Los Angeles Marijuana Dispensaries

May 29, 2012

IRS Can’t Stop Los Angeles Dispensaries

Los Angeles marijuana lawyers know there are many tactics that local and federal government agencies have employed to thwart the thriving existence of legal marijuana.

Los Angeles marijuana dispensaries and the attorneys who represent them, however, have persisted in the name of patients rights and the integrity of our voting populace in California – which was the first to legalize medical marijuana back in 1996.

Why we are still having to wage these battles no doubt has to do more with politics than the actual perceived dangers of marijuana. We must hope that in the end, truth and the will of the people will win out.

In the meantime, Forbes recently wrote an article addressing the issue of how the federal Internal Revenue Service is trying to squeeze lawful marijuana dispensaries in California out of business.

It’s estimated there are about 2,300 legal marijuana dispensaries operating throughout the country right now. The federal crackdown on the facilities comes down to an issue of state versus federal law. Marijuana for medicinal purposes is legal under state law, but not under federal law.

Federal lawyers have been using nearly every trick in the book – real estate law (forcing landlords to revoke their leases or face criminal charges), banking law (threatening to prosecute banks who extend loans or manage accounts for legal cannabis businesses) and local laws (with some cities banning dispensaries altogether, some under pressure from federal authorities).

So it’s really not shocking that they would also employ tax law.

What’s interesting is that the IRS is now employing a little-known, obscure provision in the tax code to target legal dispensaries. It’s Section 280E. This forbids deductions for any business that is known to be trafficking a controlled substance. The idea was to block drug dealers from claiming taxpayer money through deductions.

However, what is more often being used for today is to deny legitimate marijuana dispensaries from claiming tax deductions. Even in states like California where medical cannabis is legal, legitimate businesses are being denied their deductions.

There is one case, though, that has allowed that legal marijuana dispensaries can deduct expenses associated with all of their operations except the sale or dispensing of marijuana. That precedent was set in Californians Helping to Alleviate Medical Problems Inc. v. Commissioner.

In that decision, the court ruled that marijuana sales couldn’t be counted toward deductions BUT dispensaries are also involved in the separate business of providing care. Expenses related to that aspect of the business have been deemed legal. In that specific case, just about 10 percent of the dispensary’s premises was used to sell marijuana, so most of the rent was considered deductible.

What that means for the rest of dispensaries is that if the work you do goes beyond the actual sale – that is, counseling patients, advocacy and education – you may be eligible for more tax deductions. That also means that keeping accurate and thorough records is very important.

And of course you need to consult with an experienced Los Angeles marijuana lawyer, who can help you navigate the ins and outs of the tax code as it pertains to your operation.
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May 25, 2012

Los Angeles Marijuana Lawyers: A Judge’s Pot Plea

By Cannabis Law Group

While our Los Angeles marijuana lawyers have been embroiled in the fight to stave off the federal assault on medical marijuana in Los Angeles, sometimes what is overlooked are the patients.

As we have wrestled the issue in numerous courts and have been following the many battles being fought on numerous fronts, over on the East Coast, a judge who served for nearly two decades in New York wrote a poignant editorial in The New York Times regarding his journey to advocacy of medical marijuana.

It’s a testament to why we do this work in the first place, and why this issue is one that is truly worth the fight.

Gustin Reichbach, a 65-year-old justice of the State Supreme Court in Brooklyn, wrote that it was shortly after his birthday, about three years ago, that his doctor found a mass on his pancreas.

After a terrifying battery of tests, he was told that he had Stage 3 pancreatic cancer. Worse, he would likely be dead within the next six months, he was told.

Miraculously, that has turned out not to be the case. Justice Reichbach is now in the rare company og those who have survived with this deadly disease. He admits that in all his time on the bench, he never believed he would end up advocating for the legalization of medical marijuana.

In order to survive, he reports undergoing torturous months of chemotherapy, radiation that he described as “hell” and surgery he called “brutal.”

For a time, it seemed the cancer may be gone. However, it has since returned. Now, he’s starting an even more aggressive form of treatment. Twice a month, after enduring three hours of chemotherapy, he has to wear a pump that gradually pumps even more drugs into his system over the course of two days.

During these sessions, he says, he is overcome with pain and nausea. He struggles through these treatments to be able to eat. In his case, losing weight could be deadly. What was once something from which he derived great pleasure, he says, is now a battlefield. Each time he is able to shovel a forkful into his mouth, he considers it at least one small victory.

He takes fistfuls of medication daily. For every one that is prescribed for one problem, he says there are two more to counter the side effects. His pain medication causes constipation and loss of appetite. Medication that he takes to fight off nausea raises his glucose levels – a problem that could prove fatal in his weakened condition. He also has been battling insomnia.

