Riverside medical marijuana attorneys

August 31, 2018

Free Weed Comes With a Hefty Price Tag

A recent bill out of the California state house would make marijuana compassionate-care programs exempt from the substantial state taxes on the medical cannabis that they supply to patients in need. SB 829 corrects a hole in Proposition 64, which saddled these not-for-profit organizations with taxes. The Compassionate Use Act of 1996 made medical marijuana legal in California, which spurred the birth of compassionate-care programs for patients with serious health issues and financial restraints. According to NORML, these organizations have been able to donate product and function tax-free up until this year when recreational marijuana became legal.

What did recreational legalization have to do with medical marijuana patients and associated care programs? As our marijuana attorneys can explain, after voters approved Proposition 64, government representatives and officials began ironing out how the recreational program would work. It was determined a set of guidelines was needed that could pull together the medical marijuana industry (which had been active for 20 years) with the new recreational cannabis law. That is when MAUCRSA (Medicinal And Adult-Use Cannabis Regulatory Safety Act) was born. What was intended to streamline rules and make things easier for business owners, customers, and law enforcement officials ended up strapping medical marijuana institutions with a significant number of regulations they previously did not have to follow. Continue reading

August 21, 2018

Newsflash: DEA Finally Recognizes Value of More Cannabis Research

By Cannabis Law Group

It’s about time. The Drug Enforcement Administration is moving to increase the amount of cannabis to be legally medical cannabis grown for research purposes in the U.S. and decrease the amount of opioid drugs produced under the group’s watch. You heard that right. The same organization whose leaders for years have been wringing their collective hands over marijuana, who said we simply did not know enough about its effects, who defended its Schedule I classification, might finally be waking up to smell the coffee the rest of the country has been happily sipping for some time now.

According to a report from Forbes, a new Federal Register filing shows the agency increasing allowance of cannabis plants to 5,400 pounds in 2019, more than five times the 1,000 pounds the department OK’d this year. Representatives of the department said the move was necessary to meet the demands of the medical and scientific communities for research purposes. Of course this demand is nothing new. Health care providers, laboratories, and medical schools have been desperate for proper research on cannabis for decades. California medical practitioners have been using limited studies, anecdotal evidence, and trial and error to treat patients since medical marijuana was legalized in the state in 1996 under Proposition 215. Continue reading

July 14, 2018

Marijuana and the Opioid Crisis: A Tale of Two Countries

By Cannabis Law Group

In the fight for medical marijuana, there has been no more compelling of a battleground than opioid addiction. Both U.S. and Canadian governments have dubbed the rapid increase in overdoses to be a crisis or epidemic. Meanwhile, cannabis has demonstrated itself to be the potential key to unlocking the addictive cycles, adding to the urgency in passing more effective medical marijuana laws. In New York, emergency rules have been put in place to allow medical marijuana as an opioid replacement. Yet in Ontario, where medical marijuana is permitted at the federal level for a variety of conditions, workers are still having opioids pushed on them.

New York state Department of Health recently added opioid dependency to the list of 12 other conditions that qualify patients for medical marijuana recommendations, according to Marijuana Moment. Chronic pain, one of the key issues opioids are used to treat, is already on the list, but specifically adding opioid substitution gives doctors the freedom to recommend cannabis to those with opioid addictions regardless of the reason they started taking them. Officials are hoping this strategy reduces the number of opioid deaths, noting that states with pro-medical marijuana laws on the books have seen a 30 percent drop in opioid prescriptions for Medicaid users. Continue reading

June 17, 2018

Pennsylvania Must Ditch Harsh Marijuana DUI Law

By Cannabis Law Group

Pennsylvania’s marijuana DUI law could be about to see some much needed reform. State Rep. Sheryl Delozier (R-Cumberland) is working on a bill that would exempt medical marijuana patients from an overbearing law that prevents them from ever being allowed to drive, according to The Inquirer. The move comes as Pennsylvania Department of Health is in the process of implementing the state’s medical marijuana program.

PA Code Title 75, Sec. 3802, as it currently stands, states: “An individual may not drive, operate or be in actual physical control of the movement of a vehicle … (if) there is in the individual’s blood any amount of a Schedule I controlled substance.” Just as under the federal Controlled Substances Act, Pennsylvania also has cannabis listed under their own Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act as a Schedule I narcotic, right alongside heroin, peyote, mescaline and the like. Continue reading

June 8, 2018

Marijuana Rolling Onto International Stage

By Cannabis Law Group

While we try to hash out how to handle marijuana laws across the U.S., World Health Organization medical marijuana is bringing their findings to the global stage. WHO was tasked by secretary general of United Nations to deliver a recommendation on the level of international control necessary for cannabis, according to a Mother Jones report. It is of no surprise to our cannabis law firm that the first report from WHO described marijuana as a “relatively safe drug.”

An international team of marijuana experts contributed to the report, which was presented to the Expert Committee on Drug Dependence. The report analyzed both THC and CBD and found evidence it has medical benefits, particularly in relieving symptoms of cancer treatments, pain relief, and anxiety. It also concluded that driving under the influence of cannabis is risky, but not as risky as alcohol. Marijuana use also can also be risky for pregnant women and children. Continue reading

March 7, 2018

Could Veterinarians Recommend Pot for Pets?

By Cannabis Law Group

We all know the importance of keeping Sparky away from the pot brownies. But is it possible your pet could receive medical marijuana as a recommended treatment from their vet?

A vast majority of rational Americans agree that the use of marijuana as a treatment for medical purposes is a decision that should be made between and doctor and patient. Recent polls show more than 90 percent of respondents favor medical marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation. And California has long been a defender of patient rights by leading the nation in medical marijuana legalization with the Compassionate Use Act of 1996.

So why should the decision be any different when it comes to animals and veterinary professionals?

As it stands, California law does not extend to veterinarians the ability to recommend marijuana as a treatment for animals. But AB-2215, introduced by Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-27), is looking to change that. The bill would put the power in the hands of the Veterinary Medical Board by calling on them to set the standards for state-licensed veterinarians to discuss marijuana treatment for animal patient clients, and it would also prevent veterinarians from being punished for having such discussions.

February 12, 2018

Medical Marijuana Education Critical Under Current Administration

By Cannabis Law Group

Recently, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded an Obama-era Department of Justice Directive that essentially urged federal prosecutors to medical marijuana ignore marijuana crimes so along as alleged violators were in compliance with state laws. This step gave states the space to figure out how they wanted to handle recreational and/or medical cannabis laws without interference from the federal government.

Sessions, however, has made it clear he intends to revive marijuana prosecutions based on the drug’s current Schedule I controlled substance designation under the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. Section 812. By rescinding the 2013 order, Sessions has given federal officials the freedom to pursue charges against anyone for these violations – even if they follow state and local laws to the letter. Our marijuana attorneys in L.A. encourage all cannabis business owners in California to seek prompt legal counsel to best protect themselves and their livelihood.

Some don’t see this as an immediate threat, citing the lack of resources to go after so many operations. They also point to a lack of support among citizens to pursue such charges, meaning juries will be more reticent to convict. Others are less optimistic. Continue reading