Proposition 19 lacked support from some in California’s medical marijuana community

The state’s marijuana legalization effort may have failed because of a lack of support from medical marijuana patients in California, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Our Los Angeles medical marijuana defense lawyers have written about this issue before. While legalizing marijuana in California would likely take some of the undue attention away from medical marijuana collectives and growers — who are still fighting for their rights 15 years after medical marijuana became legal in California — it could also invite additional competition.

Big Tobacco, for example, was rumored to be purchasing farmland in preparation for passage of a law legalizing marijuana. And the City of Oakland voted to explore the possibility of backing an industrial growing operation. Consequently, medical marijuana farmers were worried about their livelihood and local dispensaries were worried about being put out of business by pot WalMart.

In reality, we think the existing marijuana industry would have been in the best position to capitalize on legalization and that marijuana legalization would have taken some of the heat off the medical marijuana industry, at least in the short run. But the reality is many state and local officials are not obeying the medical marijuana law so there is little or no reason to think they would honor the rights of recreational users.

The CANNABIS LAW GROUP is a law firm dedicated to the rights of medical marijuana patients, collectives and growers and has built a reputation for high-powered, aggressive legal representation of the medical marijuana industry in Southern California. Call 949-375-4734 for a confidential consultation to discuss your rights.