This is excellent news because one of the core points of opposition to legalization of recreational marijuana sales in California was the potential for rampant youth access. This analysis shows that California cannabis companies are doing more than paying lip service to the promise of avoiding this outcome. They are – both in policy and in practice – keeping minors away.

As our Los Angeles marijuana business lawyers can explain, being lax with policies and protocol intended to block those under 21 from accessing cannabis can result in major legal headaches for pot shops. Adults over 21 can purchase, possess, and use small amounts of marijuana legally in this state. But California Health & Safety Code 11361 prohibits adults from selling, giving, or offering marijuana to a minor, inducing a minor to use marijuana, or employing a minor to transport, sell, or give away marijuana. To do so is a felony punishable by between 3-5 years in prison. The exact penalty depends on the age of the minor, the circumstances of the case, and the criminal history of the person accused.

According to the report, the researchers sought to analyze the industry’s compliance with state-level personal identification requirements in California. So they chose 50 randomly-selected retail outlets to determine if one could get in without presenting ID. But 100 percent of the time, the shop required ID be shown, and refused entry to anyone without identification showing they were older than 21.

The consistency of this compliance was something researchers noted with surprise – but it’s not all that shocking to our marijuana business lawyers, considering the penalties lawful operations face if they break the law. Retailers face being shut down completely for illegal activity if they allow access to youth. Police are allowed (and have been known to) use underage decoys to test cannabis business compliance with these rules. That’s why most often, licensed shops require identification upfront, before a person is even allowed into the main portion of the store.

For this reason, teens are unlikely to obtain marijuana directly from dispensaries. Most likely, those who are obtaining the drug are asking an adult to get it for them. These individuals should know that anyone who provides cannabis to a person underage is going to be facing 6 months in jail and a $500 fine.

The study authors say the next step in assessing youth access to cannabis under state-legal laws should involve a closer look at how often youth are able to obtain marijuana using realistic-looking, fake IDs. It should be noted, however, that youth marijuana use reportedly “decreased significantly” last year. That’s according to the annual Monitoring the Future Survey, which has been tracking adolescent drug behavior since the mid-70s. Those researchers found it wasn’t just a decrease in marijuana use, but a decline of illicit substance abuse overall. This trend of declining teen marijuana use has been ongoing for years and is true across the board – including in the 19 states and the District of Columbia, which have legalized marijuana for recreational use since 2012.

This aligns with research from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, a federally-funded survey released late last year, which revealed youth use of cannabis dropped substantially in 2020. Another analysis released by the U.S. Department of Education showed that from 2009 to 2019, there was no statistical difference in the percentage of high-schoolers who self-reported using marijuana at some point in the previous 30 days.

If you are a marijuana shop retailer in Southern California, working with an experienced marijuana law attorney can help you identify and patch potential weaknesses in your policy and protocol, ensuring you are compliant with state laws and local ordinances.

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

Additional Resources:

What is the likelihood that underage youth can obtain marijuana from licensed recreational marijuana outlets in California, a state where recreational marijuana is legal? May 2022, Journal of Safety Research

More Blog Entries:

Off-the-Clock Cannabis Use Employment Bill Nears Passage in California ,June 8, 2022, Los Angeles Marijuana Lawyer Blog

In Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company v. Terphogz, LLC, the Chicago-based candymaker of Skittles launched an advertising campaign that involved the slogan, “Taste the Rainbow.” The advertising and packaging for their fruit-flavored candy shows the slogan with a large S logo. The company alleges that a cannabis company in Medocino is selling merchandize under the name Zkittlez, with illustrations of its goods advertised as looking very similar to the Skittles candy. On its website, which sells cannabis-related items and goods nationally (as well as to residents of Illinois, where plaintiff is based), it sells goods under the brand name Zkittlez, with the similar logo.

The defendants say they do not engage in cannabis sales, but rather license the intellectual property rights to cannabis companies in California nd Oregon. Defendants say they don’t engage in business in Illinois, run targeted advertising there, or run any companies or have professional contacts there. Three of the board members have never been to Illinois. Plaintiffs say, however, that prior to the website being shut down in May 2021, the Zkittlez branded goods were available for shipment to the entire U.S., with recorded gross proceeds somewhere around $32,000. The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company is seeking treble (triple) damages for the alleged copyright infringement.

The defendants have tried to get the case dismissed. However in November, a judge rejected their motion to dismiss, meaning the case is continuing through the courts.

The plaintiffs here have a strong case, alleging not only trademark infringement, but also undermining of their entire brand, given that unlike their candies, cannabis products cannot safely be consumed by children for recreational purposes.

A recent analysis by The New York Times revealed striking similarities in the packages of cannabis company products and the larger candy company brands. For example, a sour gummy product uses the same color scheme and design for its “Cannaburst” that Starbursts candies use. Same with another cannabis gummy when compared to the Life Savers package. The red flags that these are not candies are in words like “THC” and “medicated” on the front. But those differences alone are unlikely to protect these companies from trademark infringement litigation – which can have substantial costs.

What’s interesting is that similar cases in the past involving companies like Hershey seemed to result in marijuana firms backing down. However, it now seems to be a renewed surge in this kind of practice.

