Los Angeles marijuana criminal defense lawyer

July 3, 2019

How Changing Hemp Laws Altered Marijuana Search-and-Seizure Rules

Police and prosecutors across the country are grappling with questions regarding the impact of federal hemp laws on criminal marijuana investigations. As one state attorney in Florida put it: Legal hemp is going to make state-level marijuana arrests a whole lot tougher.

Los Angeles marijuana criminal defense lawyers understand it comes down to the way marijuana trafficking investigations are so often initiated around the country: The ever-objective nose test.

To be fair, cannabis does have its own distinct olfactory properties. As many defense attorneys will tell you in states where the drug is still either banned entirely or restricted to card-carrying medical users, a sizable percentage of marijuana arrests begin with a traffic stop, detection of that aroma and a warrantless vehicle search. (These searches often yield items unrelated, such as other narcotics, firearms, etc.)

Historically, it’s been difficult for marijuana defense lawyers to dispute an officer’s sense of smell, especially where marijuana was indeed later found.

But now, virtually all arrests stemming from that common scenario are going to be called into question, if a memo from one state attorney is correct. Continue reading

March 19, 2019

Can California Cannabis Market Avoid Abundance Crash-and-Burn?

By Cannabis Law Group

We reported recently in our Los Angeles Cannabis Attorney Blog that a report from marijuana analytics team Vessel Logistics, showing that even if California cannabis farmers were to slash their production of the plant by 50 percent, we would still end up with a significant surplus of marijuana. This could have significant implications, potentially spurring cannabis companies at every leg of the supply chain to fold. cannabis farmer attorney

Pot Shops Bogged Down by Regulation, Cheap Black Market Competitors

Part of how we got into this mess was California’s historical reliance on black-market sales, including those out-of-state. Federal law prohibits transport of marijuana across state lines, considering it a serious felony drug trafficking offense. Prior to legalization (even after by companies that hadn’t yet obtained a permanent permit) businesses reportedly offloaded excess marijuana product (including that which failed to meet the strict lab testing guidelines issued/overseen by the California Bureau of Cannabis Control) to those willing to pay a little less for it on the black market. A lot of that product then went east, to states where the drug wasn’t easily found or where the only market for it is illicit. Continue reading

November 22, 2018

California Cannabis Tourists: Buy it Here, Keep it Here

By Cannabis Law Group

A couple from Minnesota was recently convicted on federal possession with intent to distribute charges after they were accused of hauling more than 1,000 pounds of California cannabis in their RV and were on their way home when they were stopped in Montana. They face between 5 and 40 years in prison for the charges, plus a $5 million fine and up to four years of supervised release. It’s not clear exactly how officers were tipped off to the pair, though Los Angeles marijuana business lawyers understand Montana authorities were notified via the Minnesota drug task force before they were stopped leaving a casino. Defendant reportedly told authorities he was paid $20,000. Los Angeles marijuana lawyer

Transport of marijuana across state lines has always been a federal crime, and the fact the drug can now be obtained legally by adults in states like California has not changed that. Even traveling from a state like Washington to California – where the drug is legal for recreational purposes in both states – is technically a crime in the eyes of federal law. It may even be considered trafficking, and you could face five years in prison for possession with intent to distribute as little as 50 grams.

Practically speaking, if you transport cannabis across state lines from one state to another where both have legalized cannabis for recreation, you may not incur any serious penalty. But if this is something you are thinking about or planning, take no action before first speaking with a Los Angeles marijuana attorney because technically, to do so IS a crime. Continue reading

June 15, 2018

Criminal Charges Dropped for Prominent Marijuana Dispensary Owner

By Cannabis Law Group

Cannabis legalization isn’t enough to protect someone from being arrested on marijuana criminal charges. Being one marijuana criminal defense of the trailblazing marijuana business owners in the state isn’t even necessarily enough. Just ask the woman who opened Ventura County’s first legal medical marijuana dispensary. She has spent the last year and a half facing down charges for perjury, possessing and transporting marijuana, and maintaining a place to sell the drug. These charges, however, were recently dropped, freeing her to focus on her business at last.

The woman is also president of a collective in Ojai, Calif. The property of the collective and her own home in Ventura were raided in November 2016, just before Proposition 64 passed on the ballot. She lost many personal possessions in addition to property of the collective. At the time, the collective was operating under the guidelines of Compassionate Use Act of 1996, which regulated use and sales of medical marijuana in the state, but investigators said she was in violation of those rules, according to a Ventura County Star article. Continue reading

June 10, 2018

Cannabis Drivers Burnt By Confiscation of Property

By Cannabis Law Group

Nine drivers in Northern California are speaking out against what they say are shady practices by marijuana criminal defense police departments who allegedly are targeting businesses while transporting cannabis and seizing their delivery and cash. North Coast Journal conducted an investigation of these cases and found a pattern of confiscations over the past three years without any charges ever being filed against the drivers. Each of the incidents allegedly occurred during traffic stops with local police officers, and some said they were not even in the jurisdiction of that department when the stops were made.

It is not unusual that officers would share duties with other departments near major highways, like Highway 101, to patrol those long stretches of road. It’s not even unusual that they would be intercepting illegal drug transports, as the department in question was part of joint efforts to go after cocaine, meth, opioids, ecstasy, and methamphetamines. Also on the list of targeted drugs, though, was marijuana, and drivers alleged officers showed no interest in whether or not drivers were in compliance with state and local laws. One driver described a briefcase full of all necessary paperwork he carried on his route in case he was pulled over, but it allegedly did not protect him, and the contents of his vehicle were confiscated. Continue reading