Los Angeles Marijuana Dispensaries

November 23, 2010

L.A. medical marijuana attorneys watching dispensary ordinances in Los Angeles and Orange counties

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is set to consider a ban on marijuana dispensaries at a hearing today, the L.A. Times reports.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana defense attorneys are representing more than a dozen marijuana dispensaries in the Los Angeles area. We believe there is strength in numbers and that fighting these local ordinances will be required for many of these businesses to survive.

In the wake of the City of Los Angeles’ marijuana dispensary ordinance — which has been so disastrous city officials recently delayed enforcement for another six months while the administration attempts to get its act together — the county now seeks to ban medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated Los Angeles. The ordnance would impact a population of about 1.5 million.

The county’s four-year-old policy had permitted dispensaries. However, the county has never approved one. That ordinance also forbid them from being located within 1,000 feet of churches, daycare centers, libraries, playgrounds or schools.

Despite never having approved a dispensary, county officials have now apparently decided that time and tax dollars need to be taken up with the kind of political grandstanding the issue always brings to the table. Apparently, our elected politicians believe no other issues of substance would be better served with their talents and attention.

Our Orange County marijuana dispensary lawyers are also monitoring a similar ordinance being debated there.
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November 15, 2010

Los Angeles medical marijuana ordinance in shambles, city ponders delays, modifications and do-overs

By Cannabis Law Group

Under intense legal pressure by our Los Angeles medical marijuana dispensary lawyers and others, the City of Los Angeles is moving for a six-month delay on closing shops and could ease the ownership restrictions that would have forced the closure of most clinics, the L.A. Times reported.

The ownership restrictions have been particularly problematic as they would close all but 41 businesses. Even the city’s intrusive (and we believe illegal) ordinance had sought to leave at least 75 of 500 dispensaries open for business. However, the ordinance forbid a dispensary from qualifying if it had a change of management or ownership in the last three years.

Meanwhile, the CANNABIS LAW GROUP is awaiting a ruling in Superior Court, due next month, on many of the arguments against the city’s ordinance. The extension is an issue because the original ordinance required dispensaries to comply within 180 days of the ordinance becoming law, which would be Dec. 4. But the city’s management of the ordinance is in such a shambles that it has returned to court to ask for a judge’s blessing to close so many legally operating businesses.

In addition to the 180-day extension, council is expected to take up the issue of the management provision this week. That provision disqualified all but 41 of the 169 dispensaries that applied to remain open under the new ordinance.

The city had aimed to permit between 80 and 90 dispensaries to remain open.

In order to apply, a dispensary must have been legally operating before a 2007 moratorium. Numerous other restrictions were also put in place, including a requirement that a dispensary be at least 1,000 feet from a school or park. The city’s inability to determine which dispensaries were even eligible has also led to delays in businesses finding locations that will not be in violation of the new ordinance.
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November 15, 2010

Trio of meetings set for local politicians who seek to tax and ban medical marijuana in Los Angeles

By Cannabis Law Group

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana dispensary lawyers are following two marijuana issues on the agenda of the Los Angeles City Council this week. The council’s actions on the marijuana issue have been so erratic that we urge collectives and others to attend such meetings and otherwise make their voices heard.

As we reported on our Marijuana Lawyer Blog, the city is pondering a delay in enforcement of its ordinance banning most of the city’s marijuana dispensaries, which are operating legally under state law. The delay is necessary to avoid a Dec. 4 deadline after the city’s lawmakers so badly botched creation of the ordinance that is would force the closure of virtually every collective in the city.

Meanwhile, the city figures it might as well tax the business it has all but made illegal. Council will vote on whether to place a 5 percent tax on medical cannabis on the March 2011 ballot. That issue is slated for Tuesday’s meeting, which will begin at 10 a.m. in Room 340 of City Hall.

The amendment delaying enforcement of the ordinance will be heard Wednesday Nov. 17 at 10 a.m. in room 340 of City Hall.

Action is also being taken by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, as it seeks to ban collectives and dispensaries from operating in unincorporated areas of the county. That hearing will be Tuesday Nov. 23 at the Kenneth Hall of Admin, 500 W. Temple St.
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November 6, 2010

Los Angeles declares marijuana dispensaries illegal … just not too illegal to tax

By Cannabis Law Group

Currently in litigation with our Los Angeles medical marijuana defense lawyers after having created an arbitrary ordinance in an attempt to close the vast majority of the city’s marijuana dispensaries, the City of Los Angeles has decided it wants tax what is left.

The L.A. Weekly reports that a city councilwoman has proposed a 5 percent tax — or $50 for every $1,000 brought in by dispensaries for pot.

The CANNABIS LAW GROUP currently represents more than a dozen marijuana collectives in the Los Angeles area against a city ordinance that seeks to force the closure of more than 90 percent of the area’s medical marijuana dispensaries.