He says the only thing that has provided him relief – that keeps his nausea at bay, stimulates his appetite and allows him to sleep – is marijuana that is inhaled. He tried using the pill form, known as Marinol, but says it did nothing for him.

Because medical marijuana is not yet legal in New York state, the justice says his friends have risked their personal freedom in order to find and give him this substance.

As he puts it: “This is not a law-and-order issue; it is a medical and human rights issue.”

The federal government could do a great deal of good by dropping their senseless campaign to shut down Los Angeles dispensaries and embracing this philosophy.
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March 31, 2012

Montana Parents Seek Medical Marijuana in California to Save Child

By Cannabis Law Group

Residents throughout the state of California turn to medical marijuana in Los Angeles and elsewhere to treat a number of debilitating conditions. While the medicinal plant continues to be targeted by feds, it may be the best cure for a 3-year-old Montana boy who was diagnosed with recurring brain tumors before he even turned 2, according to ABC NEWS.

The young child’s parents are sure that medical cannabis is the best route of treatment for their little boy that they defied orders from the doctor and dismissed Montana’s law to help save his life.

“I’ve had law enforcement threatening to kick my door down, but I would have done anything to keep Cashy alive,” said the young boy’s father.

Our Orange County medical marijuana lawyers understand how useful medical marijuana can be to residents suffering from a number of serious diseases and illnesses. Although medical marijuana is legal in the state of California, there are federal law enforcement officials and various authority figures in the state that fail to recognize the benefits.

According to the little boy’s father, police have threatened to arrest the family after the news broke about medical marijuana use. The family believes that news of the benefits of the cannabis oil has helped to keep them out of handcuffs. Not everyone agrees. Local Police Sgt. Travis Welsh says there should be no exceptions.

At one point, the parents decided it was in their child’s best interest to be weaned off of all of the drugs that had been prescribed to him, including morphine, ketamine and methadone. After 30 rounds of radiation with the cannabis oil, there wasn’t a single sign of nausea or need for any additional pain medicine. Cannabis oil did the trick!

Doctors never knew the boy’s parents were providing him with cannabis oil. There’s really no arguing its effectiveness considering that the boy was only handed a 30 percent survival rate of five years, according to doctors. At best, they thought the radiation would help to stop the tumor from spreading. After listening to doctors, the young boy was diagnosed with a second tumor just months later. Since the use of cannabis oil, there has been no spreading or new diagnosis. His parents firmly believe that the cancer stopped progressing because of their twice a day treatments of medical marijuana oil.

The family was so confident in the benefits of medical marijuana that they traveled throughout Montana and California to get access to it for their child. In the state of Montana, no one under the age of 18 can be prescribed medical marijuana, but a parent or legal guardian can agree to act as the minor-patient’s primary caregiver and control use of the drug. The family was never recommended the use of medical marijuana. According to The Medical Board of California, if a physician recommends or approves the use of medical marijuana for a minor, the parents or legal guardians must be fully informed of the risks and benefits of such use and must consent to that use.
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March 29, 2012

Medical Marijuana Industry in California Tracking Crackdown Trends for Other States

By Cannabis Law Group

Medical marijuana dispensaries in Southern California weren’t the only ones hit hard by the recent federal crackdown on the industry.

Although California felt it the worst, other states are going through similar crackdowns. In Colorado, there were more than 20 medical marijuana dispensaries that were hit hard by feds and were forced to close. Other dispensaries are awaiting their doom and are preparing for their shutdown. The Denver Woostward Blogs is expecting these events, too. The publication even went as far as creating a “Doomsday Map” to help to predict which dispensaries will be targeted next. The map mainly relies on the location of these dispensaries to predict which will be closed next, which has determined the fate of thousands of dispensaries already across the nation.

Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett has taken these shutdown efforts to heart. He sent a letter earlier this month to U.S. Attorney John Walsh in an attempt to persuade the U.S. Attorneys that the regulations on medical marijuana in the state of Colorado are effective and sufficient and additional enforcement from the feds is not necessary. He added that medical marijuana should not be considered a priority of federal law enforcement officers. He suggested that officials keep their focus on “terrorism, serious economic crime, organized crime and serious drug dealing” instead of on the local medical marijuana industry.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana defense attorneys understand that there is no legitimate basis in any judicial district to focus U.S. resources on medical marijuana dispensaries. This is especially true when these dispensaries and patients are in fact in compliance with local and state regulations. Garnett specifies in his letter to Walsh that the residents of Boulder County don’t need feds stepping in and regulating the locations of dispensaries in addition to other various local land use laws.

