Articles Posted in Marijuana Lawyer

The onslaught of forced closures of marijuana dispensaries and clinics throughout the state has got to stop.

Now, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-California) has introduced a bill in Washington D.C. that takes aim at one of the primary scare tactics employed by U.S. Attorneys seeking to shut down legal pot shops: seizure of landlord property.

In the States’ Medical Marijuana Property Rights Protection Act, HR 6335, Lee says the goal is to provide legal clarification for the state’s landlords as well as protection for med-pot patients.

Los Angeles marijuana lawyers are backing this measure, as it would go a long way toward stemming the tide of assault against legal business owners and those who rent to them.

As Lee noted in a released statement, California voters approved legalized and safe access to medical marijuana for patients with a prescription. What resulted from that 1996 ballot initiative was also that thousands of small business owners invested millions in building their companies. They have created jobs, they have paid their taxes and they have continued to provide an invaluable service to chronically and acutely ill patients.

It’s been over a year since the U.S. Department of Justice began cracking down on California landlords, threatening that if they rented to dispensaries their property would be subject to seizure and they could also be forced to forfeit their assets. The department has issued some 300 formal letters to landlords in California, Colorado and other states, warning them not to continue renting to their current tenants – or else.

Although they haven’t actually prosecuted a great number of those, they have gone after a few high-profile ones, such as the large Harborside dispensary in Oakland, which is in Lee’s district. This particular action incensed not only Lee, but also city council members, the city’s attorney and the Board of Equalization.

No doubt, it also factored into Lee’s urgent filing of this bill.

What HR 6335 would do specifically would be to amend 21 U.S.C. 881(7). This is the federal statute that right now authorizes the federal government to enact a civil asset forfeiture against landlords and property owners if their tenants aren’t in compliance with federal law. While medical marijuana is legal under California law, it’s still illegal in the eyes of the federal government, which is why they can currently impose this sanction.

HR 6335 would close this loophole, and bar the federal government from using this statute to go after landlords whose tenants are complying with state laws governing medical marijuana.

What the law would not do is protect those who aren’t following state laws.

Right now, the only recourse these property owners have aside from kicking out their tenants (which might put them in a position of breach of contract in district courts) is to seek to recover their property from the government in civil court. However, they aren’t granted an attorney to do so and the onus is on them to prove that they are innocent of what the government has accused them.

Although Lee is from California, the bill, if passed, would be applicable in all states where medical marijuana has been legalized.
Continue reading

Opening a marijuana dispensary in California used to not be much of a hassle, depending on where you wanted to do business.

Some cities maintained more regulation than others, but Los Angeles marijuana lawyers know it’s really just been since last fall that would-be shop owners are stepping into treacherous territory, with efforts by both the federal and local governments to eradicate storefront medicinal marijuana wholesalers – regardless of voters’ decision back in 1996 on Proposition 19.

So it may seem crazy that any operation would be forging ahead and trying to kick-start a new business in the current climate of political turmoil. But one collective in Oakland is trying to do just that.

According to the Oakland Tribune, the Oakland Community Collective, which was supposed to be up and running by now in the city’s Uptown district, is still struggling to open.

It’s efforts were stymied a few weeks ago when, as they prepared to move into their location, the skittish landlord backed out after the Justice Department successfully shut down the city’s largest dispensary by attempting to seize the landlord’s properties. Not wanting to deal with the hassle, the prospective landlord simply told them thanks but no thanks.

The original location, though, would have been perfect: In the midst of a bustling urban district in a modern building with nearby restaurants and theaters. Instead, they are now looking at a back-alley storefront with frosted windows. They’re still in talks, but even that’s not a sure thing. The landlord is still trying to evict the current occupants – a dispensary that reportedly did not obtain a city permit and is now embroiled in a legal battle with the landlord over a violation of lease terms.

Still, the collective’s president is hopeful the shop can be open by October.

Oakland has been known to be more involved in the regulatory process than most cities in the state, and they have found that to have worked a great deal to their favor. Back in March, they approved four new marijuana dispensaries, which would bring the total number in the city to eight.

Far less, obviously, than the nearly 800 operating in the City of Los Angeles.