Now council has voted 9 to 3 to put the tax idea before voters in March. If passed, it will have to be affirmed in a second vote on Nov. 17.

The city’s own attorney told council it was a bad idea and would essentially seek to tax an activity it has already sanctioned as illegal.
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November 2, 2010

Voting for Proposition 19 today will not put marijuana at your local convenience store tomorrow

By Cannabis Law Group

The Oakland Tribune is reporting that hundreds of doctors have turned to specializing in marijuana, making medical marijuana in Los Angeles and throughout California far easier to get than in the other 13 states where it is legal.

Should voters pass Proposition 19, California’s legalization effort, at the polls today, the newspaper contends that could change. Our Los Angeles marijuana defense lawyers are not so sure. With state and federal challenges a virtual certainty, and with the legal marijuana dispensary industry already under attack, we think prescription marijuana is going to be the safest bet for many users, at least in the immediate future.

While the paper contends the state’s 1996, medical marijuana law has become legal cover to smoke cannabis, we would point out that it remains under attack nearly 15 years after its passage. To think Proposition 19 is going to pass today, and that you are then going to be able to buy marijuana at your local neighborhood convenience store anytime soon, is absurd.

California’s medical marijuana law permits prescription for any illness for which marijuana provides relief. In many other states, the medical marijuana law is much more specific and mentions diseases by name, including AIDS and cancer. Of California’s 100,000 licensed doctors, advocates estimate just over 1 percent, or about 1,500, have prescribed marijuana to at least one patient. About 400 to 500 physicians account for the vast majority of recommendations.
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October 30, 2010

Los Angeles sheriff continues his bizarre campaign against marijuana by warning parents to check trick-or-treat bags

By Cannabis Law Group

What is it with the Los Angeles sheriff’s obsession with marijuana?

Our Los Angeles marijuana dispensary lawyers have reported on our Marijuana Lawyer Blog that the sheriff has blamed legal medical marijuana businesses for being victimized by crime. And we also noted the sheriff spent his resources conducting raids for pot-laced suckers,brownies and rice treats.

Now the department has issued a warning to parents to watch out for such treats in their trick-or-treat bags, the L.A. Times reports.

We think that is about as likely as someone tossing six packs of Budweiser or prescription medication into children’s treat bags. Sheriff Lee Baca opposes Proposition 19, California’s legalization effort, and has said he will continue to arrest growers even if it’s approved. Meanwhile, his department has issued the warning claiming the marijuana snacks and candies, similar to those confiscated from legally operating marijuana dispensaries, could end up in the treat bags of children.

The department has never received reports of such an incident actually happening, the Times noted.

And, if Proposition 19 passes, and the sheriff continues his crackdown, he will be breaking the law. The sooner he gets used to that reality, the better it will be for everyone.
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October 18, 2010

Los Angeles marijuana dispensaries have more on their plate than worrying about Marijuana at Walgreens

By Cannabis Law Group

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys think some of the concerns of dispensaries and collectives over the impact of legalizing marijuana could be unwarranted. As the Daily Titan reports, some in the medical marijuana industry fear that legalization could increase competition to the point that it forces them out of business.

The manager of an Anaheim dispensary was quoted as saying: “How the hell am I going to be able to compete with a local liquor store selling the same exact product I’m selling but for a lower price?”

Of course the impact of legalized marijuana remains uncertain, just as the passage of Proposition 19 is not certain. Just as what impact the federal government could have, in either challenging the law or enforcing federal drugs laws against marijuana, remains uncertain. And, of course, nobody knows how the next local politician with nothing better to do is going to react.

But we think it unlikely that you are going to be able to buy marijuana at WalMart anytime in the foreseeable future. Yes, cities like Oakland have talked about growing marijuana and there are reports of big tobacco buying acreage with the intent to grow crops. But the dispensaries and collectives on the retail end of the equation could still be well positioned. That is part of why it is so frustrating to see cities like Los Angeles attempt to force them out of business ahead of the tax bonanza that will be reaped if local municipalities are allowed to tax all sales of legalized marijuana.

There have been head shops almost as long as there has been marijuana. Specialty stores exist in every industry. If local governments would stop insisting upon trying to legislate the legal medical marijuana business out of business, dispensaries and collectives would have a brighter future than they have seen in some time.

Legalizing marijuana could be an asset. Perhaps green cash will speak louder than the green crop that has some local politicians awake at night.For now, the fear of losing business to CVS or Walgreens, as this article suggests, is the least of the problems faced by medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles.
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October 16, 2010

Los Angeles Sheriff takes suspicious Froot Loops off the street during armed raids

By Cannabis Law Group

You can rest a little easier this week after our fearless sheriff reported seizing cereal and candy bars laced with marijuana, the Los Angeles Times reported.

