Los Angeles Marijuana Dispensaries

January 3, 2011

California efforts among Top 10 success stories for Marijuana in 2010

With each passing year, more states embrace marijuana as a legitimate medical treatment. Acceptance grows. Tolerance grows. Case law grows. And the ability of legitimate marijuana businesses to defend themselves against the overzealous encroachments of politicians and law enforcement grows stronger.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana defense lawyers read with interest the Top 10 Marijuana Victories of 2010, as compiled by the Marijuana Policy Project and published by the Huffington Post. (The sarcasm is mostly ours).

While statewide ballot initiatives failed in Oregon and South Dakota — and California’s legalization effort went down in defeat in Proposition 19 — it was largely a year of victories.

-New Jersey legalized medical marijuana — the 14th state to do so. The incoming Republican governor, however, has thus far thwarted the will of those who elected him and medical marijuana has yet to become available to patients.

-Washington D.C. legalizes medical marijuana. The measure initially passed with 69 percent of the vote in November 1998 — more than a decade ago. Congress, having apparently little else to do, blocked the law from taking effect for 11 years. After lifting the ban, five dispensaries should be open this year without shouting distance of Capitol Hill.

-Arizona legalizes medical marijuana. As long as you are not an illegal immigrant, of course. About 125 dispensaries should open in the state this year.

-Despite failure, California’s Proposition 19 demonstrated record support for marijuana — at more than 46 percent. The NAACP and numerous law enforcement officials also supported the measure.

-Marijuana friendly governors were elected in Hawaii, Connecticut and Vermont.

-Three states expanded medical marijuana laws — Colorado, Maine and New Mexico.

-Local initiatives passed in four states.

-Veteran Affairs recognized medical marijuana patient fights. For the first time, veterans are permitted to use medical marijuana under state law.

-Court decisions in California ruled in favor of dispensaries. Including a decision in Anaheim and another in Los Angeles, which prevented L.A. officials from enforcing a dispensary ban that went into effect this summer.

-California improves decriminalization law. Possession of up to an ounce of marijuana no longer requires a court appearance and is punishable by a $100 fine.
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December 28, 2010

Los Angeles marijuana dispensaries re-open after judge’s ruling

By Cannabis Law Group

The New York Times and the Washington Post are among the media outlets to note than Los Angeles marijuana dispensaries are cropping up again in the wake of a judge’s ruling that scratched key pieces of the city’s ordinance.

No free gift was this. Our Los Angeles marijuana dispensary attorneys are working with more than a dozen marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas against the overreaching (and, we believe, illegal) ordinances being pushed by local city and county governments. As we reported last month on our Marijuana Lawyer Blog, attorneys on behalf of the dispensaries were successful in obtaining an injunction, which prohibits the city from taking enforcement action.

The city began attempting to enforce its ordinance this summer — which had been meant to reduce the number of dispensaries from 500 to about 100. Fewer than 50 were able to comply with the new rules and it quickly became evident that the city’s administration of its own ordinance resembled a train wreck full of bureaucrats in clown suits.

The city’s politicians have vowed to continue the fight, apparently finding no more pressing issues facing the city than limiting patient access to marijuana.

NBCLA reports at least 60 collectives have planned to re-open in the wake of the judge’s ruling.

The judge found the city’s ordinance was unconstitutional on several grounds and that the ordinance hadn’t been properly instituted. He found the due process rights of dispensaries were violated and that patient’s privacy rights were invaded.
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December 26, 2010

Los Angeles wants to tax medical marijuana dispensaries, despite claiming they are illegal

By Cannabis Law Group

M is for Marijuana.

No Sue Grafton is not working her way back through the alphabet — her novel was “M is for Malice.”

Though our medical marijuana defense lawyers could use that same title in describing the Los Angeles City Council. Having sought to reduce the number of medical marijuana dispensaries by more than 80 percent — from about 500 to about 75 — they figure on taxing to death anything left standing.

