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Video 1 KTLA Channel 5 News Story June 18, 2010: Lake Forest Medical Marijuana Dispensary Appealing Injunction Order Video 2 KTTV Channel 11 News Story June 4, 2010: Los Angeles Medical Marijuana Dispensary Challenges LA's Ordinance Video 3 Cannabis Law Group's Attorney Damian Nassiri Sues the City of Los Angeles To Block It's Ban on Medical Marijuana as Featured on PBS's So Cal Insider - Part 1

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The California-based cannabis list site, Weedmaps, has held true to its promise to drop unlicensed cannabis advertising listings from its platform by January 1, but the work is ongoing.

Industry insiders say the very nature of Weedmaps – a self-published platform that fails to vet ads prior to posting them – continues to afford illegal businesses a means of maintaining a small presence on its promotional site.

Cannabis business attorneyBackground
In late 2019, the licensed California cannabis industry pressed Weedmaps to cease posting ads for illegal marijuana businesses. The site then set itself a deadline of January 1, 2020. By which time, the platform said it would require current state license number submissions for all California advertisers on its site, before ads could go live.

And as that January 1 deadline has arrived, the industry has been taking note. A Weedmaps statement earlier this week indicated the site had received state issued license numbers from “hundreds of retail clients.” But the statement failed to share the number of ads rejected, and also neglected to detail how many Californian companies currently advertise on the platform.
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California’s cannabis tourism may look a little different in 2020. That’s because the Golden state’s lawmakers recently closed a loophole with Assembly Bill 1810, to prevent passengers from smoking or vaping cannabis products while inside moving vehicles.

For some time, state legislators had been pushing for a bill that protects limousine and party bus drivers from the effects of second-hand cannabis smoke. Senate Bill 625 was first introduced by Californian Senator Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo).

marijuana legalizationSenate Bill 625
SB 625 bill stated passengers were permitted to consume cannabis within a limousine, pedicab, camper, houseboat, bus or taxi. But it also required drivers were to be separated from passenger compartments, and provided with ventilation systems separate from those smoking pot. These measures were intended to protect drivers from inhaling second-hand smoke and unintentionally becoming high while driving. A measure drivers welcomed, because if consuming pot at the wheel, not only could they pose a risk on the roads, but if testing positive they could also lose their jobs, and their commercial driving licenses.
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With 2020 being the third year Californians enjoy the legal use and sale of recreational cannabis, stakeholders expect new laws kicking in, big court cases taking place, and major reforms to criminal justice, all to make this a big year for the cannabis industry.

While 2019 was a challenging year for many cannabis business operators, industry insiders say changes being ushered in bring with them hope, that situations will improve for business owners as the industry presses on.

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After two years of licensed cannabis stores selling legalized marijuana across California, the industry has encountered numerous teething problems. Crippling regulation and licensing costs, rising local and state taxes, local city usage bans, and a strong illicit market that shows little sign of waning, have all proved to hinder industry growth. At this point, it is safe to say the Golden State’s legal marijuana industry is in need of a little prod, to help it move forward.

Calling for a Return to the Ballot
With lawmakers seemingly finding it difficult to pass any changes as quickly as the cannabis industry needs them, Cody Bass has floated another idea.
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Californian payment provider, Linx Card, has fielded a spate of lawsuits from cannabis businesses in recent months, who claim the primary provider of debit merchant services to marijuana retail stores, owes them millions.

Linx offers customers a platform where they can purchase Linx gift cards, or pre-paid debit cards, that can then be used to make in-store cannabis product purchases using those cards. Terminals within select retail stores sell the Linx gift cards, as does the Linx website.

marijuana bankingCourt Filing Woes
Court filings made across the country allege that Linx owes at least four marijuana businesses money. Those sums include:

  • $40,092 to Universal Herbal Center and Pineapple Express (who operate marijuana stores in California);
  • $114,962 to Colorado retailer, Silver Stem Fine Cannabis;
  • $939,010 to Las Vegas superstore retailer, Planet 13; and
  • $1.5 million to Arizona and Nevada Reef Dispensaries.

In a statement, Linx CEO Patrick Hammond, acknowledged the company is working to resolve these issues and plans to ensure retailers are paid in full.

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The nationwide vape crisis, driven by high-profile health scares that included an outbreak of lung injuries has led to California cannabis vape companies’ sales taking a steep dive along with consumer confidence. Although much of the problem appears to have been tracked to illegal manufacturers – some not even in the U.S. – consumers are still wary of wading back into the vape world. Los Angeles cannabis vape company lawyer

To combat the problem and assure the public that their products are safe, a growing number of cannabis vape businesses are unveiling various technologies that create a more transparent supply chain.

Our Los Angeles cannabis vape company attorneys understand some of these solutions involve smartphone apps that show buyers:

  • Certificates of analysis that show the product has been through a battery of quality testing;
  • QR codes that give consumers information about the usage and dosing of each particular vape product;
  • Encryption cartridges so consumers can be sure that what they’re buying is a safe, state-legal product;
  • Proof the manufacturer has adopted quality testing methods that go above and beyond what the state requires.

