marijuana lawyer California

November 7, 2016

Legal Liability for Commercial Marijuana Landlords

A Forbes finance and technology reporter recently explored the ways in which the legalization of marijuana across the country has created a scramble for those in the real estate industry. Snapping up commercial warehouses and other properties that will be desirable for marijuana cultivation, processing and distribution is a focus of many investors at this juncture.

warehouse

The Wall Street Journal reported that growers are most interested in warehouses bigger than 80,000 feet. Some indoor marijuana farmers want warehouses that are between 8,000 feet and 20,000 feet. These spaces can be primarily used for processing, packaging and storing.

We’re already seeing how this can be profitable for those in commercial real estate. Take Colorado, for example, where CBRE (Commercial Real Estate Services) reports that lease rates for industrial properties in northern Colorado (near Denver) are up to $8.40 per square foot in the first six months of 2016. compare that to the national average for industrial rent, which is at $6.30 per square foot. The marijuana industry has increased the cost of warehouse space for 60 percent, and renewal rates have spiked by 25 percent. Continue reading

September 27, 2016

Report: College Students Consume More Marijuana, Fewer Opioids

By Cannabis Law Group

New research from the University of Michigan reveals that high school and college students are far less likely to consume illegal drugs than their parents. In fact, students’ use of prescription opioids (obtained both legally and illegally) is far less than their parents’ generation. However, there is one area where youth drug use surpasses that of the baby boom generation: Marijuana. collegestudent

The Michigan study is an ongoing, four-decades-long research on the use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs. In this most recent analysis of the data, we find that those who are in the 40s and 50s used drugs in their youth far more frequently than the teens and 20-somethings of today. Excluding marijuana, more than 7 in 10 individuals who are in their 50s used illicit drugs at some point in their lives. When you include marijuana, that figure spikes to 85 percent – the vast majority.

When this cohort was in college, approximately half were actively using illegal drugs. Today, about 40 percent of adults who are of college age are using illegal drugs. Continue reading

September 1, 2016

Federal Prosecutors Dropping Charges Against Teen for 1 Gram of Marijuana

By Cannabis Law Group

Federal authorities have decided they will drop the charges pending against a teen who was charged with possession of about one gram of marijuana, after the case gained national attention in Oregon. bud1

The Native American teenager had faced a federal misdemeanor – which carries a possible one-year prison term and a $1,000 fine – after another student was caught with the drug in his backpack and pointed to defendant as the person from whom he had purchased it. The amount of the drug found – 1 gram – is approximately enough to roll one joint, maybe two if you stretch it. In addition to the possible prison sentence and out-sized fine, the teen would have faced denial of federal student loans, public housing and government aid – for life.

Possession of marijuana has been decriminalized in Oregon. In fact, the drug has even been legal for adult recreational use in that state since 2014. But federal authorities became involved because the incident occurred at a boarding school for Native American students that is operated by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Education. That meant this 19-year-old kid, who was preparing for college in this fall, had this possible one-year federal prison term hanging over his head. Continue reading

August 18, 2016

Federal Appeals Court: Feds Can’t Prosecute Medical Marijuana Cases Absent State Law Violation

By Cannabis Law Group

In a major victory for those facing prosecution under federal marijuana laws, a three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled unanimously that the federal government cannot prosecute persons who grow and distribute medicinal marijuana so long as they are in compliance with state law. gavel21

The case, U.S. v. McIntosh, is a consolidated appeal involving 10 different cases of interlocutory appeals and petitions for writs of mandamus that arose from three district courts in two states (California and Washington). All defendants in these cases were facing federal charges for violation of the Controlled Substances Act. Each sought dismissal of their indictments or else alternatively to enjoin their cases on a Congressional appropriations rider that would bar the Department of Justice from spending taxpayer money to prevent states from implementing their medical marijuana laws. You may recall that in the last two years, Congress prohibited the federal government from spending money in a way that would block or thwart state medical marijuana laws.

It was the position of federal prosecutors that this ban didn’t undercut their right to go after those who cultivate and distribute the drug under federal law – even in states where marijuana was legal. But now, the 9th Circuit has clearly issued a response to that, which is a resounding: No. Continue reading

May 12, 2016

Legal Medical Cannabis Lowers Opioid Abuse Rates

By Cannabis Law Group

In states that allow citizens access to marijuana as medicine, the rates of opioid abuse are significantly lower. That’s according to a recent study conducted by Castlight Health, a workers’ health benefits provider. pillswhite

Researchers dove into five years’ worth of prescription abuse information reported anonymously by employees.

What they found was this:

In states that did not allow workers to have access to medical marijuana, 5.4 percent of those who were taking opioid medications were deemed “abusers” of that drug.
In states that did allow workers access to medicinal cannabis, just 2.8 percent of those taking opioid drugs were deemed “abusers.”