We are absolutely not surprised by this logic, if only because we have been dealing with the city’s rationale for several years as our Los Angeles dispensary defense attorneys have filed lawsuits on behalf of more than a dozen medical marijuana businesses in Los Angeles and the surrounding area.

It would be sort of like creating a new convenience store tax and then closing all neighborhood stores. People could then be invited to drive to one industrial area of the city for their milk and bread — at their “convenience,” of course.

The Los Angeles Times reports March’s ballot Proposition (M for Marijuana) will ask two-thirds of voters to approve what is essentially a 5 percent tax on marijuana sales — or $50 per $1,000. Mind you, the city believes these dispensaries are illegal.

The ballot even includes the words “recognizing that the sale of marijuana is illegal.” The city attorneys says “”Accordingly, based on the illegality of the sale of marijuana and on the exemption from business taxes or fees for organizations that operate on a not for profit basis, the proposed measure would be of little or no effect.”

Then again, the amateur politicians on council have not done too much listening to their attorney as they have sought the spotlight on the medical marijuana issue at the expense of solving some of the real issues facing the city.

In light of the fact that it is seeking tax revenue from businesses it alleges are illegal, how about a tax on chop shops?

We can think of other things “M” stands for but then someone has to remain professional amid the city’s mess.
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December 25, 2010

Oakland delays marijuana grow operation – listens to legal advice, unlike Los Angeles counterparts

By Cannabis Law Group

Oakland has temporarily halted a plan to permit and tax four large marijuana growing operations because of ongoing legal concerns, the Los Angeles Times reported.

As our Los Angeles medical marijuana defense attorneys reported on our Marijuana Lawyer Blog, Oakland’s city council overwhelmingly approved the plan this summer, even as Los Angeles city council members were spending millions on their failing attempt to both drive dispensaries out of business and tax the businesses they have identified as illegal.

At least Oakland is listening to its attorneys, which is more than you can say for Los Angeles. Oakland voted 7-1 to send the measure back to its legal staff this week for reworking. The move comes in response from a letter from the Alameda County district attorney that said the move could violate the law and city officials could be held legally liable.

It probably doesn’t. And city council almost assuredly won’t be held personally liable. If that was the case, Los Angeles politicians could spend the rest of their lives in court. But the issue does nothing if not bring politicians and elected officials out of the woodwork. The Alameda D.A. has apparently eradicated crime and solve other problems in his jurisdiction.

Also at issue is whether such large-scale operations could run afoul of federal law, which still makes growing, selling or possession marijuana illegal. The Obama Administration has directed federal authorities to spend their time on more important matters in states where medical marijuana has become legalized, but a large-scale grow operation backed by a city could present some unique legal issues.

And the failure of Proposition 19 — the state’s marijuana legalization effort — further muddied the waters.

Under Oakland’s plan, operators would pay an annual fee of $211,000 to help fund a city enforcement staff. Oakland has $28 million a year in marijuana sales. One applicant proposed a 10,000-square-foot facility and two football fields of grow space. The facility would have been capable of producing 58 pounds of marijuana per day.
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December 16, 2010

Violence at Los Angeles dispensaries requires proper response from law enforcement

By Cannabis Law Group

Our Los Angeles marijuana dispensary lawyers are concerned anytime we hear of violence at a local dispensary or collective. The Los Angeles Times reports that three men shot two others during a robbery at a Northridge marijuana dispensary on Wednesday.

There is no question these businesses are frequent targets for robbery. Not only are they cash businesses — like convenience stores — but they sell marijuana many street dealers would like to have for their own use and profit. Legitimizing medical marijuana and taking the profits out of the hands of dealers is precisely the point. Yet we are always concerned when law enforcement insinuates these legal businesses are somehow to blame for being victimized by crime.

As we reported last fall on our Marijuana Lawyer Blog, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office blamed the dispensaries after a series of crimes that included a triple murder at a dispensary in West Hollywood. So great is the disconnect that it hardly caused a blip on the radar of the news media.