So far in the crackdown efforts, Walsh and feds have focused on dispensaries that were located near schools. In the state of California, feds have gone much farther than that and have attacked dispensaries that are near sports fields, parks and other places where children can be found. If Colorado can learn anything from recent crackdown efforts in California, it’s that no dispensary is safe.

If we’re comparing California trends to Colorado, then we can only expect that dispensaries that deal with less than 400 patients will be targeted. Typically, dispensaries in the state of California that dealt with 400 to 600 patients were able to sustain themselves.

In the state of Colorado, there are roughly 80,000 patients. If you do the math, then you can figure that’s not enough patients to support all of the current dispensaries.

Our attorneys understand that states throughout the country that have legalized marijuana are facing some of the same crackdowns as the ones here in the state of California. While law enforcement efforts against us have been much worse, we need to all join forces and fight for what rights we have under our individual state laws.
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March 26, 2012

L.A. Medical Marijuana Defense: A win in People v. Chan

By Cannabis Law Group

All too frequently in this line of work, our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys meet with clients who have been treated unjustly by overzealous police or prosecutors.

Increasingly in these Los Angeles medical marijuana defense cases, it has to do with the federal government, imposing laws contrary to those voted upon by the people of California. However, local law enforcement sometimes see employees of marijuana dispensaries and collectives as easy targets. Individuals and businesses who are clearly in compliance with state laws should not be subject to harassment and arrest.

Unfortunately, though, that is what happened to our client in People v. Chan. Our client was an operator of a marijuana collective. While in the course of carrying out the legal duties of his business, he was stopped by police.

At the time he was pulled over, he was transporting medical marijuana for his collective. Police slapped him with two felony charges – sale and transportation of marijuana in violation of Health & Safety Code11359.

In the first law, California Health & Safety Code 11360(a), it is stipulated that “except as otherwise provided by this section or as authorized by law,” anyone who participates in transporting, importing, selling, furnishing, administering or giving away of marijuana – or anyone who even offers to do so – will be subject to a prison sentence of between two and four years. At issue here is the first part of it – “as authorized by law.” Under California law, our client was in fact allowed to be transporting marijuana in the course of his business at a legal marijuana collective.

The second law, California Health & Safety Code 11359, indicates that possessing marijuana for the purpose of selling it is a felony. Again, at issue here was the fact that our client had the right to possess marijuana with the intent to sell it – as the operator of a legal marijuana collective.

At issue in our case was showing proof that our client was acting within the boundaries of California’s medical marijuana laws, which allow marijuana collective operators to conduct their business legally.

The CANNABIS LAW GROUP takes on these cases because we believe strongly in the rights of our clients to operate freely – without the threat of prosecution – when they are acting within the scope of the state’s medical marijuana laws and the intended purpose therein – which is to be allowed to provide marijuana for its medicinal properties to ill patients for relief of pain and other ailments.

In preparation for this case, our lawyer was on the front lines of negotiations with the District Attorney. While plea deals were laid out on the table, our lawyer flatly informed the prosecution that nothing but a dismissal would be acceptable. That demand was initially refused, but our lawyers pressed forward, confident in the strength of the case.

An effective attorney needs more than just a firm grasp of the law. He or she needs to know how to implement an effective strategy, given the unique circumstances of each case, that will ultimately render the best possible outcome for the client.

Medical marijuana has become a hot-button topic and a way for prosecutors and politicians to flex their political muscle. At the end of the day, however, what’s right is right and judges and juries must follow the letter of the law.

In this case, what needed to be proven was that our client had been operating in compliance with California’s medical marijuana laws.

As a preliminary hearing drew nearer, Medical Marijuana Defense Attorneys prepared witnesses to testify on our client’s behalf. Witness after witness – including seriously ill medical marijuana patients – took the stand and spoke in defense of our client.

Prosecutors, upon seeing the fortitude of our case, had no choice but to agree to a dismissal.
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March 25, 2012

Employees of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in Los Angeles Join List of Unionized Workers

By Cannabis Law Group

Medical marijuana may or may not be legal in the city of Los Angeles in the coming years, but in an effort to ward off a potential citywide ban on medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles and to protect their rights, workers are coming together to form a labor union.

The formation of this union shows the true economic power and clout of the industry, despite sanctions and attacks at a local, state and federal level.

According to the Los Angeles Times, employees of medical marijuana dispensaries have now joined forced with pharmacists, healthcare workers and grocery workers at the United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 770. During a recent news conference, the head of the union vowed to leverage the “full force” of its near 40,000 members to help keep dispensaries in the city open for business.

