Video 1 KTLA Channel 5 News Story June 18, 2010: Lake Forest Medical Marijuana Dispensary Appealing Injunction Order Video 2 KTTV Channel 11 News Story June 4, 2010: Los Angeles Medical Marijuana Dispensary Challenges LA's Ordinance Video 3 Cannabis Law Group's Attorney Damian Nassiri Sues the City of Los Angeles To Block It's Ban on Medical Marijuana as Featured on PBS's So Cal Insider - Part 1

Articles Tagged with Los Angeles Marijuana lawyers

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In a case that may signal good news for future interstate cannabis transactions, federal prosecutors in Kansas have agreed to drop a civil forfeiture case pertaining to pot shop profits being ferried across state lines. Los Angeles marijuana lawyers

To explain the significance of this, we have to step back a bit to examine the historical context. Cannabis companies run into all kinds of legal stumbling blocks in the simple course of doing business. Matters like banking, transportation, real estate purchases/rental agreements, security, insurance, employment, etc. – all of these things are more complicated than they would be for typical businesses. Despite state-level laws that legalize marijuana cultivation, production, sales, and possession (such as California’s Proposition 64), the U.S. Controlled Substances Act still classifies cannabis as a Schedule I narcotic. This has resulted in much confusion about practical applications for state-legal cannabis companies just trying to conduct regular business.

One legal concern that has cropped up in the past couple years deals with the transport cannabis company cash – particularly when it involves crossing state borders. Because of federal banking regulations, cannabis companies tend to deal primarily in cash, which can pose some practical challenges. Moving that cash from one point to another is not as simple as a digital transfer. It may require physical transport. But in the course of doing so, several companies found themselves smack in the center of federal civil forfeiture cases wherein the government seized the cash, on the basis of it being tied to illegal drug trafficking.

Civil forfeitures, also sometimes called civil asset forfeiture or judicial forfeiture, is a highly controversial process whereby law enforcement/government agencies to seize – and keep – property and other assets that belong to persons suspected of committing a crime. Forfeitures can happen as part of a criminal case, but in civil forfeitures, no crime need be proven in a court of law in order for the government to keep those assets. Some have likened it to “highway robbery,” except it’s fully legal. The laws were written to target criminal organizations, fugitives, terrorists, etc., but have been used in many cases against state-legal cannabis companies.

As Los Angeles marijuana business lawyers can explain, these scenarios involving cannabis companies have puzzled legal scholars because they fall into something legal gray area – thanks to the patchwork of conflicting state and federal pot laws. Continue reading

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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.
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Throughout Southern California, marijuana dispensaries are reportedly selling cannabis products that are counterfeit – capitalizing on another firm’s branding, holding out one’s illicit products as legal or both. Law enforcement and marijuana business lawyers in Los Angeles are actively monitoring both fronts.counterfeit cannabis

The Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) establishes a complex maze of rules and regulations to ensure pot products sold to the public are safe and legal. That means cultivators, manufacturers and dispensaries are vetted and licensed, cannabis goods are tracked seed-to-sale and quality assurance testing is conducted to limit consumers’ exposure to dangerous metals and pesticides.

Despite this, black and gray market marijuana operations in L.A. abound. Continue reading

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Santa Cruz is a community that is known for its laid-back lifestyle – the redwoods, the shoreline and red wine vineyards. Just don’t mess with their pot shops. Los Angeles marijuana attorneys have learned the city is suing the state in an effort to fend of out-of-towners from nearby San Francisco and Oakland from cannabis from swiping customers from their home-grown cannabis companies.Los Angeles marijuana delivery driver

The city’s chair of the board of supervisors argues that local businesses are being undercut by these services because the playing field isn’t level, and further the city has no say in regulating the interlopers.