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Last year, the California Bureau of Cannabis Control adopted a controversial policy allowing marijuana deliveries everywhere in the state – even in locations where city officials formally banned adult use retail sales, as is their express right under Proposition 64. Our Los Angeles marijuana delivery attorneys recognize this provision as key to the future success of the legal cannabis market in California. That’s why we’ll be closely following the developments in the case of County of Santa Cruz et al v. Bureau of Cannabis Control, slated to be heard in the Superior Court in Fresno in April 2020. A countersuit filed against the county by a marijuana retailer out of Salinas is slated to be heard by the Superior Court in Santa Cruz in July 2020. Los Angeles marijuana delivery lawyer

If this challenge to marijuana’s delivery law succeeds, it would not only threaten the many marijuana delivery services that rely on the state’s protection, it would also be yet another significant threat to the success of California’s struggling legal market by giving black market vendors a major inroad to under-served consumers.

The lawsuit was filed by 24 cities and Santa Cruz County, all of them contending that the state regulatory agency crossed the boundaries of its authority when it made the rule pertaining to marijuana deliveries. They assert that Prop. 64 expressly imbued local governments with the authority to restrict and even prohibit cannabis sales and activity inside their own districts, and the bureau’s policy is a direct affront to that right. Continue reading

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The City of Pasadena sued itself over a controversial cannabis ballot initiative – and won. The result is a judge has ordered the county to remove the proposed measure from the city ballot in the upcoming March election. Had the initiative passed, it would have legalized some 18 cannabis businesses operating without in the city without permits.Los Angeles marijuana business lawyer

Not only would those stores have been legalized, but they wouldn’t be subjected to the same set of stringent rules laid forth in the city’s permitting process. The rules for pot shop permitting in Pasadena are so strict, in fact, that it only allows four-to-six retailers to operate in the city at a given time.

The measure had been signed by more than 9,000 residents, so the city clerk had no choice but to add it to the ballot. The city didn’t blame the clerk or other city employees for the proposed measure; they did what the law compelled them to do. But in order to remove it from the ballot, an attorney for the city explained there was no choice but to sue its own clerk as well as the county’s registrar of voters. Neither the clerk nor the city were defending the initiative; that was left to another lawyer who represented the interests of those backing it. Only a judge could determine whether a ballot initiative is unlawful in advance of such a vote. The city sought an expedient ruling, as a decision was needed by Christmas Eve in order to ensure the measure could be removed from the spring ballot. Continue reading

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In a recent statement on a large-scale federal funding bill that President Donald Trump signed into law, he released a statement indicating he reserves the right to essentially ignore any provision of law approved by Congress that seeks to shield medical marijuana laws from federal interference. Los Angeles marijuana lawyer

The statement notes that Division B, section 531 of the Act disallows the U.S. Department of Justice from using funds made available under the act to prevent medical marijuana cultivation and distribution by the various states and territories where it’s allowed. The Trump administration, the statement said, would treat this provision in a manner consistent with the president’s constitutional duty to execute federal laws in good faith. As it stands, marijuana is still classified as a Schedule I narcotic under the Controlled Substances Act.

Our Los Angeles marijuana lawyers don’t necessarily take this to mean the president will ignore the Congressional block on DOJ funds or that we’ll start seeing any enforcement crackdown efforts again soon as we did a few years ago under the Obama administration. In fact, it might not mean much considering presidents often will sign statements like these while flagging certain aspects they believe might be an impediment to executive branch authority.

Ambiguous though the statement was, it still warrants some degree of concern. The effect of it is that the executive branch has expressly declared that it can broadly enforce U.S. drug laws against people or marijuana businesses, even if they’re in total compliance with state marijuana laws and even though Congress has instructed the executive branch to use a hands-off approach. Continue reading

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California’s Compassionate Use Act, the 1996 law that made this state the first in the country to allow medical marijuana, gave patients with serious illnesses a means to access cannabis products for free through small, non-profit collectives and dispensaries. However, since the passage of Proposition 64 in 2016, wherein California voters approved cultivation and sales of the drug for recreational use, funding for low-income patients qualified for medical marijuana through CUA has run dry. Los Angeles marijuana lawyer

Our Los Angeles marijuana lawyers know this is largely thanks to the fact that with legalization came a flood of state and local taxation. The drug is taxed at virtually every stage – from seed to sale – making it difficult if not impossible for patients to access the drug at lower costs as they once did. Marijuana is taxed largely the same whether it’s donated for medicinal use or sold for profit. The markup can be as much as 40 percent.

Patients who have relied on cannabis as a daily use medicinal said the prices have resulted in the plant being out of reach. Some point to this as yet another piece of the puzzle as to why the black market thrives. Low-income patients, veterans and others face buying illegal stock or else going without altogether. Some providers who were once paying $10-per-patient suddenly were suddenly paying $100-a-patient after Prop. 64.

SB-34, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this year, is an attempt to rectify this problem. Continue reading

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