California marijuana lawyer

March 29, 2023

Federal Bipartisan Effort Seeks to Reschedule Psychedelic Breakthrough Therapies

Federal lawmakers – from both sides of the aisle and in both Congressional bodies – are pushing for a means of streamlining so-called “breakthrough therapies” that involve psychedelic drugs like MDMA and psilocybin for the purpose of promoting drug research and development. California cannabis lawyer

As longtime Los Angeles cannabis business attorneys, we help break down what legislators are after.

The new bill, introduced by Democrats and Republicans in both the House and Senate, is titled the, “Breakthrough Therapies Act.” It seeks to revise the U.S. Controlled Substances Act by establishing a procedure through which certain Schedule I narcotics can be considered “therapies” by the U.S. food & Drug Administration. Either that, or they could qualify for a waiver via the U.S. food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). This waiver would allow the drugs to be transferred under a lower-schedule classification to research facilities and pharmaceutical laboratories.

November 17, 2022

Could California Be Next to Legalize Psychedelics?

By Cannabis Law Group

The decriminalization and legalization of recreational psychedelics in Colorado – the second state behind Oregon to do so – signals a shift our Los Angeles marijuana lawyers expect to see emerge in California as well. California legal mushrooms

Voters in Colorado recently passed a ballot initiative during the recent election that makes it lawful for adults to buy, possess, and use a number of psychedelic substances, including:

Dimethylryptamine (DMT). Sometimes called DMT, Dimitri, or Spirit Molecule, this naturally-occurring tryptamine that occurs in many plants and animals. It can also be reproduced in a laboratory. It’s used recreationally in the U.S. and the U.K., but has a long history of use by various cultures for ritual purposes. It’s a Schedule I narcotic under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act.

August 15, 2022

Weedmaps Listing Unlicensed, Illegal California Pot Retailers, Complaints Allege

By Cannabis Law Group

Complaints made to California state officials and federal authorities allege that online cannabis advertising behemoth Weedmaps is once again promoting marijuana retailers and products that are unlicensed and illegal. Los Angeles marijuana lawyer

As our Los Angeles cannabis lawyers understand it, the complaints, filed a few months ago with the state’s Department of Cannabis Control and the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, assert that the executives at Weedmaps has opened to the door to black market marijuana purveyors, giving them a platform where customers can find them, as well as products that exceed safe, legal THC levels. The complaints assert that Weedmaps is aware that they are facilitating black market business and sales through their website, but has failed time and again to take action to stop it.

Black market activity, of course, directly harms legal, licensed businesses. This is well-established. The complaint alleges that Weedmaps is giving underground operators an edge competitively by allowing them to advertise on the platform. Inevitably, they’re going to be able to sell their product (which isn’t heavily taxed and hasn’t undergone rigorous testing) at much lower rates. Although Weedmaps purports to serve the legal market, this practice ends up undercutting that stated objective.

You may recall, it’s been a little over four years now that Weedmaps caught the ire of state authorities over allegations of illegal advertisements. The company, based in California, took down some of its online advertising two years ago, prior to going public last year. Continue reading

June 16, 2022

Feds Want Banks’ Marijuana Business Data to Bust Money Laundering Schemes

By Cannabis Law Group

Federal authorities with the U.S. Treasure Department want banks to begin collecting – and turning over – data from their marijuana clients so investigators can uncover potential money laundering schemes. cannabis money laundering lawyer

Although our Los Angeles marijuana business lawyers know this news might cause wariness among those in the pot industry, it’s worth pointing out that such data is already gleaned from businesses in other industries, such as convenience stores, car dealers, liquor stores, and casinos. It may in fact by a sign that the federal government is starting (albeit at a snail’s pace) to recognize the state-legal cannabis market as legitimate.

The Treasury’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency posted its notice in the Federal Register indicating that it plans to keep tabs on cannabis companies as part of its regular yearly filings required of banks. In addition to marijuana businesses, other markets of emerging interest to federal financial regulators are ATM operators and crypto asset traders. The Money Laundering Risk system used by the OCC boosts the ability of federal investigators and banks to flag and investigate potential money laundering risks.