But our marijuana lawyers know that even here, opening a new shop isn’t impossible – but it does require a very thorough vetting of your operation by an experienced lawyer. Any number of potential pitfalls could put the brakes on your venture before you ever get started. That’s not to discourage you, but simply to say that if you are going to enter the business, you need to enter it informed and with legal muscle on your side.

In Oakland, the federal crackdown hasn’t halted the marijuana industry entirely. But what it has done is made it more difficult by delaying openings, forcing out existing operations, and ensuring that they fly farther under the radar than ever before, confined to smaller locations on the outskirts of the city.

Don’t go it alone.
Continue reading

A decade after filling for the right to be heard on the merits of marijuana as medicine, patients have been granted an October court date for oral arguments at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Los Angeles marijuana lawyers know this is an important victory, as it will challenge the federal government’s classification of marijuana as a dangerous drug with absolutely no medicinal value. This is the core basis on which federal prosecutors have been launching their attacks on dispensaries throughout California.

But this petition to be heard began way before last fall. In fact, the Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis (or the CRC) requested this hearing way back in 2002.

Current prevailing science shows a wide range of useful and even crucial medical purposes for cannabis, and much of that evidence will likely be presented before the appeals court. As a spokesman for the Americans for Safe Access was quoted as saying, the hearing is a rare chance for ill patients who depend on marijuana to confront the political hype and rhetoric with the indisputable and unbiased scientific proof of its value.

While the hearing will take place in Washington D.C., whatever decision is made will be relevant throughout the country. If the patients are successful, they will have struck down the basis for the federal government’s anti-marijuana stance. This could have a ripple effect on all the court cases currently pending in California regarding the assault on medical marijuana dispensaries which are legal under state law, but are viewed as illicit drug dealers through the lens of federal laws.

One of the key studies likely to be cited by patients and their advocates at this hearing is one that as recently published by Dr. Igor Grant in The Open Neurology Journal. This is a prominent doctor and a well-respected publication. The conclusion of the study is that the federal government’s classification of the plant as a Schedule I narcotic, which are defined as those drugs that have a high potential for abuse, have no accepted medical use in treatment in this country and have a lack of accepted safe use of the drug under medical supervision. This puts marijuana in the same category as heroin through obviously skewed logic.

While dispensaries have been fighting to fend off government efforts to have their doors shuttered, in many cases, they have been barred from presenting any evidence of the medical value of the drug in their defense. A favorable ruling by this appeals court could open the doors to allow medicinal value as a defense in these cases.

This will involve thoroughly-tested and well-supported evidence of marijuana as effective and appropriate medicine for ailments including migraines, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain and terminal cancer. In a way, it’s good news that the court took as long as it did to decide whether to hear the issue because in the interim 10 years since the original petition was sent, there have been a number of studies indicating those benefits.

Since 1996, 17 states and the District of Columbia have adopted some form of legalized marijuana for medical purposes, with California having been the first in 1996.

In addition to the scientific studies, the appellate panel of judges will hear from the following lead plaintiffs:

• A 52-year-old man from Long Beach who suffered from polio as a child, causing him to have scoliosis, a shortened left leg, bone degeneration in his hip and a fused ankle. Additionally, he suffers from insomnia, epilepsy and chronic pain in his back, leg and hip. He has been prescribed medical marijuana, which has reduced his depression and seizures and has helped him to sleep.
• A 49-year-old Virginia man injured in a 1984 automobile accident while serving in the U.S. Air Force. The military deemed him permanently and totally disabled and he has been prescribed medical marijuana to help ease the chronic pain. However, because of the federal government’s stance on marijuana, he has been denied treatment by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Continue reading

Suspected Mexican cartel members were arrested in Utah recently, allegedly with more than 4,000 pot plants and a plan to bring them to California.

That’s right: Weed from Utah coming to California.

This is something Los Angeles marijuana lawyers expect will be happening with continuing frequency in the coming months, as both federal and local authorities propel the pot industry further underground – eliminating those growers and dispensaries that want stability, regulation and safety and paving the way for shadier operations.

According to the Cedar City Spectrum & Daily News in Utah, sheriff’s deputies in Iron County raided a farm in this isolated area. Officials had been monitoring the location for months in hopes of halting a cartel enterprise. When they finally moved in, they ended up arresting three people – all with California addresses. In addition to the thousands of plants they found, investigators also reportedly discovered about 200 pounds of packaged marijuana in a vehicle nearby.

