Los Angeles marijuana lawyer blog

Authorities in Los Angeles allege three men in Southern California received funding from China to engage in a scheme to purchase residential real estate and turn it into lucrative marijuana grow operations. Los Angeles marijuana criminal defense

NBC-4 Los Angeles reports the men, ages 37 to 44, all of Pasadena, were each charged in an L.A. federal court with one count of manufacturing, distributing and possessing marijuana with intent to distribute. As our L.A. marijuana criminal defense lawyers can explain, depending on the amount of marijuana purportedly involved, this could result in a maximum prison term of anywhere from 5 years to life, per 21 U.S.C. § 841.

Investigators allege the men were wired millions of dollars from China in order to buy homes that would be used in illegal cannabis grow operations. During one of the search warrants executed, authorities reportedly seized some $80,000 in cash plus 1,650 marijuana plants. Federal authorities took possession of at least seven houses, with an estimated cumulative value of $5 million, per the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Continue reading

Marijuana has been around since before recorded history, but as it was illegal for almost the last 80 years of U.S. history, we’re only just now seeing a rush on pot-related patents. Technically, as our Los Angeles marijuana attorneys can explain, the classification of cannabis within the U.S. Controlled Substances Act (CSA) has in turn meant it would be tough for anyone patent or trademark holder to defend their right to that protection in federal court. Not to mention: Is it even possible to patent a plant that’s been around forever? marijuana lawyer

As an increasing number of states approve marijuana for legal sale and use (not to mention the fact that it’s now fully legal in Canada), companies are rushing to secure patents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which according to a recent Reuters report increased the number of patents issued containing the words “marijuana” or “cannabis” from 14 in 2016 to 29 in 2017 to 39 last year.

Of course, securing patents for possibly new uses of cannabis products isn’t an entirely new practice in the U.S., where the age-old botanical only first gained any measure of legality in California in 1996. But even before that, starting somewhere in the 1990s, some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical firms started quietly securing U.S. patents for medical applications of marijuana. Abbvie reportedly now has the most, with 59 patents and 95 U.S.-published medical applications of the drug. Merck is No. 2., with 35 patents and 55 U.S.-published medical applications. There are also several patents held by universities – and even the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (which holds 11 patents and 39 published applications). Continue reading

Articles Tagged with Los Angeles marijuana lawyer blog

Chinese-Funded Covert Cannabis Cultivation Leads to Three Los Angeles Marijuana Arrests

USPTO Patents to Pot Businesses Face Looming Challenges