Our Orange County medical marijuana lawyers understand that the city of Los Angeles is currently contemplating a ban that would prohibit businesses to sell medical marijuana. Under the current proposals, patients and caregivers would still be permitted to grow it. Back in January, City Attorney Carmen Trutanich asked city council to eliminate Los Angeles’ current ordinance, which allowed dispensaries to operate through a lottery system. Trutanich says that a court’s decision puts restrictions on what cities can do to regulate dispensaries.

“Unionization and collective bargaining bring better training, less turnover, and more stability to the health care industry. This is a positive step towards successfully integrating compassionate care into our system of health care,” said Rick Icaza, president of Local 770.

Right now, the state’s Supreme Court is planning on reviewing the rulings through a lower court and looking into how much local government can do to oversee and regulate such operations. This ruling could potentially take a year or more.

As we recently reported, Council member Jose Huizar is one of the top fighters for this kind of ban. In his district is Eagle Rock, a community where there have been many complaints filed by the areas’ activists regarding a lot of dispensaries operating in the area.

The president of Local 770 says that the union is planning on challenging city officials to find an ordinance that would not completely prohibit dispensaries. The president adds that a union within this industry is the next step to take in stabilizing and professionalizing this specific industry of healthcare.

A complete ban on these dispensaries would affect more than patients. Valuable jobs would be also be taken from the community.

The state’s director of Americans for Safe Access, Don Duncan, says that he hopes that the creation of this union will help an industry that is commonly misunderstood.

Unions bring medical marijuana into the field as a legitimate industry. Various branches of the United Food and Commercial Workers already have unionized workers in other parts of California and in Colorado.
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March 20, 2012

Medical Marijuana in Los Angeles Facing Scrutiny from City Council Member

By Cannabis Law Group

Marijuana should be legal, says a recent Gallup poll.

As a matter of fact, about half of U.S. residents say they want marijuana to be legalized. Still, not everyone is in on the smoke sesh, according to the Arizona Wildcat.

Right now, there are hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles. These dispensaries outnumber the number of Starbucks in many of our neighborhoods. That makes sense when you consider the 400,000 residents who use medical marijuana on a daily basis to treat a number of diseases and illnesses. José Huizar, Los Angeles City Council member, recently labeled the treatment and the uses of medical marijuana as “de facto legalization.” Now, council is considering once again a full prohibition on this much-needed treatment.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys understand that the call for prohibition from Council member José Huizar comes conveniently after the recent federal crackdown. Dispensaries continue to be raided by both local and federal law enforcement officials. They’re being raided for following state law, which makes medical marijuana legal in California. Right now, crackdowns from the feds are unfounded and are causing panic among this industry nationwide. It needs to end and lawmakers and officials need to remember that medical marijuana is legal under California law.

Right now, Virginia is working to legalize the industry as it’s been placed on the upcoming November ballot. Both Washington D.C. and Colorado have already jumped on board by legalizing medical marijuana, but they too are facing some of the unfair persecution of dispensaries in their states. These states are among those pushing the feds to legalize marijuana.

There are more than 15 million Americans who used marijuana just a month before the National Survey on Drug Use and Health of 2009. This illustrates the demand for this product and the lasting effects that it’s able to produce for those suffering from debilitating health conditions.

Some wonder why this drug is still legal. The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 says that this drug has no medical value and is more dangerous than cocaine. That’s all a little ironic considering that alcohol and nicotine are allowed under law and both substances take the lives of hundreds of thousands of people every year. Right now, the record suggests marijuana is at least as safe, if not safer.

Remember when the Nixon administration was in office, it concluded that medical marijuana was a minimal-risk drug. Back in 1972, there were a number of studies that concluded that users were able to ingest nearly 50 pounds of the product and would be alright. Still, feds strike fear into Americans creating a cloud of negativity around this beneficial treatment.

According to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, users who smoked marijuana for 20 years straight suffered from no lung damage or cancers associated with the drug. As a matter of fact, small exposures to this drug were also found beneficial in strengthening one’s lungs.

With all of this data, it’s clear that medical marijuana is of great use to those suffering from a number of diseases and illnesses in the country. Still, feds refuse to recognize it as a useful treatment.
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March 8, 2012

Medical Marijuana Case Struck Down Without Hearing

By Cannabis Law Group

A federal judge in Sacramento recently dismissed a California medical marijuana lawsuit against the recent clampdown on medical marijuana dispensaries by federal officials.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys are disappointed, though not surprised. We anticipate this is a fight that may continue for some time before the civil rights of patients are fully recognized.