All three have been charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, a third-degree felony in Utah. The three were being held on bonds of $25,000 each, and one also had a hold from Immigrants and Custom Enforcement.

Officials say they are seeking more suspects, as fresh footprints were found at the site.

Sheriff’s deputies said they believe the trio had come from Mexico to grow the marijuana in Utah and then drive it to California. Utah officials said there is no evidence that the marijuana was intended for local use there.

Two of the suspects are reportedly from Compton and a third is from Mira Loma.

But the problem isn’t this one operation. It’s that we’ve already begun to see a trend of an increasing amount of illegal weed being shipped or trucked here from outside illegal sources seeking opportunity to make another kind of green.

Already in California, we have a large number of legitimate dispensaries that have been forced to virtually operate underground by providing “delivery-only” services. This increases the potential for robbery and other crimes, and it also limits the regulation that government agencies can have on these products. Still, many dispensaries fearing legal retribution feel they have no other choice and that keeping a storefront location is simply too risky.

The crackdown has been going on since October, and in that time frame, hundreds of dispensaries throughout the state have been shuttered, despite promises by federal authorities to only go after those locations that were actively violating state law. Initially, some of the better-operated facilities thought they’d be safe. They were wrong.

Most recently, of course, was the Los Angeles City ban on pot shops, which could mean the closing of more than 800 shops.

What initiatives don’t do is reduce the amount of marijuana available for sale and consumption. Instead, it simply ensures that those selling it won’t have to pay taxes or register their business or follow any industry standard guidelines.

Still we recognize that state officials aren’t likely to budge from their stance anytime soon. Instead, we will have to see how this plays out in the hands of advocates seeking to overturn the L.A. ban with a referendum, as well as the various court cases that are still pending throughout the state.
Continue reading

A bizarre series of events in recent days involved fake forfeiture and cease and desist notices reportedly attributed to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and sent to a number of Southern California pharmacies.

As our Los Angeles marijuana lawyers understand, the entire ordeal was part of a hoax played by a medical marijuana advocacy group, claiming that their efforts were a form of satire aimed at shedding light on overstepping of legal boundaries by federal authorities, who initiated a crack down on pot shops last year.

We can certainly understand the frustration of fighting back powerful government authorities and feeling as if you aren’t making much headway. The problem with what happened here is that those responsible could be facing up to three years in prison, under 18 U.S.C. 912, which prohibits anyone from pretending to be a federal officer or employee. A better case scenario could still involve a lesser charge of civil disobedience.

There are often better ways to express your displeasure, and dispensary owners themselves should never engage in this type of action without the oversight of an experienced marijuana attorney.

The first of the hoaxes reportedly involved a letter sent to local media, claiming to be from the U.S. attorney’s office early in the morning. That letter indicated that forfeiture and criminal charges would be brought against the owners and operators of clinics and pharmacies in Carmel Valley, Pacific Beach and La Jolla. The letter indicated high levels of prescription drug abuse had prompted the department to take action, and that the pharmacies had 45 days to close up shop.

Then a second hoax e-mail was sent about two hours later, saying that the first one was a phony and “feeble” attempt to discredit U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy’s character.

Several news sites picked up both e-mails, reporting them as if they were real. The e-mails were sent on letterhead belonging to the U.S. Justice Department and the number on the press release directed callers to a voice mail indicating they had reached the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Duffy said it wasn’t long before her office was notified, as a number of pharmacies as well as reporters called to find out what was going on.

To clear up the confusion, she conducted a press conference outside her office. While huddled with reporters, a man arrived and crashed the conference, claiming responsibility, handing out a “news release” from a group reportedly called the “Federal Accountability Coalition” and then walked away without answering any further questions. Duffy indicated that the man had just then become a suspect in the hoax.

Then a few hours later, another man called another press conference, saying he was an actor and the Federal Accountability Coalition didn’t actually exist. He took questions from reporters and said he and a handful of others had been behind the e-mail blasts.

When asked by reporters if he was prepared to go to prison for proving his point, he indicated he would let his attorneys handle that side of it.

