reportedly filed in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento and San Diego. These lawsuits are the result of the October 7th announcement from four U.S. Attorneys that stated that enforcement actions were going to be exercised by the federal government in California against these operations. And they weren’t lying. A number of companies have been ransacked, landlords are being threatened and patients are losing out on much-needed drugs.

Our Orange County medical marijuana attorneys understand that this industry is a thriving part of the state’s economy. Medical marijuana is in fact legal in the state and the federal government is choosing to come in and override our state laws. Companies, patients, growers and dispensaries are urged to recruit legal representation during this battle to help ensure that rights are preserved. The federal government is attacking everyone who is involved in the industry and they’re coming on strong to put an end to it. Many individuals have event been threatening with criminal charges.

The El Camino Wellness Center filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento. The landlord of the property that the center operates from received a threatening letter last month from Ben Wagner, a U.S. Attorney. Landlords around the state have been threatened for allowing these companies to operate on these premises. They’ve been instructed to evict these parties or they could potentially face criminal prosecution among other consequences.

The building’s owner, Kim Creedon, received the letter dated October 6th that warned her that her property could be seized if she were to allow the company to engage in further marijuana sales.

According to that U.S. Attorney, the wellness center was distributing and/or cultivating medical marijuana and that its operations were violating federal law. Marijuana, medicinal or not, is still considered illegal by the federal government.

The wellness center is fighting back and saying that the recent crackdown from the feds is violating one of its earlier agreements that stated that they would not use its own resources to stop, to prosecute or to crackdown on medical marijuana patients and others who are in compliance with state law.

The lawsuit also says that the fed’s crackdown also violated the Constitution’s commerce clause as well as the 9th, 10th and 14th amendments.

The El Camino Wellness Center is also seeking a temporary restraining order.

Defendants in the case include Wagner, DEA Administrator Michelle Leonhart and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
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November 12, 2011

Lawmakers Write Letter to President Obama about Enforcement Of Medical Marijuana in Los Angeles, Nation

By Cannabis Law Group

A number of members from California’s congressional delegation are sending their concerns about the recent federal enforcements against our medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles and elsewhere to President Obama. According to Mercury News, a bipartisan letter was sent from nine U.S. House of Representatives addressing what they call an unconscionable and unreasonable crackdown on a number of dispensaries around the country.

In addition to addressing the violent and unreasonable crackdowns, the Representatives also requested that officials reclassify the drug to be considered a controlled substance to be monitored by fewer federal restrictions.

Our Orange County medical marijuana attorneys understand that patients should have the right to have safe access to this drug treatment and the relief that it provides. More and more doctors are recommending medical marijuana to their patients every day. California law allows patients to do just that and now they’re fighting off the federal government for a much-needed treatment. These Representatives find it absurd that the feds are targeting legitimate companies instead of those who are selling the product illegally on the street.

Just as U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder stepped into office, President Obama and his administration announced that it would be easing off of the federal enforcement efforts against the industry. The administration said that it would no longer be targeting users.

That promise was short lived, however. Throughout October, a number of U.S. attorneys in the state have taken a position against local dispensaries. They’ve conducted raids and sent out some pretty mean letters to dispensaries and landlords. In late October, the advocacy group Americans for Safe Access filed a lawsuit against the federal government, saying that it was commandeering state laws.

Under federal law, medical marijuana operations continue to be illegal.

A letter stating these pro-marijuana viewpoints was recently signed, sealed and delivered by seven California House members, Democrat Jared Polis of Colorado and Democrat Steve Cohen of Tennessee.

The letter included these points:

-State officials are concerned with the enforcement against dispensaries that are operating under local laws.

-U.S. Attorneys should not be focusing on federal resources within their designated state.

-Aiming to prohibit such medicinal treatment would not be fair to those who are battling serious illnesses and diseases.

-Threatening letters sent to the landlords who have rented space to dispensaries violates the state’s 15-year-old law which allows safe access to these medications.

-The state has seen far too many aggressive raids and threats of criminal prosecution from federal enforcement officers against state and local officials.

-Local governments should be able to create, enact and enforce their own laws to govern this industry. These laws should be made in the best interest of the community.

-This medicinal treatment continues to be recommended by doctors and physicians throughout the state as a legitimate and effective treatment.

-Brutal federal enforcement the locally governed industry is forcing patients to seek the medicine from the unsafe, unregulated illicit market.

-The drug should be reclassified as a Schedule II or a Schedule III and should be considered an effective treatment for various illnesses and diseases.
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November 2, 2011

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

By Cannabis Law Group

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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