Cannabis Law Group's Medical Marijuana Legal Blog
Sweeping Raid Targets Marijuana Grown on Tribal Land
The relationship between marijuana crops and tribal land has always been contentious and legally complicated. In a recent case, California authorities initiated a raid to seize all marijuana grown on an Indian reservation in Northern California. According to reports, tribal authorities are joining with local law enforcement to stop illegal growing operations. The operation involved combined efforts from local, state, and federal agencies, resulting in the seizure of thousands of plants. The raid took place in Humboldt County, a mountainous region well-known for its growing capacity.
Growing marijuana on tribal land raises a number of legal questions and concerns. Officials worry that the illegal crops will threaten wildlife and the environment. In addition, the crops could potentially be contributing to the regional drought which has caused springs and creeks to dry up. Our Orange County marijuana law attorneys are dedicated to protecting the rights of growers, marijuana shop owners, as well as legal users. We are abreast of developments in the legal marijuana business and changes in California marijuana laws.
Marijuana DUI: What Californians Need to Know
Californians who might be marijuana users should certainly keep themselves informed of marijuana laws throughout the state.
Our marijuana lawyers in Los Angeles want to help keep the public informed of what the law is in California and the ways in which police officers are enforcing it.
Sometimes marijuana regulation can be a moving target, particularly in the current climate where many states are altering their statutes regarding marijuana laws.
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Legal Possession: Should the Odor of Marijuana Amount to Probable Cause?
Possessing marijuana is legal in many states but what does this mean for law enforcement officers who smell an odor of marijuana in a state where the substance is legal to possess?
Our marijuana defense lawyers are encouraged by the decriminalization and legality of marijuana in multiple states but there are still many questions left unanswered surround marijuana enforcement.
Marijuana laws have made it legal to possess and use various amounts of marijuana depending on the state. Since the Supreme Court’s decision in Taylor v. United States in 1932, law enforcement officers have been allowed to utilize their sense of smell to help detect whether a crime is afoot.
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Federal Government Needs Better Approach to Marijuana Issue
It’s been a year since voters in Washington state and Colorado approved the cultivation, distribution and possession of marijuana for adult residents of the state, regardless of whether they had a medical condition requiring it.
In that time frame, both states have firmly established rules for the retail production and sale of the drug. Each has tailored their regulations per their own philosophies, though generally speaking, both are opting for clearly-defined regulations that will be easy for everyone to understand and abide by.
These scenarios prove that government need not be shackled by bureaucracy and unable to make progress, especially in situations where so much is at stake: Not only the potential tax revenue and business opportunities, but people’s very lives, livelihoods and freedoms. At the very least, our Los Angeles marijuana lawyers believe the federal government’s stance with regard to medicinal marijuana is both arcane and harmful.
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Synthetic Marijuana Dealer Convicted in Closely-Watched Federal Case
A Minnesota head shop owner was recently convicted on nearly all of the criminal charges against him in a federal case that was being closely watched by marijuana defense attorneys in California and around the country.
The case had to do with the sale of synthetic forms of marijuana, often referred to as “incense” or “spice” or “bath salts.”
To call these substances “marijuana” at all is rather misleading, given the fact that these substances truly have zero medicinal properties and are wholly manufactured chemicals, as opposed to cannabis, which is a natural plant grown from a seed.
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Legal Marijuana Users: Caution When Crossing into California
As Washington state and Colorado prepare to organize the launch of the country’s first-ever legalized recreational marijuana industry, words of caution must be heeded.
Our California marijuana lawyers know that while a number of bordering states have also approved the drug for medicinal use, recreational users and growers will find they are not protected from criminal sanctions in those states if they are caught in possession of the drug or certain paraphernalia.
For those who chance bringing their supply to another state, not only is arrest on marijuana charges a risk, it’s a probability. Law enforcement officials in neighboring states are well aware of the recent changes in Colorado and Washington, and are eager to prevent the drug from illegally finding its way into their territory.
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California Drug Sentencing Reform Bill Goes to Governor
As federal officials pledge to ease their vigorous prosecutions of those arrested for marijuana crimes, California’s legislators have come together to pass a bill that eases drug sentencing measures throughout the state.
S.B. 649 provides prosecutors with greater flexibility to charge low-level, non-violent drug offenders with misdemeanors as opposed to felonies. Additionally, judges are also granted discretion to rule that certain non-violent drug offenses are to be considered misdemeanors rather than felonies, weighing the severity of the offense as well as the defendant’s prior criminal record.
The bill came about a month after U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced a plan to reduce the pursuit of mandatory minimum sentencing for drug crimes at the federal level. The measure was authored by Sent. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and was given the green light by the state assembly earlier this month. Following a final concurrence from the Senate, the measure awaits Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature, which it is expected to receive.
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DEA Drug Prosecution Intelligence Under Fire By Civil Liberties Groups
Some two dozen civil liberties advocates are publicly demanding a series of congressional hearings regarding the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s broad use of National Security Agency data and intelligence to build domestic criminal drug cases against Americans.
Reuters had been the first to report last month that the DEA routinely served as an intermediary of overseas NSA wiretaps, phone database information, informant information and other intercepts to local and federal policing agencies across the country. This intelligence-sharing effort even went so far as to include tax investigators with the Internal Revenue Service.
What our Los Angeles marijuana arrest lawyers found especially troubling was the fact that the origin of this intelligence was routinely concealed from defense lawyers, judges and even prosecutors, with authorities helping to “reconstruct” how the investigation had started. Called “parallel construction,” this practice effectively deprived defendants of the right to examine the facts for potential exculpatory evidence that might have aided their defense.
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Proposition D Violators Face Los Angeles Criminal Marijuana Charges
When Los Angeles voters approved the strict regulatory guidelines laid forth in Proposition D, it was inevitable that the majority of the city’s marijuana shops would be forced to close or face an intense legal battle.
Now, that battle has begun, with seven medical marijuana dispensaries facing criminal charges for operating outside Proposition D’s slim parameters. Operators of these facilities have been sent notices to appear to answer for the misdemeanor violations. The notices were sent by the L.A. City Attorney.
Landlords, operators and collective organizers should not face these proceedings alone without strong legal representation. Even though they are misdemeanors and despite recent concessions from the U.S. Justice Department to back off on marijuana prosecutions, it’s entirely possible that these cases could snowball into federal complaints leading to much more serious charges or costly civil forfeiture actions.
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Marijuana DUI Harder to Prove, Certainly Still Prosecutable
The 16-year-old preparatory school student was supposed to have been grounded, after his father discovered the boy had used his credit card to purchase a glass pipe. However, his father had a last-minute change-of-heart and allowed his son to drive his friends to a local beach in Florida.
The next time the father saw his son was at the scene of a fatal accident, where a 65-year-old motorcyclist was pronounced dead, with his soon accused of causing the fatal crash while under the influence of marijuana.
Our Los Angeles marijuana DUI lawyers understand that the boy’s father wisely advised his son not to speak with authorities until he had the opportunity to secure a lawyer.
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