Can you imagine if he had come out blaming convenience store owners for holdups? If gangs and criminal get the idea that robbing dispensaries and/or assaulting staff will be treated with a shrug by law enforcement, it could be open season on Southern California’s legally operating medical marijuana businesses.

Shortly before 9:30 pm. Wednesday the three men entered the shop in the 8200 block of White Oak Avenue. The suspects reportedly shot multiple rounds inside the establishment, wounding two men before fleeing in a gold SUV, according to the Los Angeles police department.

One victim was in critical condition at Northridge Hospital Medical Center with gunshot wounds to the head, arms and legs. The other was in stable condition with injuries to the back and legs.
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December 7, 2010

California medical marijuana dispensary’s criminal case shows need for aggressive defense when facing charges of possession or sales

By Cannabis Law Group

Double jeopardy laws have long been one of the bedrock rights of a defendant — an assurance that he or she would not have to defend against the same criminal charges more than once. A guarantee that prosecutors could not simply try a defendant over and over again until they got the verdict they desired.

When it comes to medical marijuana dispensary defense in California, it seems nothing is guaranteed anymore. Nothing is sacred. The only rules are the ones the state or local governments make up on the fly, to best suit their needs at the time. Our Los Angeles medical marijuana defense lawyers urge you to stand up and fight. The only defense is an aggressive offense. If these absurd laws and rulings are not rejected at the trial court level, than we believe they will be struck down on appeal.

Motion for a new trial has been filed in San Diego after a dispensary operator was tried for a second time in less than a year on the same charges of marijuana possession and sales. This time he was convicted. We trust that means prosecutors will not seek a third trial.

Americans for Safe Access reports that, after the district attorney was unable to secure a conviction the first time, she was able to block his use of a medical marijuana defense at the second trial, thereby virtually guaranteeing his conviction. Americans for Safe Access argues in the motion for a new trial that double jeopardy and denial of the medical marijuana defense were unfairly used in securing the conviction.

“Embarrassed by her earlier loss and desperate for a conviction, District Attorney (Bonnie) Dumanis manipulated the criminal justice system to unfairly try (Jovan) Jackson a second time,” said Joe Elford, ASA Chief Counsel. “To make matters worse, the court deprived Jackson of the defense that was used to gain an acquittal in his first trial, and a defense to which he’s entitled.”

Jackson had operated a medical marijuana dispensary in San Diego for years. He was raided in September 2009 and arrested along with more than 60 others as part of a raid coordinated by the district attorney and the Drug Enforcement Agency. He was one of only two defendants the D.A. chose to prosecute in state court. The other defendant was also acquitted at trial.

The basis for the arrest is a radical interpretation of the law held by a few powerful detractors, including Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley. Their theory holds that marijuana sales are still illegal and that patients must be involved in growing their own medicinal marijuana. They cling to this argument despite a California Attorney General’s ruling in 2008 that rejected the argument.

“Jackson should not have been denied a defense and should not be used as a scapegoat for the District Attorney’s misguided position that medical marijuana sales are illegal,” said Eugene Davidovich, who also heads the San Diego chapter of ASA.
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December 4, 2010

Medical marijuana dispensaries await judge’s ruling on Los Angeles city ordinance

By Cannabis Law Group

A month after our Los Angeles medical marijuana dispensary lawyers argued the legality of the city’s ordinance before a judge, we await the ruling along with hundreds of legitimate medical marijuana businesses and thousands of patients.

We reported on our Marijuana Lawyer Blog that the judge had been scheduled to issue a ruling on Nov. 29. He is legally obligated to do so within 60 days of the Nov. 5 hearing.

One way or another, our CANNABIS LAW GROUP attorneys and the collectives we represent, will begin the New Year with a better understanding of the legal fight ahead. We strongly believe state law protects these legally operating businesses and that the city ordinance violates their rights.