As our Los Angeles marijuana dispensary lawyers reported recently on our Marijuana Lawyer Blog, the Los Angeles County Sheriff blamed the dispensaries for being crime victims after a spate of robberies that left several employees dead. To illustrate the disconnect, we have never heard, nor do we know anyone who has ever heard, a law enforcement officer blame an all-night convenience store for a robbery. Even though such stores are probably the most often-hit targets in Southern California.

In this raid, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department arrested 11 people and seized drugs and cash.

The crackdown included dispensaries in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties and was assisted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and state tax authorities.

According to the official statement, police found pot-laced crisped rice treats, orange drinks and “cannabis-laced cereal similar to Froot Loops or Apple Jacks.”

No word on whether the dispensaries were operating legally under the state’s medical marijuana law. But, as law enforcement and local politicians continue to act in violation of state law, the CANNABIS LAW GROUP encourages dispensaries and collectives to seek quality legal representation to protect their rights. We believe there is strength in numbers and are currently representing more than a dozen collectives in the Los Angeles area that have been subjected to harassment by local law enforcement or local ordinances.
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October 9, 2010

Los Angeles medical marijuana dispensaries must fight for survival

By Cannabis Law Group

NPR recently asked how many pot clinics will survive the crackdown? Our Los Angeles marijuana dispensary lawyers believe the answer will be determined by how many are willing to fight.

The CANNABIS LAW GROUP is representing more than a dozen marijuana collectives and dispensaries in Los Angeles and the surrounding area. By joining forces, we will stand the best chance of prevailing against the ill-conceived and poorly executed ordinances being enacted by city and county politicians.

Just this week, we reported on our Marijuana Lawyer Blog that a judge ordered a halt to the city’s attempt to hold a landlord criminally responsible for renting to a marijuana dispensary on the city’s list of illegally operating businesses. The dispensary, like many of the more than 400 ordered to close in the wake of the city ordinance, is appealing the city’s actions. The judge issued the restraining order pending the outcome of those appeals.

NPR said the city crackdown began in April with 800 operating dispensaries. The city’s goal was to have between 70 and 180 operating shops. However, the truth is no one really knows how many were operating because the city’s approval process was an utter disaster and many shops never bothered to register. And the number of shops that meet current city guidelines is well below 70 — so low in fact that the city returned to court and has asked a judge to sanction its craziness before it attempts to force so many legitimate businesses out of business. Presumably, the city feels a ruling in its favor will help shield it from the flood of civil suits that will follow.

Only 41 make the grade according to the city’s new ordinance — largely because of a clause that disqualifies those who have undergone a change in management since registering with the city prior to 2007.

Our Los Angeles marijuana dispensary attorneys are virtually certain that the ultimate number will be much higher than 41 — the ordinance itself calls for a lottery system that would add about 30 dispensaries. The difference between remaining open and being forced to close for good could very well be whether or not you are prepared to fight for your legal rights.
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October 6, 2010

Private grow rooms more popular as California cities push to ban medical marijuana dispensaries

By Cannabis Law Group

Perhaps Los Angeles city officials should tour the Costa Mesa home of Joanne Clarke, where her daughter’s old bedroom has been turned into a high-tech grow room that produces various strains of medical marijuana.

What city leaders hope to accomplish by forcing the closure of more than 400 medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles is uncertain. Certainly it will not end the use of medical marijuana. In all likelihood, the only tangible result will be to force the growth and sale of medicinal marijuana back underground, where the city will be unable to regulate it or tax it. In fact, by destroying marijuana’s retail infrastructure through the forced closure of collectives, the city stands to lose millions in tax revenue if Proposition 19 passes.

Many patients who need medical marijuana for legitimate medical purposes will be inconvenienced if not outright denied their medicine. Some will sue, and win or lose they will cost the city millions in legal fees. Others, like Joanne Clarke, will rely upon home-grown marijuana and the burgeoning business that teaches patients how to grow their own weed, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The Costa Mesa woman and her husband recently transformed their daughter’s old room into a grow room. Businesses like Otherside Farms and Golden State Greenery specialize in assisting residents in starting a grow room. As the legal marijuana industry has come under increasing fire, it has seen a quiet, steady growth in such small-scale growing operations.

Chadd McKeen, who started Otherside Farms in Orange County, told The Times that his clientele is the “embroidered-sweater-wearing, lighthouse-poster-hanging” pot smoker who is 50- to 60-years old. “That is what the marijuana users look like,” he says.

Most of the grow rooms are installed in spare bedrooms, which he typically divides in half to create “veg” room for growing and a “bloom room,” where a change in lighting and temperature encourage blooming. The rooms generally cost about $15,000.

Others are simply taking advantage of Southern California weather, which is conducive to growing marijuana — plant in the spring and harvest in the fall.
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