And of course, if you’re ever arrested for any crime, your first move needs to be to consult immediately with a criminal defense lawyer.

However, a stunt like this – while we can certainly understand the sentiment – we can’t condone a crime. Free speech and making a statement are important parts of moving our civil discourse ahead – particularly on this issue. But there are legal ways to do it.

Our Los Angeles marijuana lawyers can help you explore those options.
Continue reading

Although the Los Angeles city council voted unanimously to ban medical marijuana dispensaries within city limits, two of those members have come out as decidedly pro-pot, with one even confessing that he uses it himself for a painful nerve disorder.

Our Los Angeles marijuana lawyers wish that these two had come out more strongly opposed to the ban before it passed, though even those two votes would not have been enough to halt the measure.

The Los Angeles Times is now reporting that pro-marijuana advocates are exploring every avenue they can in an effort to get the ban overturned. One way they are doing this is by providing re-election campaign contributions to these two incumbents – Councilman Bill Rosendahl and Councilman Paul Koretz. Additionally, several marijuana collectives are contemplating whether to throw a fundraising event in the coming months for Council President Herb Wesson, as well as determine which candidate they will back for mayor.

Both Rosendahl and Koretz, who are facing re-election next spring, have said they are concerned about the sheer number of dispensaries in the city, though they don’t wholeheartedly agree with the ban. Still, they voted for it. Koretz later told reporters that he did it as a “procedural courtesy” to his fellow council colleagues. This statement is particularly disturbing when you consider that his alliance should be to his constituency – not his fellow council members.

Still, both say they want to see marijuana dispensaries in operation throughout the city, and that has fueled sizable campaign contributions for both by pro-marijuana advocates.

Over the last year, dispensaries and supporters of dispensaries have contributed more than $16,000 to the campaigns of the two.

Rosendahl reportedly got nearly $9,000 from marijuana advocacy groups, which amounted to about 10 percent of his overall campaign fund last year. Though he has long supported legalized marijuana – in fact, he believes it should be legalized at the federal level – he still voted in favor of the ban. He did not say way. However, he did say that he suffers from a nerve disorder that causes his feet to feel as if they are on fire. He contends that medical marijuana is the only thing that eases the pain.

What’s more, the openly-gay Rosendahl revealed that his first partner, owner of a local bakery, battled AIDS in the early 1990s. He ultimately passed away in 1995, but Rosendahl said that medical marijuana gave him the strength to hold on as long as he did.

Koretz reportedly received about $7,300 from pot advocates, roughly 10 percent of his campaign fund last year as well.

These efforts aren’t likely to be the last we’ll see of advocates getting politically involved. In fact, it was political advocacy that fueled the passage of Proposition 19 back in 1996, which legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes in the state of California.

A few months ago, dispensaries struck deals to allow their employees to unionize in a large union that has a good deal of political clout in L.A. Plus, many are also teaming up with billboard companies, real estate developers and other special interest groups in an effort to hammer out fundraising efforts for certain candidates.
Continue reading

L.A. City Council members have said that once the medical marijuana dispensary ban goes into full effect next month, they’ll begin shutting down shops in waves, starting with those that are the biggest violators of state and city laws, as well as those that have received the most complaints.

However, our Los Angeles marijuana lawyers know that realistically, the dispensaries that are going to be affected immediately are those that don’t want to face down a $1,000-a-day fine or face misdemeanor criminal charges. Those operations that want to flout the law are going to do it regardless of what city hall says. For them, the only thing it does is push them further underground, where we are all more likely to be affected by the crimes that often accompany illegal trade.

There are approximately 760 marijuana dispensaries that are formally registered in the city, though the city attorney’s office estimates there are somewhere between 100 to 200 more that are operating without any permitting at all.

City officials have said it will work like this: They will be sending letters to clinic operators, warning them to close voluntarily when the ban takes effect next month. City administrators hope most will close shop on their own, making it easy for them to move to the next phase, which will be to target those shops that reportedly have posed the greatest nuisances to nearby neighborhoods.

A spokeswoman for the city attorney’s office said that city action will be driven by complaints. Further, aside from sending letters, city officials have said they don’t have the resources to follow up unless someone calls them about it. That means they will have no real way of knowing which shops have closed on their own voluntarily and which have remained open unless they get a complaint.

