Medical Marijuana in California

May 20, 2011

Government Fails to Reclassify Medical Marijuana in Los Angeles as it Remains in Heroin Category

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Colombia Circuit was handed a lawsuit yesterday from a coalition of advocacy groups and patients. The suit demanded that the Obama Administration recognize and react to a petition, now 9-years-old, that would have marijuana rescheduled under the Controlled Substance Act (CSA). Many believe that marijuana falls into the wrong category in this classification system.

The favor of ruling would reclassify medical marijuana in Los Angeles and elsewhere under federal law. Advocates are looking to eliminate differences in the state and federal laws.

Oftentimes federal law and state law conflict in medical marijuana cases. Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys understand that various classifications of drugs come with different penalties if convicted of use or possession. Marijuana currently rests with drugs of a much higher class, such as cocaine and heroin. Meanwhile, it has been legalized for medical purposes in more than a dozen states and possession is typically a misdemeanor under various state laws.

In an effort to even out the playing field, Washington Governor Chris Gregoire suggests that states that currently allow medical marijuana request that the federal government reclassify the drug. If the Court of Appeals does indeed grant his request, other states that currently allow medical marijuana would be able to request the same.

The Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis (CRC) would like federal courts to reflect that marijuana no longer satisfies the requirements of a Schedule I prohibited substance. They are urging that federal law reclassified the drug.

“Marijuana has accepted medical use in the United States, it has a lower abuse potential than drugs like heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine, and it is safe for use under medical supervision. All of these characteristics are well-documented scientifically and legally. Federal law requires the Obama Administration to reclassify marijuana,” said According to Jon Gettman, coordinator of the CRC.

President Obama’s Administration has already received the petition and has had plenty of time to review it. The Coalition is now accusing the Administration of violating the Administrative Procedures Act. This Act requires a final action to be taken within a reasonable amount of time.

“The federal government’s strategy has been delay, delay, delay,” said Joe Elford, Chief Counsel of ASA and lead counsel on the writ. “It is far past time for the government to answer our rescheduling petition, but unfortunately we’ve been forced to go to court in order to get resolution.” The writ of mandamus filed accuses the government of unreasonable delay in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act.

Marijuana’s medical use is now accepted by 16 states:

-Alaska
-Arizona
-California
-Colorado
-Delaware
-Hawaii
-Maine
-Michigan
-Montana
-Nevada
-New Jersey
-New Mexico
-Oregon
-Rhode Island
-Vermont
-Washington
The advocate groups and patients are able to take this issue to the federal courts if they receive a formal rejection of the CRC petition.

“The Obama Administration’s refusal to act on this petition is an irresponsible stalling tactic; it denies us due process under the law and, more shamefully, it continues to deny countless patients a chance to use current law to seek legal access to marijuana for medical use,” said Gettman.

Currently, the CSA classifies drugs into various schedules. Marijuana is currently considered a Schedule I substance. This means that is has a high potential for abuse, has no currently accepted medical use in the United States and has a a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision.
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May 16, 2011

Charges Dropped Against Doctor Accused of Writing Shoddy Medical Marijuana Recommendations

By Cannabis Law Group

A case was thrown out earlier this week in Colorado that aimed to convict a medical marijuana doctor in Colorado with writing faulty marijuana recommendations. He was one of the first known doctors in Colorado in the industry. The doctor was facing charges of forgery, attempt to influence a public servant, marijuana distribution and conspiracy to distribute marijuana. He was busted after allegedly writing a recommendation to an undercover officer last year in Englewood.

After an order handed down last week, the Arapahoe County District ruled that the doctor had indeed complied with all requirements under Colorado law in making his recommendation to the undercover officer, according to the Denver Post.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys understand that many doctors come under scrutiny for allegedly making questionable medical marijuana recommendations. If you’re facing some of the same allegations, it is critical for you to contact an experienced attorney who can help fight for your rights and your medical license.

“Colorado’s Amendment 20 simply allows for a physician to certify that a patient might benefit from the use of marijuana as a medical treatment,” said District Judge Kurt Horton, “and it is then left up to the patient whether to apply for a medical marijuana registry card.”