Public comment on these proposed changes is open through early August.

We don’t know exactly how information gleaned from those bank-submitted Risk Summary Forms are analyzed, but the notice indicates the data is used to help authorities better pinpoint those that “may pose heightened risk” of money laundering activities.

As of last September, it was reported there were more than 750 banks and credit unions actively serving cannabis company clients. That was an uptick of 7 percent since the previous quarter.

Within the last year, the U.S. Census Bureau also began gathering information on state government revenues generated from state-legal marijuana. Also, the U.S. Economic Classification Policy Committee issued a recommendation to include marijuana companies as an official designation within the North American Industry Classification System. This system helps the government keep tabs on market and employment information on industries throughout all of North America. Continue reading

May 14, 2022

Feds to Return $1.1 Million in Marijuana Fund Seizures

By Cannabis Law Group

The U.S. Department of Justice has agreed to return more than $1 million in seized marijuana funds to settle a lawsuit filed last year by a California cannabis business lawsuit alleging “highway robbery.” California civil forfeiture cannabis business

Funds at issue belonged to Empyreal Logistics, an armored car company based in Pennsylvania that was targeted by local and federal task forces in San Bernardino County in November and December. As our Los Angeles marijuana business lawyers understand it, the cars were carrying cannabis business cash in conjunction with legal marijuana operations in California. A task force comprised of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the San Bernardino County sheriff’s office resulted in confiscation of cash.

While the company was operating legally under state law, the problem is the conflict with existing federal forfeiture laws, which open the door to target even compliant businesses. This is not new. Civil forfeiture law has enabled law enforcement agencies to seize millions from legal business proceeds – with threats to keep it. That’s precisely what happened here – and Empyreal Logistics sued.

November 5, 2021

L.A. Marijuana Lawyer on Cannabis, Crypto and the Courtroom

By Cannabis Law Group

An agricultural research and commercial hemp company is attempting to bankroll a civil lawsuit against the state of California through crowdfunding, asking investors to purchase cryptocurrency. The lawsuit alleges state officials unlawfully destroyed more than $1 billion of the hemp crop belonging to Apothio LLC in 2019. Los Angeles marijuana business lawyer

As reported by Reuters, this approach breaks some ground on numerous fronts. Small investors, for the first time, can put up as little as $100 or as much as $500,000 to buy a stake in the outcome of the civil litigation. Although the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has long allowed individuals to invest in litigation finance deals, those individuals had to meet SEC accreditation criteria. This approach of sidestepping those rigorous requirements is allowed under an SEC provision that permits up to $5 million in litigation financing through crowdfunding. Furthermore, to the best of our Los Angeles cannabis attorneys’ knowledge, this is a first for tokenizing litigation funding through blockchain. What that means is if the firm ends up winning the case and getting paid, investors will be paid their share of the verdict in tokens from the company.

Within a day of the request going live, the company had raised more than $156,000 from 85 investors – more than 60 percent of the target minimum of $250,000.

This is an interesting approach that we imagine many California marijuana business lawyers are going to be watching closely, as it may allow a greater number of plaintiffs of all sizes to pursue civil litigation for unfair regulatory action, such as destroying crops or license revocation. Continue reading

September 15, 2021

Bills Advance Allowing Smokable Hemp and Medical Marijuana in Hospitals

By Cannabis Law Group

Our California cannabis business attorneys know this is a field that this is an area of law that is constantly evolving. Case-in-point, two bills that could have a significant impact were advanced. One involves a bill now on the governor’s desk that allows for sales of hemp-derived CBD and ending prohibition on sales of smokable hemp products. The second, a measure to mandate hospitals allow medical marijuana use by certain patients, has advanced in the state legislature. marijuana laws California

Our dedicated cannabis lawyers in Los Angeles are committed to assisting marijuana and hemp farmers, producers, retailers, and ancillary firms navigate the changing legal landscape.