The city ordinance would shut down the vast majority of the 500 medical marijuana dispensaries operating within the City of Los Angeles. Should the judge strike down the ordinance, the city has indicated it will start from scratch in an attempt to get a new ordinance approved.

The city recently amended a portion of the ordinance that required the same management be in place as when the dispensaries applied for a city permit. It also provided another 6 months for compliance. The initial deadline at the start of December could not be met because the city’s administrative process is in shambles.
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November 29, 2010

Los Angeles Council hates medical marijuana dispensaries, just not too much to tax

By Cannabis Law Group

It’s official: The Los Angeles city council is looking to ban its pot and tax it, too.

As our Los Angeles medical marijuana defense lawyers continue to fight the misguided and, we believe, illegal ban on marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles, we note that the city is also moving to tax the remaining businesses.

Having passed an ordinance so inept that it has been back to court and its own council chambers on numerous occasions — either looking for validation or making legal changes — it is now looking for tax revenue from what remains.

The Mercury News reports council’s own attorneys warned them the tax would be illegal because the dispensaries are nonprofit and selling marijuana is a criminal activity. But the amateur politicians ignored their own legal advice. Millions will be spent litigating an issue that the state decided was legal nearly two decades ago.

With all of the issues facing the city, council has apparently decided there is nothing more important than drawing the television cameras to chambers for some political grandstanding over who is smoking a joint in the privacy of their own home, under the advice of a licensed doctor.

The issue calls for a $50 tax on every $1,000 in sales at each dispensary. One councilwoman estimates it could raise $5 million. Council is facing a $319 million shortfall.
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November 26, 2010

Council tweaks change-in-management provision of medical marijuana dispensary ordinance

By Cannabis Law Group

Medical marijuana dispensaries will be given six more months to comply with the Los Angeles city ordinance, which is desirable since council keeps changing it.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana dispensary attorneys have filed numerous lawsuits against local governments throughout Southern California. We strongly believe that the best defense is an aggressive offense. Those dispensary that survive are likely to be the ones who fight for their rights instead of rolling under the misguided policies of amateur politicians.

The L.A. Times reports dispensaries will be given six more months to comply with the ordinance.

A December 4 deadline had loomed for compliance with the ordinance’s provisions, which include limitations on locations near school and parks and a controversial management provision, which required dispensaries be under the same management as when they applied for their initial permits.

Council scrapped that ordinance, which by some estimates could add several hundred eligible dispensaries to the roughly 50 that may have remained eligible. More than 500 dispensaries were operating in the city when the ordinance passed this summer.

In place of the management provision, council inserted a provision requiring at least one of the original owners still be involved with the business.

As written, advocates said it would have disqualified some of the city’s most reputable dispensaries.
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November 25, 2010

Politicians move to ban medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles, Orange counties

By Cannabis Law Group

The unincorporated areas of Los Angeles and Orange counties have both moved to ban medical marijuana dispensaries from operating. the L.A. Times reported.

Our Orange County medical marijuana defense lawyers continue to monitor the status of local bans throughout Southern California and are representing more than a dozen dispensaries against the overreaching arm of local government.

The latest bans affect 1.5 million people in Los Angeles County and 120,000 in Orange County. Bot counties voted 4-1 to approve the ban. Orange County Supervisor Shawn Nelson voted against the ban, saying it would exacerbate the black-market drug problem.

Not only do the ordinances prevent medical marijuana patients from seeking treatment, they prevent businesses from legally operating under state law. Dispensaries could face a fine of up to $1,000 a day.

Meanwhile, county officials could not even provide a count of the number of operating dispensaries.

Previously, Orange County had never regulated medical marijuana. Los Angeles County had previously allowed the dispensaries with strict regulations regarding location. At least officially. However, it had not approved a single dispensary.

The bans will go up for final approval this fall and are expected to go into effect at the end of the year.
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