The ruling was a slap in the face to prosecutors as it threw another case into question in a county pushing similar charges, according to Grow Switch. Both of these cases, against doctors accused of writing faulty medical-marijuana recommendations, were the first known to be filed in the state.

Both cases originated before the legislature in 2010 adopted new rules requiring that doctors provide a thorough physical exam and offer to provide follow-up care to the patients seeking marijuana recommendation as treatment. Lawyers in both cases contend that their clients were completely in compliance with the much stricter rules.

In California, nearly 8,000 I.D. cards were issued through the Medical Marijuana Program. As of this year, nearly 52.000 people possess these cards and are able to obtain medicinal marijuana in the state, according to the California Department of Public Health.

Those who obtain I.D. cards through the Medical Marijuana Program use the medicinal treatment to help cure a number of conditions, including anxiety, depression, ADD, sleep apnea, and PTSD, just to name a few.
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May 13, 2011

San Jose Collects Nearly $300,000 from Dispensaries in First Month of New Marijuana Tax in California

By Cannabis Law Group

Last year, San Jose voters passed Measure U. This bill now allows the city to tax marijuana businesses up to 10 percent. According to the official description of the measure, revenues fund so-called essential city services such as emergency response, street maintenance, police, fire, pothole repair and other programs, according to the Peninsula Press.

“We already pay 9.25 percent sales tax … and they want to add another 10 percent? They’re treating it as though it’s a criminal enterprise,” says Medicinal marijuana advocate and former marijuana dispensary volunteer Ellen Young.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys understand that government officials continue to throw fees, fines, regulations and bans on medical marijuana dispensaries as a part of their agenda to close them down completely. The CANNABIS LAW GROUP continues to file lawsuits against the city on behalf of numerous marijuana dispensaries throughout the area. We understand the battle that dispensaries fight on a daily bases and understand that these city laws are inherently unfair. We continue to seek economic and punitive damages against the city as we stand with dispensary operators and fight for their business rights.

“I’ve always had the same view, which was a limited number of cannabis facilities in limited places, regulated, and some form of taxation,” says Council Member Pierluigi Oliverio as she continues to show support for the measure.

Dispensary operators must currently determine the tax by remitting their gross receipts. They’re also required to file financial audits so that the city can see the transactions on the general ledger.

“As of May 10, 73 medical marijuana collectives have remitted approximately $290,000 in taxes for the month of March,” the city announced on Friday, according to Toke of the Town.

Until recently, no one was sure just how much the San Jose medical marijuana tax would collect for the city.

Voters continue to overwhelmingly approve such laws. Funny, because San Jose still views their 100 or so medical marijuana dispensaries to be unlawful, but continue to require that the pot providers pay special marijuana taxes to help fund the cash-strapped city.

A majority of dispensary owners figured that government taxation would mean that they’ve finally received legal acceptance, but it’s now apparent that the providers will be catching it from both sides: they are still subject to police raids at the same time they are required to pay taxes to the government.

“The Finance Department is working with the City Manager’s Budget Office to develop a Marijuana Business Tax forecast, but this forecast can only be considered preliminary given the limited amount of collection data and the many factors that need to be integrated into the revenue projections,” says a letter signed by signed by Deputy City Manager Deanna J. Santana, Director of Finance Scott P. Johnson, and Director of Planning, Building & Code Enforcement Joseph Horwedel, San Jose’s Marijuana Business Tax (MBT). “These factors include future business closures and the impact of implementation of the City’s Medical Marijuana Regulatory Program.”

As we’ve discussed, the city is still planning to enforce zoning regulations, land use regulations and other punitive actions. They’re looking to enforce an existing law prohibiting marijuana dispensaries within 600 feet of schools to reduce the number of dispensaries in San Jose to only 10. Dispensaries, advocates and lawyers statewide will continue to fight for fair business rights for these dispensaries.
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April 23, 2011

Consumers Warned as Fraudulent Medical Cannabis Cards in California

By Cannabis Law Group

The Cannabis Doctors Network is currently streamlining efficacy, security, convenience and legality for patients who are qualified and are seeking to obtain a medical cannabis card in California. Our state currently hosts the most proactive laws to protect doctor recommended patients who are approved for the medical marijuana program, which currently allows for more than 100 different medical conditions to be treated using medicinal cannabis.

