California marijuana dispensaries

April 15, 2018

For Those in California ‘Pot Deserts,’ Legal Weed is Just a Mirage

Both medical and recreational marijuana are now legal in California. And yet for about 40 percent of the state, it would be difficult to tell. Thanks to some data analysis compiled by The Sacramento Bee, we can clearly see how local regulations have shaped the pot landscape in the state as a whole and how it is affecting people who live in more remote areas of California.

The report defined some regions of California as being “pot deserts” – areas where residents have to travel 60 miles or more to access legal marijuana at a licensed dispensary. An additional 29 percent have to drive 30 to 60 miles to the closest location. This disparity in cannabis access stems from the clause in Proposition 64 that allows local governments to establish their own set of recreational marijuana regulations or to ban sales altogether. While a majority of residents in the state clearly favor adult-use marijuana based on the 2016 vote, there is seemingly a desire among many districts to leave the actual growing, producing, and selling of the drug to other cities … cities far away from their own. Continue reading

July 1, 2017

Co-location of Medical Marijuana Recreational Use Marijuana in CA Proposed

By Cannabis Law Group

Medical cannabis sales are already big business in California. With the recreational use of marijuana soon being legal in California, it is expected that the marijuana industry in our state could grow by tenfold into a multibillion dollar industry.

marijuana business Riverside Those in the marijuana industry have pushed for the sale of recreational use marijuana to be allowed in the same establishments that dispense medical marijuana. According to a recent news article from KTLA News 5, Governor Jerry Brown and several state representatives have proposed a law that would allow for the medical marijuana and recreational use marijuana to be legally sold at a single location. This is known as the co-location of marijuana sales. Continue reading

February 5, 2017

Report: Colorado Marijuana Laws May Not be Safe

By Cannabis Law Group

Federal appeals court judges are reviewing how far certain racketeering laws can be extended in a case that could threaten the right to recreational marijuana in California. gavel

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reportedly took oral arguments in a case that consolidates several claims and argues the recreational marijuana law in Colorado violates U.S. racketeering and controlled substances law. Both Oklahoma and Nebraska joined the claim after the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to consider an earlier case they brought asserting Colorado’s pro-marijuana law was unconstitutional and illegally facilitated the industrialization of marijuana. The consolidated appeals also contain complaints from several county sheriffs offices as well as a horse ranch.

Plaintiffs assert that neighboring states have had to contend with federally-illegal substances crossing their borders, causing a strain on local law enforcement and other interested parties. The federal appellate court judges are now considering whether RICO or other federal statutes should have an impact on marijuana cultivation on properties (particularly those near Denver, where this case is being considered). Continue reading

January 4, 2017

Marijuana Industry Poised to Generate Many New Jobs

By Cannabis Law Group

With marijuana now legal in some capacity in more than half of all states, the industry is poised to see a job boom over the next few years. business

Even prior to the election, industry analysis conducted by ArcView group and GreenWave Advisors tallied that the industry was worth somewhere between $4.8 billion and $5.4 billion in 2015, with projections that it would hit $6.5 billion to $6.7 billion this year. Both groups say the industry will surpass $20 billion nationally by 2020, while others, such as Marijuana Business Daily, is opining growth could be up to $40 billion over the next five years. Those estimates are only going up since the results of the November election, when eight states – including California – voting to legalize the drug in some capacity. Here, recreational use and possession is now permitted, and regulations are being worked out to determine the guidelines for production and sales.

Already, some individuals who got in early enough – when the field was still quite new and very risky – have struck a veritable gold mine. One entrepreneur in Denver opened a dispensary there in 2009 called Medicine Man. Now, several of his family members are on board, running nine businesses that employ over 100 workers in total. Employees at his country make anywhere from a starting salary of $13-an-hour, all the way up to six-figure positions for working in critical management roles. Continue reading

January 2, 2017

Marijuana is Legal in California, But Employers Can Still Use it Against You

By Cannabis Law Group

With the election over and recreational marijuana approved by California voters, people still have many questions about what this is going to mean in their day-to-day lives. One of the most common questions our marijuana lawyers receive: “Am I now exempted from an employer drug test?”

Unfortunately, no. buds

Although recreational use of the drug is now legal, the new law specifically holds that companies have the right to keep a drug- and alcohol-free workplace. They reserve the right to hang onto policies that disallow the use of marijuana by workers or prospective workers. Many employers in contact with cannabis advocacy group California NORML say they intend to keep their current drug screening policies, many of which do not allow the use of marijuana.

Companies say it’s not just that they are trying to be a stick in the mud. Those in human resources explain there are some legal concerns, first as far as federal law goes. Although California law now allows recreational and medicinal use, the federal government does not. The second concern stems from liability. A worker who is required to operate heavy machinery or be on high alert cannot be under the influence of any substance, including marijuana. Continue reading

December 8, 2016

First Marijuana Debit Payment App Allows Ease of Legal Transactions

By Cannabis Law Group

One of the greatest difficulties for the marijuana industry – since its beginning – was a lack of access to banking. Federal statutes defining marijuana as a Schedule I narcotic have meant that banks agreeing to handle a marijuana company’s finances would risk criminal charges for money laundering. debit card

As it still stands, Visa and Mastercard have made it explicitly clear they will not work with marijuana retail companies until the federal government changes the law and legalizes the drug. But that could mean opportunity for some other financial firms willing to take the risk.

Now, an app called CanPay has announced the creation of the very first debit payment solution available to buyers of cannabis in Colorado, Washington and Oregon. Continue reading