City officials are hoping that the threat of a criminal record will be enough of a deterrent for most of the clinic owners.

If you own or are operating a marijuana dispensary, you do have some legal options available to you, but those need to be thoroughly discussed with an experienced marijuana lawyer.

One possible light at the end of this tunnel is an effort being undertaken by Americans for Safe Access. The pro-pot advocates are working diligently to gather the 27,000 signatures required to place a referendum to overturn the ban on the spring ballot. If they are successful in getting those signatures and having them certified, city charter requires that the ordinance at the heart of the issue – i.e., the ban – CAN’T TAKE EFFECT until voters have their say. So if the advocates can collect those signatures in the next month or so, it’s possible that L.A. pot shops may not have to close at all.

However if they do, there are a few different ways that those with medical marijuana cards can still obtain their medicine:

1. They have the option to grow their own pot. The city’s ban still allows patients to form their own collectives of up to two other people in order to grow it at home and share.

2. They could obtain it from their doctor, who still has the ability to deliver, distribute and give away marijuana. It will also be permitted in licensed clinics and hospices.

3. They could go to another city. Clinics remain open in West Hollywood, Long Beach, Ventura and Marina del Rey.

Obviously, these options are not ideal for most people, and don’t take into account that many are very sick to begin with and don’t have the time, ability or resources to effectively grow the plant or the ability to make it to a neighboring town.
Continue reading

Despite the fact that L.A. city officials bowed to federal pressure in the recent order to ban all pot shops within the city limits, a number of cities across the state are balking at that same bullying.

Our Los Angeles marijuana lawyers understand that other municipality leaders across the state are seething.

A recent story by The New York Times detailed a number of these instances – cases in which city officials had worked to carefully form regulatory plans for medical marijuana dispensaries, had mutually-beneficial working relationships with those operations and are now struggling to understand why federal authorities have been cracking down on a system that works.

One such instance involves officials in Arcata. They recognized from the beginning that the state’s medical marijuana industry was growing at a fast clip, and to avoid major headaches, they carefully planned an 11-page ordinance regulating how the drug could be sold within city limits.

There, the Humboldt Medical Supply dispensary became the first to be granted a permit there – and that wasn’t until two years ago. Many held the dispensary in high regard, particularly given their practice of giving free marijuana to elderly patients.

On the flip side, you had another dispensary that repeatedly had gone against the city’s regulations, and was rejected for a permit. Yet the owner reportedly continued to operate by bouncing around to different locations to avoid detection, most recently moving the shop to his mother’s home.

Now, which of these two do you think was more gravely impacted by the recent federal crackdown?

Following the October announcement by federal prosecutors that they intended to target the medical marijuana industry in California (though initially promising only to go after those operating near schools and playgrounds), the former closed its doors almost immediately. Meanwhile, the latter continues to operate.

With city officials there fearing that the federal government will take action against them if they grant any additional permits, they’ve halted the process of two other marijuana dispensaries that were slated for approval.

The mayor was quoted as saying that the federal government’s interference is negatively impacting the city and its citizens. He wants them to stop.

What’s more, the federal actions have brought a renewed legal chaos to the state, leaving not only dispensaries in limbo, but also county and municipal governments, banks, landlords and patients.

It’s actually harmful to a community when an action forces sick patients to seek their medication from unregulated sources. These shadier sources also frequently generate crime due to where they are obtaining the drugs (often with connections to drug cartels in Mexico).

In the last eight months, some 650 of the state’s 1,400 dispensaries have been shuttered statewide through a variety of tactics, including seizure of assets and threats of criminal charges.

The most recent decision in L.A. guarantees even more will follow.
Continue reading

Los Angeles City Council has approved an immediate ban on all 762 medical marijuana dispensaries in the city, while simultaneously proposing a loophole that would allow certain pot shops to remain open.

Los Angeles marijuana attorneys understand that council chambers erupted into a roar of jeers and threats to sue the city in what has been widely panned as an attack on patient’s rights and the failure of government to heed the will of its people.

It’s anticipated that the city will have to contend with a slew of lawsuits brought by outraged patients, dispensary owners and activists, while others are vowing draw up a ballot initiative that would effectively overturn the ban.