Unfortunately, this voter and state approved program consists of some fraudsters that are trying to swindle patients out of their hard earned monies too. These fraudulent providers offer bogus cards and false promises, according to marketwire.

Our California medical marijuana lawyers understand that the Medical Marijuana Program (MMP) was established to provide a voluntary medical marijuana identification card issuance to deserving parties. The program comes equipped with a registry program for qualified patients and their caregivers. The web-based registry system allows law enforcement and the public to verify the validity of qualified patient or caregiver’s card as authorization to possess, grow, transport and/or use Medical Marijuana in California, according to the MMP website.

“While there are plenty of credible organizations that can assist patients in getting a valid and legal medical marijuana recommendation in California, sadly there are some unscrupulous persons who are in it just for the easy buck,” warns Srii Srinivasan, spokesperson for Cannabis Doctors Network.

California was the first and remains the most well-known state to permit medical marijuana. The drug is currently being legally sold to patients in Colorado, Michigan, Montana, Oregon, Washington and New Mexico as well. Five other states will open for business this year, including Arizona, Rhode Island, Maine, New Jersey and the District of Columbia.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) specifically states that the only way that a patient can be issued a valid medical marijuana recommendation is by visiting a doctor that possesses in good standing, “a license to practice medicine or osteopathy in California issued by the Medical Board of California or the Osteopathic Medical Board of California.”

To receive a valid card, a registered physician must complete a full examination of the patient. An examination must include a patient’s history and must assume “responsibility for an aspect of the medical care,” according to CDPH. After an examination, the physician must “document in the patient’s medical record that the patient has a serious medical condition and that the medical use of marijuana is appropriate.”

Once the doctor examination is completed, records must be submitted to CDPH with any other required paperwork and needed fees for approval. It is then and only then that the state will review the patient’s information and decide whether or not to approve a medical marijuana card. When a patient is issued a card, they are protected by California Medical Marijuana Law as covered under California Senate Bill 420 (HS 11362.7) Medical Marijuana Implementation.

“Beware of doctors who promise you same day cards, or who will write you a prescription [which is illegal] for medical marijuana,” says Srinivasan. “If a doctor refers you to a marijuana dispensary, that’s illegal as well and is a sure sign of fraud.”

The Cannabis Doctors Network offers users an online system that allows patients to prequalify securely. They’re then matched with thoroughly prescreened medical marijuana doctors in our state.

“Make sure you are getting seen by a real doctor and that they are signing off on your recommendation, and not a nurse or an assistant,” explains Srinivasan. “This is the only way to be certain that you are fully covered under California law.”
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April 21, 2011

Los Angeles Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Fight Back Against City’s Lottery

By Cannabis Law Group

It’s about that time for another round of the costly, drawn-out legal brawl over how to control medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles. Two new lawsuits are stepping up to join the fight and continue to challenge the city’s latest ordinance.

Both filed in the Los Angeles County Superior Court in attempt to hinder the city’s ill-conceived attempts to establish a lottery to decide the winners and losers of its disastrous ordinance. The new lawsuits may launch another series of judicial hearings and thwart the city’s bid to enforce its ordinance, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The Los Angeles medical marijuana lawyers at the Cannabis Law Group represent some of the 64 dispensaries that have filed lawsuits against the city. The ordinance is aimed at closing about 450 legal businesses. The group offers reasonable legal fees and urges marijuana dispensaries to join the fight by calling today for a legal consultation.

In the middle of April, some of the oldest medical marijuana collectives in Los Angeles sued the city as they tried to overturn the ordinance. The ordinance chooses the dispensaries to be entered into a lottery, a process the lawsuits mock as “a euphemism for a municipal game of ‘Russian Roulette.'”

More than 20 dispensaries that are currently suing the city are among those that the City Council let operate when, in 2007, it adopted a moratorium on new stores. The city’s first ordinance would have allowed them to stay open if they complied with restrictions on locations. A judge ruled that key aspects of the law were unacceptable. In addition, the City Council passed a second ordinance that relied on a random drawing to select 100 dispensaries that will be allowed to stay open.

