Cannabis Law Group’s Medical Marijuana Legal Blog

The illicit marijuana market is the bane of every legal operator’s existence. Illegal dispensaries outnumber lawful ones 3-1 throughout California, and state officials have committed themselves to cracking down hard on unlicensed operators. But what happens when its faith – not funding – that drives these operations? The idea of cannabis as a religious sacrament…

The Federal Bureau of Investigations is examining possible public corruption tied to the local marijuana industry in Sacramento after federal prosecutors indicted four for reportedly directing overseas money into both campaign coffers and cannabis companies. Did public officials accept bribes in return of favorable licensing to entrepreneurs in a fiercely competitive legal marijuana market? That’s…

The chemistry of cannabis is something about which we still have much to learn. That point was underscored again recently when chemists testing the THC content of marijuana edibles revealed there is something about chocolate that seems to skew the potency tests. The California Bureau of Cannabis Control requires not only that edible cannabis products…

Drive-thru cannabis dispensaries are banned in California, but thanks to a small loophole in the law, Southern California is getting its first in, in Desert Hot Springs. It is the second one in the entire state. The state’s recreational cannabis law does expressly prohibits marijuana drive-thru operations – unless a dispensary applied for a permit…

Washington State has imposed a temporary ban on flavored THC vaping products in emergency legislation passed rapidly after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported to have found a link to vaping and serious illness. The emergency rule, following an executive order from the governor, was made the same day the CDC announced…

State regulators have suspended hundreds of marijuana business permits, in effect halting some 5 percent of the state’s legal cannabis business operations, disrupting supply chains and retail/distribution networks statewide. Some 400 companies have been ordered to halt all transactions until they ensure their licenses are brought up to “active” status. The notices were issued by…

The “stoner” stereotype has plagued California cannabis businesses since before the drug was legal as medicine in the late 1990s. But many Los Angeles marijuana businesses are looking to re-brand their images in the hopes of better reflecting the type of business they do. Branding is valuable for any business, but in the case of…

State regulators recently suspended some 400 Californian marijuana business licenses, for failure to participate in compulsory tracking and tracing system trainings, and weeks later, approximately four per cent of the state’s permits still remain in limbo. While a vast number of permits remain suspended, the total number has fallen. State licensing data shows that of…

An all-encompassing cannabis reform bill inches the nation’s marijuana industry ever closer to federal legalization, as the U.S. House Judiciary Committee voted 24-10 in favor of the bill carried by California-Dem. Kamala Harris in the Senate. The MORE Act Should the bill become law, the 2019 Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (MORE Act) has…

In a move that has shocked the cannabis industry, California is hiking legal marijuana business taxes. This decision comes on the heels of many licensed marijuana companies imploring the state to reduce such taxes. But with legal storefronts now set to face cannabis taxes nearing 50 per cent beginning January 1, the move is being…