Hemp Regulations

The first, Assembly Bill 45, passed easily in both the state House and Senate. The measure is the result of years of advocacy to update the laws for hemp companies in California. Continue reading

September 8, 2021

California Supreme Court: Cannabis Law Not Applicable to Prison Inmates

By Cannabis Law Group

Inmates in prison are not allowed to possess recreational marijuana while incarcerated, according to a new ruling by the California Supreme Court. The court overturned a lower court’s decision that held prisoners were allowed to have the drug, so long as they didn’t use it. Los Angeles marijuana lawyer

The case, California v. Raybon, involves five inmates in a California state prison who were convicted on felony charges after being found with marijuana in their cells. The men appealed to the 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento, which overturned their convictions after determining that while they could not legally eat or smoke pot in prison, possession of marijuana is no longer a criminal offense. As our Los Angeles marijuana defense lawyers can explain, this ruling conflicted with those of other appellate courts.

The state supreme court weighed in after a challenge from the state attorney general. In a split 5-2 ruling, the high court held that Prop 64, which legalized recreational marijuana in California, was not applicable to prison inmates. The majority opinion held that there as nothing in the ballot materials for the law that indicated voters had considered or were even aware of how this might impact possession of the drug in prison. The court stated, “it seems implausible that the voters intended to essentially decriminalize marijuana in prison.”

Had the public intended to alter the laws and policies regarding possession of cannabis in prison settings, they would have stated so explicitly, the court ruled. Further, it would make no sense that voters would wish to continue to criminalize the consumption of cannabis in prison, yet allow inmates to legally posses it. Continue reading

July 7, 2021

Mixed Indicators of Marijuana Legalizations This Term

By Cannabis Law Group

Last month, supporters of marijuana legalization got a welcome surprise when conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas questioned the constitutionality of federal prohibitions on marijuana. That line of questioning didn’t alter federal law, but it does seem to inch us closer to a reality where cannabis could be legalized, regulated and accepted the same way alcohol has. Hope has been especially high since the election of President Joe Biden. Still, the actual odds aren’t at all clear-cut. Los Angeles marijuana business lawyer

As of the beginning of this month, recreational marijuana was legal in 18 states, while medical marijuana was legal in 36. Since March of this year, five more states have enacted or introduced legislation that would legalize production, sales and use of the plant. Further, more than 9 in 10 Americans queried by the Pew Research Center believe cannabis should be legal at least for medicinal use.

Despite all this, though, marijuana continues to be classified as a Schedule I narcotic under federal law. As our Los Angeles marijuana business lawyers can explain, that’s the same category used for drugs like heroin – highly addictive and with no medicinal purpose. Obviously, the label isn’t congruent with the reality, and there is a clear disconnect between federal and state laws that has proven a fine line for cannabis companies to walk. Continue reading

October 15, 2020

California Marijuana Text Ads Spur High-Cost Lawsuits

By Cannabis Law Group

Unsolicited marijuana business text advertisements have resulted in a number of class action lawsuits against pot providers, accused of spamming recipients with unwanted sales and deals. At least 12 marijuana ad lawsuits have been filed across the country over the last two years. Eaze, a California marijuana delivery company, is one of the first of those cases to head to court. That case was ultimately sent to arbitration last year, and the company ended up settling another similar case pre-trial for an undisclosed sum. Los Angeles marijuana marketing lawyer

Cannabis companies would be wise to turn to Los Angeles marijuana advertising attorneys before launching any sort of marketing campaign, as the navigating the legal waters of such enterprises can be fraught with peril. The reality is, marijuana marketers can’t afford to turn a blind eye to federal law that is on the side of consumers in these cases. After mounting a defense and settling a case, you could easily be looking at six-figures.

One of the primary issues in these cases are reported violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), a federal law that prohibits transmitting unsolicited advertisements of any goods, property or services to a person without their express prior permission or invitation. A cannabis advertising lawyer in California can help you review your marketing practices to make sure you aren’t risking vulnerability to such claims. Continue reading