Our Los Angeles marijuana defense attorneys do not believe that any city has the right to create laws against legal businesses in direct violation of the laws of California, including the Medical Marijuana Act and the Compassionate Use Act. We also do not believe that it is fair to only target marijuana dispensaries that opened their doors after November of 2007. The city’s law is grossly unfair to one set of businesses, while favoring similar businesses with reduced competition and the legal means to remain open.

Our lawyers at the Cannabis Law Group remain dedicated to protecting the rights of legally operating medical marijuana growers, distributors and their patients against the overreaching actions of cities throughout the Los Angeles area. No city should be allowed to enact restrictions, ordinances or other hindrances to business operating legally under California law.

Even after following all previous ordinances in good faith, dispensaries are being forced to place all their luck in a lottery in hopes of being chosen to remain open. After being pushed around for so long, companies are now fighting back against the city as more and more lawsuits pile up.
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April 19, 2011

Medical Marijuana Dispensary in L.A. Shut Down After Raid

By Cannabis Law Group

A storefront pot doctor that lures patients with barkers was raided and shut down last week, according to the Los Angeles Times. The eye-catching, only-in-California feature was forced to close up shop when the state medical board and law enforcement officers raided three locations linked to Medical Kush Doctor. Officials confiscated at least two large plastic bags appearing to contain marijuana, roughly five pounds, from the California medical marijuana dispensary. Out of the deep-blue building next to Muscle Beach that houses a doctor’s office, cops investigated the smoke shop and a popular dispensary called the Medical Kush Beach Club.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana lawyers continue to report on the challenges facing the medical marijuana industry. Whether doctors and dispensaries are operating legally can be a difficult call. Hiring an experienced defense lawyer is the best course of action for protecting your freedom and your financial well-being.

Spokeswoman for the Medical Board of California, Jennifer Simoes, said the warrant was sealed. Simoes declined to discuss the reason for the board’s investigation, but said that the warrant was served on Ocean Front Walk.

The warrant allegedly authorized a search of the offices, vehicles and other property. It supposedly also allowed officials to seize various records related to the unlicensed practice of medicine. The raid reportedly began a little after 10:15 a.m.

The doctor reportedly rents the spaces and provides promotional services for medical marijuana doctors. The provider reported to have believed that the doctors he distributed to followed all of the state laws in issuing recommendations for marijuana use to their patients.

The operation was conducted with the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, the Los Angeles Police Department, the county Sheriff’s Department and the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which provided search dogs, according to the LA Times.
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March 30, 2011

Where are the Medical Marijuana Millionaires?

By Cannabis Law Group

As CNN Money reported, the medical marijuana millionaires are conspicuously absent from the economic landscape of the 21st century. Despite it being a multi-billion industry, abuses by state regulators and local politicians can cripple or kill a dispensary. And, as we reported on our Marijuana Lawyer Blog, the IRS can create tax and accounting nightmares for legitimate businesses operating under state medical marijuana laws.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana attorneys believe there is something more sinister at work than the commonplace ineptness of politicians. We believe the greed factor will continue to ensure dispensaries and collectives are hounded by local, state and federal officials. Those who have sought legal help have enjoyed some recent court victories. Many businesses that have tried to go it alone have been forced to close or have been run out of business by red tape and regulations.

A decade after medical marijuana became essentially legal under Colorado law, legislatures enacted tough new laws that made owning a Medical Marijuana Center no more profitable than running a corner liquor store. In California, the effort remains primarily among local politicians, who are spending millions of tax dollars in ill-advised, shoot-from-the-hip attempts to regulate, tax, and force legitimate businesses to close.

If you want to see what could be in store, look at Colorado, where lawmakers have passed detailed surveillance requirements and inventory tracking systems and are considering a ban on edible marijuana products, like brownies. Typically, these bills are “sponsored” by an amateur politician who is seeking the limelight. In most cases, he or she knows next to nothing about the issues.

Colorado is the only state with a for-profit medical marijuana system. License fees can cost $18,000 and the rules require the shops to grow at least 70 percent of their own marijuana — leaving their survival susceptible to crop failure.
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March 28, 2011

San Diego looking to Regulate Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

By Cannabis Law Group

California’s second-largest city is looking to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries, the Mercury News reported.

