while remaining in compliance with local and state regulations and laws. What happens, though, when a company is found to be in violation of one of those rules? Many businesses are beginning to find out as authorities ramp up efforts to wrangle illegal, unlicensed, and non-compliant marijuana operations in California. Recently more than 500 people were charged with misdemeanors in Los Angeles for their participation in illegal activity at 105 marijuana businesses in the city.

Those charged could face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 in fines for operating marijuana businesses without a license. The crackdown included not only dispensaries, but also extraction labs, cultivation sites, and delivery services, according to Los Angeles Times. Judges have been hearing cases associated with this series of investigations since May, and arraignments will carry into the end of October. So far, 21 have pleaded no contest or guilty and 11 have been dismissed. Other violations included not following security locations or not following rules regarding the business’s location, such as being too close to a school. With the proper future licensing and guidance, some of these businesses could still have a future, but major infractions like location will mean some will have to practically start over from scratch if they hope to continue in the industry. Many have argued excess regulation, monstrously high taxes, and difficulty acquiring licensing have driven marijuana business owners to operate without being in full compliance. In some areas, after state and local taxes are combined, the amount cannabis product is being taxed is up to 50 percent. Business owners who had licenses back when just medical marijuana was legal in California found themselves having to reapply for licenses once the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act was passed, consolidating guidelines for both medical and recreational marketplaces. Some struggled to align with the new law, even though they had already had been operating for years. While our skilled L.A. marijuana business lawyers agree there is too much red tape holding local business owners back, we also know that citing burdensome rules is not an affirmative defense in court should you get busted.

As Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer has pointed out, clamping down on unregulated and illegal activity is not just about punishing non-compliant businesses. It’s about creating a fair environment for the 165 businesses operating with licenses in the city. They, too, are facing the same challenges as all of the other businesses, but additionally must compete with operators who are padding out their bottom line by cutting corners. This is why our marijuana business attorneys focus so much of our efforts on helping business owners with licensing, business plans, consulting, and compliance. We have said from the beginning that the best way to ensure the strong and successful longevity of your business is to build compliance into your foundation, and a consultation with our firm is the best first step in building that foundation. We want to help businesses before they find themselves in court.

Our marijuana arrest lawyers also have the experience you need, though, should you not take these steps find yourself in trouble with the law.

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:

Over 500 Charged in LA in Connection to Unlicensed Marijuana Businesses, by Nick Lindsey, Sept. 7, 2018, High Times

More Blog Entries:

Unlicensed Marijuana Firms in L.A. Face Wrath of City Police, Prosecutors, June 4, 2018, Cannabis Law Group

in common with the natural drug as a circle to a square. Lawmakers have long been chasing down these dangerous substances, to no avail. But the Illinois State Senate is taking steps to close loopholes that manufacturers have been manipulating once and for all, according to Chicago Tribune.

SB-2341 would expand the list of Schedule I controlled substances to include all synthetic cannabinoids not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This is a departure from current methods to control the substance, which has largely involved outlawing by formula. As our cannabis business attorneys can attest, this has so far been a fruitless system of control because each time a formula or chemical is outlawed, manufacturers alter it enough that it qualifies as a new substance. Just like that, a new synthetic cannabinoid is back on the market, but not necessarily any safer. The new law, if passed, would put the onus of proof on the manufacturer that a synthetic cannabinoid is safe rather than government officials proving the substances to be dangerous after they have already hit the market. This change is long overdue. Just recently in Illinois alone, a formula mixed with rat poison has made the rounds leading to four deaths and more than 150 hospitalizations from coughing up blood or having blood in urine or in the nose. This doesn’t account for all the harm the synthetics have done over the past decade under all the other formulas, even without rat poison. Documented effects in the past have included brain bleeding, heart attacks, seizures, and strokes. Synthetic cannabinoids have also seen some popularity with military and allegedly sent several dozen soldier and Marines to the hospital earlier this year.

While key chemicals have been outlawed over the years, the manmade concoctions always try to replicate the high of cannabis by triggering the same receptors that are affected by THC, with far more hazardous results. Also on the banned list are synthetic cathinone (which you may know by its street name “bath salts”) and piperazine (which mimics the effects of ecstasy).

Our cannabis business attorneys in Los Angeles applaud all efforts to put a stop to so-called synthetic marijuana. Not only is it proven to be unsafe, but it also is giving a bad name to natural cannabis products and the upstanding business owners we represent. Manufacturers, often located in China, saw a demand for marijuana in the United States that could not be filled by the real deal due to the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. Section 812. So they created compounds that could mimic the sensations and have been chasing the market ever since. The promise to deliver the same feeling was very appealing to people who appreciated marijuana but were concerned about breaking the law. Such a shame that our country’s unfounded fear of cannabis has sent law-abiding citizens right into the arms of a truly dangerous drug. It’s time to once and for all ban these unstable, manmade knockoffs and declassify good old fashion marijuana in all its natural glory.

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:

The Spice of Death: The Science behind Tainted “Synthetic Marijuana”, April , 17, 2018, By Devin Powell, Scientific American

More Blog Entries:

Feds Consider Marijuana to be Criminal, While Legal Knockoffs Hospitalize Users, April 12, 2018, Cannabis Law Group