The problem is that people are able to get high quality cannabis products on the gray market, and will not be charged with possession of marijuana under state law for having it, and if they want to purchase it legally, they may be forced to pay much higher prices. This is not to say there is no risk to those selling marijuana illegally as they can be arrested and charged with various criminal offenses, but there is not much risk to the consumers.

When Canada legalized marijuana for recreational use recently, the government said it would only place minimal taxes on cannabis products in an attempt to drive illegal sellers of marijuana out of business since it consumers could get higher quality products from legal vendors and comparable prices.

However, as our Riverside cannabis attorneys can explain, California officials did not choose to go this route as they saw it is a revenue generating industry with respect to taxes, so it may actually be cheaper to buy cannabis on the street than it is to go a licensed dispensary. This means the only way to effectively rid our area of those selling illegal marijuana is through a law enforcement crackdown. According to a recent news article from the Los Angeles Times, this has led to a dispute over who is going to pay to for this increased enforcement efforts, and this has led to problems on the state level.

To combat the illicit sale of marijuana, the governor had requested a provision in a state budget proposal for $14 million in funding for this efforts. However, the state lawmakers and the governor of California did not agree as to how this proposal should be funded, and it was left out of the proposed budget, meaning there will be no money allocated for additional enforcement efforts.

This initiative was sought by the governor in response to complaints from those in the legalized marijuana industry who are saying they cannot compete on price with illegal sellers who are not paying taxes, regulatory fees, or have the many other costs associated with running a legal recreational marijuana business. There is also a plan to create five specialized teams at the state attorney’s office to fight the illicit sale of marijuana in California, which is still on the floor and up for a vote in the near future, but without the funding allocated in the event the measure passes, it is hard to see how work could begin on this serious issue.

The Los Angeles CANNABIS LAW Group represents growers, dispensaries, collectives, patients, defendants, workers and those facing criminal marijuana charges. Call us at 949-375-4734.

Additional Resources:

Budget dispute hinders state crackdown on illicit marijuana market in California, June 11, 2018, By Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times

More Blog Entries:

Medical Marijuana Study in Israel Lights Way for Cancer Treatments, April 2, 2018, Medical Marijuana Lawyers Blog

Many have been advocating for medical marijuana as a possible alternative to prescription painkillers that are very addictive and prone to abuse, but these efforts have so far only resulted in a lot of push back.

The reason these conventional efforts are not making an impact is because most who abuse prescription opioids started out with a work-related injury or some type of trauma such as from a serious car accident, and then were prescribed narcotic painkillers. At some point, the insurance companies wanted to avoid paying for more of the drugs, or the doctors became concerned the patient was becoming addicted, and the prescriptions were simply cut off. This led to typical drug seeking behavior and the problem just gets worse where some find themselves addicted to illicit street drugs. Even though these drugs are clearly more addictive than medical cannabis, and a whole lot more dangerous, the U.S. Attorney General has just said he is looking at how to crack down on marijuana even in states where it is legal.

According to a recent news article from Forbes, many are still opposed to medical marijuana as an alternative to long-term painkiller use, because they are claiming it’s use as a painkiller has not been sufficiently studied. As our Orange County medical marijuana attorneys can explain, the reason it has not been sufficiently studied in large part is because it was illegal to study the drug at any large scale until the federal regulations were loosened up a bit.

When U.S. Congress outlawed marijuana though federal controlled substances legislation, they did so by falsely claiming marijuana was highly addictive and dangerous, but also that there was no valid medical use as confirmed by peer-reviewed research studies. While it might seem that the easy solution to this problem would be to preform studies, and there was evidence of the safety of efficacy of marijuana, it could be used to get marijuana changed to a lower schedule. The problem is that if it is illegal, they can’t give it patients, they can’t grow it, and they can’t process it into various others forms commonly used with respect to medical marijuana therapy. This was not done by accident as those who argued for a prohibition on marijuana knew exactly what they were doing.

There are some nuances to this issue however in that while many want marijuana taken out of Schedule One on the U.S. Controlled Substances Act, they do not necessary want to it moved to Schedule Two or even Schedule Three. This is because lowering medical marijuana would then make it legal, but subject to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight and that would mean any claim related to a health benefit would have to be supported by safety and efficacy trials and it would be subjected to a lengthy approval process.

The Los Angeles Cannabis Law Group represents growers, dispensaries, collectives, patients and those facing marijuana charges. Call us at 949-375-4734.

Additional Resources:

Could Marijuana Replace Opioids As A Painkiller? Experts Are Skeptical, December 3, 2017, Michela Tindera, Forbes

More Blog Entries:

Rescheduling Marijuana Could Help Researchers, April 22, 2016, by Cannabis Law Group

Authorities have charged the two men with illegally and covertly shipping marijuana seeds from the Netherlands via compact disc cases and sewn into clothing inseams.

These charges were filed some eight months after tribe, the Flandreau Santee Sioux, decimated the existing marijuana crop, fearing federal authorities were preparing a raid on the operation. That marked the abandonment of an elaborate plan to found what was described as an “adult playground,” which it was believed could help rake in as much as $2 million every month in profits.

At this point, tribal leaders say they have no plans to press reassess the proposal. Instead, the greenhouse that was originally built to grow cannabis will now instead be used to grow vegetables.

Based on the facts our California marijuana arrest lawyers know at this juncture, it seems the project may have been doomed from the start. That’s because the South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley warned both the tribe and these consultants from the very start that this was illegal under state and federal law. Our marijuana lawyers understand walking the fine line of what is legal and what isn’t can be a tightrope walk when we’re dealing with a maze of conflicting laws from state-to-state and also at the federal level. Rules on native tribe land can be even trickier. This was a situation that called for experienced marijuana legal consultation at every phase to avoid trouble.

According to The Associated Press, the two men were slapped with a range marijuana possession charges. They were working with a company called Monarch America, a company based in Colorado that was hired by the tribe to work on the resort idea.

The 34-year-old chief executive of the firm has been indicted on charges of conspiracy to possess marijuana, possession of marijuana and attempt to possess more than 10 pounds of marijuana. Similarly, the 43-year-old vice president and “cultivation expert” at the firm has been charged with conspiracy to possess one pound of marijuana.

According to the criminal complaint, the vice president ordered seeds from a company in the Netherlands that were then shipped illegally to the Native tribe’s office last year. Authorities say those seeds then became 600 plants, which were grown on tribal land. Tribe leaders, then fearing criminal charges, burned the drug in batches.

The attorney general in subsequent press conferences has painted the tribe as the victim in all this, saying they were unwittingly wooed into violation of state and federal laws. The county state attorney said no charges were being filed against the tribe or its members. However, prosecutors did call for the tribe to reconsider it’s “adult playground”concept, which involved a nightclub smoking lounge, bar and food service and an outdoor music venue.

The tribe started looking into the marijuana grow operation after a 2014 U.S. Justice Department policy indicating Indian tribes could legalize the growth and sale of marijuana in much the same way that states have. Tribal leaders were hoping the profits could be used for community services for tribal members.

The Los Angeles CANNABIS LAW Group represents growers, dispensaries, collectives, patients and those facing marijuana charges. Call us at 949-375-4734.

Additional Resources:

South Dakota charges 2 men trying to help launch pot resort, Aug. 3, 2016, By Regina Garcia Cano and James Nord, Associated Press

More Blog Entries:

California Marijuana Company Prevails After Police Raid, July 12, 2016, Los Angeles Marijuana Arrest Lawyer Blog