As our Los Angeles medical marijuana defense lawyers continue to report on our Marijuana Lawyer Blog, far too many cities are establishing laws that ignore the rights of marijuana collectives, dispensaries and patients under state law. In other cases, the actions of local law enforcement and government is leaving these legitimate businesses open to harassment or even criminal attack.

Under a proposal before the San Diego City Council, existing and new pot shops would have to obtain a permit and prove they are non-profit businesses. The issue of non-profit is also an increasingly contentious issue. Many marijuana businesses are hesitant to apply for nonprofit status because the sale of marijuana remains illegal under federal law. In other cases, municipalities have decided to tax marijuana businesses, despite a prohibition against taxing nonprofits.

The new ordinance would also limit dispensaries to operating hours between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. and would prevent them from operating within 1,000 feet of churches, schools, parks, libraries, playgrounds and other so-called sensitive areas.

Proponents of medical marijuana rights claim the move will push legitimate businesses to the far-flung industrial areas near the border, which are heavily patrolled by federal agents. Our medical marijuana dispense attorneys in San Jose and Los Angeles are also seeing county ordinances that ban dispensaries from establishing outside cities where such restrictions have passed.

Currently, about 80 dispensaries are operating in San Diego.
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February 27, 2011

Medical marijuana: Domestic grown v. Mexican cartels in Los Angeles

By Cannabis Law Group

Medical marijuana being grown in the U.S. has done little to slow the appetite for Mexican marijuana, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Our medical marijuana defense lawyers in San Bernardino and Orange counties continue to report on the struggles faced by the legitimate marijuana trade in Southern California.

In the 15 years since voters legalized medical marijuana in California, Mexican pot has become less popular. But the crop still earns drug cartels an estimated $2 billion a year. California’s estimated 1,700 dispensaries service 400,000 customers, putting it ahead of other states that have legalized marijuana for medical purposes. Still, Mexican cartels derive as much as one-fourth of their income from marijuana sales. And the amount seized along the Southwest Border has jumped nearly 50 percent in the last 5 years.

The Drug Enforcement Administration reports domestic marijuana sales have more than doubled in the last five years, while the sale of Mexican marijuana has increased about 60 percent. However, the agency acknowledged most of the marijuana sold in Los Angeles and the Bay Area is domestically produced.

That would seem to suggest that the crackdown on legal medical marijuana could result in further enriching the violent cartels in charge of the illegal trade.

Many states have followed in California’s footsteps when it comes to legalizing medical marijuana:

States with laws permitting medical marijuana and when they were adopted:

Alaska (1998)

Arizona (2010)

California (1996)

Colorado (2000)

Hawaii (2000)

Maine (1999)

Michigan (2008)

Montana (2004)

Nevada (2000)

New Jersey (2010)

New Mexico (2007)

Oregon (1998)

Rhode Island (2006)

Vermont (2004)

Washington (1998)

(Also permitted in District of Columbia in 2010)
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February 5, 2011

Supporters hope to return California legalization measure to the November 2012 ballot

By Cannabis Law Group

Marijuana legalization advocates are already plotting their next fight in the wake of last fall’s defeat of Proposition 19, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana defense lawyers are committed to fighting for the rights of patients, dispensaries and collectives throughout Southern California. Those medical marijuana businesses that choose to fight for survival will have the best chance against the many city and county ordinances attempting to force them out of business.

As we reported on our Marijuana Lawyer Blog, a number of medical marijuana court victories prove it is a battle worth waging. Nor do we think legalization will solve the issues. The same state law enforcement agencies and prosecutors who seem to have trouble following state law will be no less apt to grant rights to users once marijuana is legalized. And California marijuana legalization could prompt a federal crackdown.

Advocates in Berkeley met on Saturday to debate the language for the next ballot measure. Proposition 19, which would have legalized possession of up to an ounce of marijuana, failed in November by a margin of 46 percent to 54 percent.

Advocates hope to have it back on the ballot in November 2012.

Saturday’s conference was sponsored by the California chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

One of the challenges that resulted in November’s defeat is that many growers and marijuana dispensaries opposed the measure, for fear it would put them out of business. The conference was attended by about 300, including a marijuana dispensary operator from Los Angeles who said the existing medical marijuana industry did not want to be used as a stepping stone for successful passage of a marijuana legalization measure.
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