Santa Cruz Says State Backing Out on Its End of the Bargain

Recently, the state altered its regulations to permit state-licensed marijuana delivery companies to sell their product wherever consumers are. Santa Cruz isn’t the only city taking issue with this – 25 in all are suing the state, asserting this new stance is a work-around the provision of Proposition 64 (which legalized marijuana for recreational sales and use) that assured local governments would have authority to put a stop to brick-and-mortar sales. Continue reading

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The growing number of athletes who are also budding cannabis fans are legion. Yet at least at the federal level, the drug continues to retain its Schedule I label, putting it in the same category with drugs like LSD and methamphetamine. As of this writing, 33 states allow marijuana use for medicinal purposes. California is one of 10 allowing it for recreational use.athlete cannabis lawyer Los Angeles

Los Angeles athlete marijuana lawyers are aware now of a growing number of companies promoting cannabis as a means for recovery after a significant athletic feat. Whether it’s running a marathon or testing one’s endurance in a yoga session, cannabis has potential power to help the body heal from the strain such exertion can cause. A few sporting goods and activewear companies are teaming up with cannabis innovators to promote the use of cannabis in recovery.

In one case, as Los Angeles Magazine reports, one pop-up pot provider in Culver City incorporates the use of medicinal-grade marijuana with other rest and recovery techniques like yoga, hot stone massages and meditation. The anti-inflammatory effects of cannabis and CBD oil are touted as a means of easing pain and helping athletes get the rest they need to make a full recovery. Continue reading

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Banking for marijuana businesses has been fraught with legal perils. As Los Angeles marijuana business attorneys can explain, this stems primarily from the fact that no matter how many states allow marijuana, the Department of Justice continues to consider the drug unlawful according to federal law, which puts banks in the legal cross-hairs, thanks to money laundering statutes. That’s why despite being a multi-billion dollar industry, only 30 percent of cannabis businesses have access to banking.cannabis attorney blog

That may be changing, though the pace will truly depend on how aggressively the federal government pursues violators pursuant to federal law. The Anchorage Daily News reported a credit union plans to launch a pilot program intended to extend banking and checking services to marijuana-related businesses that otherwise operate largely in cash. As noted by the credit union’s CEO, the lack of financial services for cannabis companies has resulted in essentially a cash crisis for marijuana businesses as well as a safety issue for local communities, as these locations may be targeted for strong arm robberies.

Alaska, like California, allows marijuana cultivation, sale and possession for recreational purposes, and has done so since 2014. Yet as retailers have cropped up throughout the state, they face problems similar to those in this state, which is they must operate in cash and owners have even had their personal bank accounts abruptly closed. The credit union says it hopes to address this market need and also improve community safety by giving cannabis companies another option besides cash-only operation. Just in Alaska alone, the industry is handling some $1.5 million monthly – all in cash, according to local media. Continue reading

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For as long as the people of California have sought marijuana, the black market has existed. Even when the state legalized medicinal use in 1996 and then paved the way for lawful recreational use with a ballot measure last year, Los Angeles marijuana lawyers know the reality is illicit pot shops and sales have always outpaced the legal market. The hope was we’d see a shift, a significant tapering off of demand for illegal marijuana now that with recreational pot now available. But as of right now, they have retained a larger hold than facilities operating according to the stringent regulatory guidelines set forth by state and local officials.Los Angeles marijuana lawyers

Los Angeles marijuana lawyers had seen many long-time operators on the California cannabis scene try to work their way into the newly-forged legal market to finally be legitimate, only to end up continuing to work the riskier – bit more lucrative – illicit market. This includes unlawful medical marijuana collectives, cannabis delivery services and cultivation farms that haven’t been properly vetted according to stringent state law.

Some of these individuals are focused on pursuing “OT” money, generated from “out-of-towners.” Of course, such sales are especially risky because, as our Los Angeles marijuana lawyers know, rules can vary from city to city and certainly from state-to-state and country-to country. Black market sales are playing with fire given the uncertainty of how federal authorities are going to handle future sales. Despite the Jan. 1st legalization of recreational use and sales in the Golden State, cannabis is considered an illegal crop from the top-down under the Controlled Substances Act, and as a Schedule I narcotic, it’s one of the most most heavily regulated – despite being one of the most commonly-cultivated and sold. And it’s going to be extremely difficult to move away from that given its history with illicit sales and use.  Continue reading

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The Los Angeles marijuana lawyers at The Cannabis Law Firm have seen the cannabis community in this city and county through the legal travails of the last 20 years – from outright criminalization to quasi-legalization for medicinal use (amid constant fear of government raids) to now recreational legalization recognized by state law. Federal legalization of some form likely isn’t far off. But while Los Angeles is considered the largest and perhaps most important marijuana market in the world (several million consumers, tens of thousands of workers and billions of dollars annually generated just within these borders), navigating its regulatory guidelines is no easy feat.Los Angeles marijuana lawyers

Having an experienced Los Angeles marijuana attorney who understands not just the new law and local regulations but the complexity of this city’s history with the drug is imperative if you want to establish a successful business.