The Sacramento decision follows a recent state appellate court’s ruling to disallow local governments to use nuisance laws to shut down medical marijuana dispensaries.

March 7, 2012

Bans on Medical Marijuana in Los Angeles in the Future?

By Cannabis Law Group

Supreme courts should stop allowing all dispensaries to operate, says Long Beach City Attorney Bob Shannon. He says that they should stop operating until an appeal to the Supreme Court is decided. He’s talking about the appeal to provide more guidelines to cities regarding the governing of medical marijuana in Long Beach and elsewhere.

There’s a similar proposal in front of the Los Angeles City Council, too. Authorities are falsely claiming once again that these dispensaries are bringing crime into our communities and want them shut down until there are more regulations, according to Los Angeles Daily News.

For some reason there was confusion with the state appeals court ruling that said cities were able to ban their own medical marijuana outlets. State appeals say all areas should be governed with permits. Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys previously told you about the permit processes that cities like Long Beach and Los Angeles already use to regulate the current industry.

Apparently, these regulations are too tough for Shannon to handle, as he’s asking everyone to be shut down in the meantime.

Long Beach City Council won that one though, allowing nearly 20 dispensaries (operating under permits) to continue operations for another six months. Still, with that small victory the Council also voted to place a ban on dispensaries that don’t have a permit. It all just seems like the City Council is wasting time until the state’s Supreme Court makes a decision. That decision may not come for another year. Then it would be determined if permitting these companies would be legal or not.

Officials estimate that it could be another year or so until the 35 or so dispensaries operating without a permit in Long Beach are shut down. And the LAPD has already worked to cut off operations at most all of the operations in San Fernando Valley that didn’t have a permit. Officers say that one dispensary was even recording thousands and thousands of dollars in profits, which is illegal under state law. State law says that dispensaries must operate as nonprofit organizations.

As we’ve been saying for years, regulation is good. It helps to form a bond within this industry. It helps us to fight for the rights that have been granted to us by the state of California. But a total ban is completely uncalled for and unjust.

What officials fail to realize is that patients won’t be prevented from getting their hands on the drug if these shops are shut down. They’ll be forced to be purchase it on the street, from real criminals, endangering our entire city, state, economy and safety.
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March 5, 2012

Medical Marijuana in Mendocino County Overruled by Feds

By Cannabis Law Group

Medical marijuana in California and 15 other states and the District of Columbia has been legalized. In more than half of these areas, government officials have been launching new medical laws that could lands these people involved in the industry with criminal charges and stiff fines.

Back in 1996, California was the first state in the country to make marijuana legal for various medical uses. It has recently come under some serious scrutiny from federal officials. Our laws remain the most liberal, to some, in the country, allowing doctors to hand out medical marijuana recommendations for a variety of conditions. One that same hand, officials have been granted broad discretion and little ways to implement it. Mendocino County thought they had found an effective way, until the feds stepped in.

Our Southern California medical marijuana attorneys understand the fight against unreasonable medical marijuana regulations is far from over. The state law conflicts with federal law. The federal government rules that marijuana is still an illegal substance with absolutely no health benefits. Still, state law allows dispensaries.

After years, residents in Mendocino County thought that they had come to peace with absurd medical marijuana regulations and enforcements. Two years ago, the sheriff made an agreement to stop raiding those who produce medical marijuana as long as they paid to have their collections inspected.

This payment was a $1,500 fee and was used to keep growers in compliance with rules regarding distance from neighbors, odor control, water usage and the limitations stating that growers could only grow 99 plants on five acres of land, according to the Huff Post.

This program, requiring growers to pay the fee, earned the sheriff’s department more than $663,000. Other jurisdictions quickly inquired about creating their own similar program after seeing its success.

The program’s under scrutiny now. After crackdown efforts from the state’s federal prosecutors, the board of supervisors put an end to Mendocino County’s experiment. The program was halted after the U.S. attorney for Northern California threatened take the county to court for helping residents to produce a drug that was illegal under federal law, but still legal under state law.

“We thought we had something that was working and was making our life easier so we could turn our attention to other pressing matters,” Supervisor John McCowen said.

McCowen thought that the city really was on to something. That is, until the feds stepped in.

Melinda Haag, Northern California’s U.S. attorney, said that the County’s licensing system doesn’t meet federal standards. She says her and the other federal officials are just trying to push the federal laws banning this substance.

In recent crackdowns in Southern California, nearly 100 dispensaries have been shut down. Many of these dispensaries received threats from feds saying that they better close up shop or they could face criminal charges and fines.
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