Whatever the outcome, marijuana advocates don’t plan to take the decision lying down.

In the meantime, here’s what dispensary owners and operators need to know:

First of all, you will need to consult with an experienced Los Angeles marijuana attorney. You may have more options that you realize under state law that can be explored.

Secondly, will likely receive an official letter in the mail in the coming days or weeks ordering you to cease your operations immediately. Again, consult with a lawyer before you take any action at all. One of the reasons for this is that if you opened your shop prior to 2007, the city is considering a measure that may allow you to be grandfathered in. If you close your operation, you may hurt your chances of ever opening again.

About the grandfathered plan:

Council members, in addition to the ban, voted to have city staff draw up a plan that would allow those shops founded before the city’s 2007 moratorium to remain open. However, it won’t automatically go into effect. Council plans to revisit the issue in three months.

Some council members voted against that measure, saying that it would give the public false hope that the ban wouldn’t be actively enforced.

However, other council members asked that police not focus on those older dispensaries in their shut-down efforts, instead gearing their energies and resources toward the newer shops that are reportedly violating the moratorium.

What the ban does not do:

It does not make medical marijuana totally illegal. Patients and their caregivers will still technically be allowed to grow and share marijuana, so long as they do so in groups of three or fewer people.

While it’s good that this fundamental consideration was made, the problem with it is that very few patients or caregivers have the time or special knowledge it takes to do this. By some estimates, it can cost as a minimum of $5,000 to effectively grow the plant in your home. Plus, you risk electrical hazards and the like if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing.

And that’s the whole benefit of dispensaries.

City council members, with the backing of Police Chief Charlie Beck, say this move was necessitated by the fact that dispensary shops currently outpace Starbucks coffee shops by a ratio of 2-to-1. They contended that the ordinance will allow the city to shutter shops.

However, it still leaves us in very murky legal territory, as the state advocates battle it out with federal prosecutors and local municipalities teeter between not wanting to draw federal ire and realizing the tax benefits they can reap – not to mention the overall improved quality of life for their citizens – when these shops are allowed to thrive.
Continue reading

Scores of medical marijuana advocates took to Oakland streets recently, just prior to a fundraiser there for President Barack Obama, urging him to halt the ongoing federal action against pot shops across the state.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana lawyers anticipate this is only the beginning of what promises to be a tumultuous time in our state history, given the questions this crackdown raises about patient rights and state rights, as well as the legal limbo in which many marijuana dispensaries find themselves.

The Oakland rally followed a forfeiture action against Harborside Health Center, which was touted as the country’s biggest marijuana dispensary and one that had garnered a great deal of praise for the way in which it conducted business. The dispensary was forced to close.

This followed the raid on several other dispensaries there that were operated by well-known marijuana activist Richard Lee. His operations, like Harborside, were not only allowed under local law, they were appropriately taxed and supported by local officials.

Despite promises by both Attorney General Eric Holder and President Obama that they wouldn’t meddle with dispensaries that were abiding by state law, federal prosecutors have continued their assault.

The stakes are high for Obama in particular, as this is an election year, though few advocates believe they would have much chance of gaining ground if Republican Mitt Romney were elected either.

It’s widely known by now that last October, federal prosecutors announced they were going after those dispensaries that were within 1,000 feet of schools or that were profiting from their sales against state law.

But it hasn’t unfolded that way.

Prosecutors in some cases have offered excuses, and in other cases have offered no explanation at all, other than that the dispensaries’ very existence violates U.S. law, which makes it illegal to sell or even possess marijuana.

With regard to Harborside, prosecutors said that size was a key factor, and that no operation that large could be serving as many legitimate patients as it was. However, they offered no proof that they had found evidence to the contrary, and there’s nothing in California law that limits the size of a marijuana dispensary.

What’s more, this was an operation that was paying more than $1 million each year in taxes to the city. Consider too that dispensaries across the state fork over between $60 million and $105 million annually. With a number of municipal governments contemplating or having already filed bankruptcy, this is not chump change.

The recent protests in Oakland were planned just ahead of an evening appearance by Obama at a local theater, where people had paid up to $7,500 a ticket to attend.

We’ll be expecting many more such demonstrations in the coming months, particularly in advance of the November election.
Continue reading