It’s unclear why, but we know this practice is somewhat longstanding. Before marijuana was legal, there was little concern about things like trademarks of “Big Candy” corporations. The “Cap’n Punch” companies of the world – and their consumers – all pretty much took it for the joke it was. Not to say it was legal then, but these companies were never that large to warrant a great level of scrutiny anyway. That has since changed. As longtime Los Angeles cannabis attorneys, we strongly advise legal cannabis purveyors to consult with an experienced legal team before launching any kind of product – particularly one that might be mistaken for another brand.

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

Additional Resources:

Big Candy Is Angry, May 21, 2021, By Valeryia Safronova, The New York Times

Recently, it was announced that a marijuana dispensary has filed a lawsuit against the city of South Lake Tahoe after the city council of the California community on the Nevada border revoked its business license for failure to open on time. The delay, according to the plaintiff, was directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic, something entirely outside the firm’s control.

According to the Associated Press, the company had been awarded two microbusiness marijuana licenses two years ago. Part of the deal was the firm would open up shop within one year. However, the pandemic created an unforeseen situation that prevented the company from meeting the deadline. The agreement became effective in February 2020, but the world effectively turned upside down with the pandemic, with both business and construction coming to an abrupt halt the following month. When construction picked up again, the demand for construction materials and workers was such that the business couldn’t keep up.

The city gave the company 30 days past the one-year deadline to open their doors, but they failed to do so. The city’s attorney said the business hadn’t even begun to cure their default, and thus the license was revoked after a unanimous vote by the city council. The mayor was quoted as saying that while she sympathized with the plight, her own business having stalled on construction in the wake of the pandemic, all the other cannabis companies with pending start dates prior to the pandemic did manage to open their doors on time.

The lawsuit filed in El Dorado County alleges the city is liable for breach of contract, with plaintiffs asking that the city be required to honor the original development agreement and cover the loss of profits the company sustained as a result of the dispute.

Ensuring Due Process, Fighting for Cannabis Company Rights

Cannabis companies facing license revocation in Southern California are entitled to due process, and our longtime Los Angeles marijuana business license lawyers are committed to ensuring their rights and best interests are protected. Business licenses revoked for procedural issues may possibly be restored through settlement negotiation with the help of your attorney.

Just recently, for instance, the license of a marijuana testing lab in the Bay Area was restored after reported testing errors. The company sued, arguing it had no way to administratively appeal the revocation. The company did agree to pay a fine and will destroy previous testing samples, while the revocation was reverted to a temporary suspension. That court battle was watched closely because most marijuana businesses currently operating in California are still working with provisional permits, rather than full annual licenses. Provisional licensees don’t have the same full rights to due process as those with annual licenses, though this case underscored that they still may have recourse following revocation. The Los Angeles CANNABIS LAW Group represents growers, dispensaries, ancillary companies, patients, doctors and those facing marijuana charges. Call us at 949-375-4734. Additional Resources: More California marijuana companies sue state over revoked licenses, Sept. 18, 2021, By John Schroyer, Marijuana Business Daily

Branding is valuable for any business, but in the case of marijuana, the benefits are industry-wide because it can help to combat archaic conventional perceptions about marijuana as a product. Formulating a professional, unified brand can help address this – and allow companies to carve a name and a niche in a fiercely competitive market.

On the flip side, even where it’s legal to sell marijuana, it’s tough to advertise it. As our Los Angeles marijuana advertising attorneys can explain, marketing cannabis brands and marijuana dispensaries is rife with hurdles.

Hurdles to California Cannabis Advertising

A recent poll from Pew Research Center reveals nearly 7 in 10 Americans think marijuana should be legal. There’s a broad market of potential consumers within your reach. But when it comes to advertising, marijuana businesses need to tread carefully.

To begin, online platforms that are typically prime go-to’s for any start-up company – social media platforms like Facebook and search engine giants like Google – they don’t allow drug or drug-related promotions on their platforms. That means most cannabis advertising is left to blogs, podcasts, print media and e-newsletters. Although marijuana is legal in some form in 33 states and for recreational purposes in 11, it’s unlikely we’re going to see these corporations alter their formal policies until the substance is fully legal at the federal level. That also boxes bud businesses out of mediums like radio and television (each of which carry their own set of special rules too).

That leaves California marijuana businesses on their own to navigate the complex web of state-by-state, region-by-region regulations. Marketing restrictions can vary significantly depending on where you’ve set up shop. Some regulations are very similar to those for alcohol, but it’s best to have an attorney on retainer to advise you on such matters. In most parts of California, you can still advertise your cannabis company on a billboard, but not in certain cities. In other states, it’s wholly banned.

Some have taken the position that it’s easier to act first and apologize later. However, as our Los Angeles cannabis business attorneys can explain, an apology may not cut it. Instead, you could be staring down substantial fines and penalties. That’s not a risk you want to take if you can avoid it. An experienced legal team advising your branding efforts could help significantly.

Rebranding Your Cannabis Business Identity

Reasons to consider rebranding your marijuana business include:

• You’ve launched new or different services.
• The competition of your local market has shifted and you want your business identity to reflect that.
• You want to underscore the growing environment of professionalism within the industry.

Companies that are selling products online or arranging for pickup and delivery would also be wise to evaluate their branding and advertising platforms, both from a marketing and legal standpoint.

California cannabis companies have more to consider than the average small business when considering their marketing strategies. Consulting with an experienced marijuana attorney is in your best interest.

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

Additional Resources:

The Challenges of Marketing Marijuana, Oct. 25, 2019, By Thomas Mitchell, Westword.com