Technically, there are 169 licensed marijuana shops in the city of L.A. In reality, the L.A. City Controller estimates there are probably closer to 1,700 in operation. These operations may fly under the radar, but they’re taking a big risk. If there is one thing we’ve learned in our years of practicing California marijuana law, it’s that nothing is certain. However, your best hope is a cannabis law firm dedicated to helping you navigate the road map to success.

Los Angeles Marijuana Lawyers and the Regulatory Business Maze Continue reading

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The statewide legalization of marijuana for adult recreational use as of January 1st thanks to Prop. 64 wasn’t the end of California’s cannabis conversation. Far from it. Long-time California marijuana lawyers, businesses and policymakers are paying close attention to this November election, particularly in several local conservative strongholds set to decide whether to commercial cannabis should be given the green light to set up shop in their communities. Because while the Control, regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act of 2016 gave the statewide blessing, it didn’t automatically open the floodgates. Local counties, cities and towns were given the option whether to allow the cannabis industry to operate inside their own borders.Los Angeles marijuana business lawyer

Many leaders saw the passage of Prop. 64 as a major hurdle clearance to legitimizing a promising, lucrative market. While most have let go of the long-debunked reefer madness hysteria of the past, the stigma still remains for some. As marijuana lawyers, we can’t wholly discount all of their concerns, though most have been met with reasonable regulatory response (though some argue certain restrictions go too far). One of the biggest compromises was to allow local control. California marijuana business lawyers and economic experts mostly concur that communities outright refusing cannabis industry access are likely to be at an economic disadvantage, though the extent isn’t yet clear.

Some examples of the dozens of cities set to weigh the future of local cannabis commerce via ballot measures Nov. 6 are rural areas like El Dorado County east of Sacramento and Hemet, a town in the Inland Empire less than an hour south of Riverside. Most areas where the issue is up for vote are expected to pass it by a wide margin, according to The Mercury News in San Jose, but in the more right-leaning regions, predictions are a toss-up.  Continue reading

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When California voters approved legalized marijuana for recreational purposes, one of the most important impacts of that was the fact that criminal prosecutions for many cannabis crimes would no longer be an issue. But that didn’t necessarily help the hundreds of thousands with the stain of a criminal offense on their record. Orange County marijuana lawyers understand Assembly Bill 1793 should help address this. However, the impact won’t necessarily be immediate, and those with criminal records due to marijuana may still want to seek the advice of attorney for purposes of expediency and fairness.Orange County marijuana lawyer

Approved by the majority in the California legislature and the governor on Sept. 30, the law (which creates creates Section 11361.9 to the California Health and Safety Code) is in direct response to the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act, and requires the Department of Justice by July 2019 to review state records and identify those prior convictions that may possibly be eligible for recall, dismissal of sentence, dismissal, sealing or redesignation under the new law. The state Justice Department will then be required to notify prosecutors of all cases in their jurisdiction that meet this requirement. Then prosecutors must, by July 2020, review all those cases to ascertain whether they wish to challenge the DOJ’s recommendation. If there is no challenge, the bill requires the department to modify the criminal history information in its database in accordance with the bill within 30 days (by July 31, 2020), and to update the post on its website. The state will be required to reimburse local agencies and school districts for whatever costs are incurred by the state as a result of putting this law into effect.

The state will prioritize cases of those individuals currently serving a sentence or who proactively petition for recall or dismissal of sentence, dismissal and sealing or redesignation (emphasis added). That means that if you take matters into your own hands to ask the state to make your case a priority – and complete the process sooner – you may well have your record cleared before the July 2020 deadline. That could be major for many people with existing criminal records, who may be prevented from important educational, career and housing opportunities, as well as those who may be in the midst of a child custody dispute during which a drug conviction could adversely impact the outcome. Continue reading

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