Prior to this vote, 22 states in the U.S. allowed medicinal marijuana, following California’s 1996 lead to allow patients access to the drug for easing the symptoms of serious illnesses. Increasingly, the drug is being used as a safer, more effective alternative to the extremely addictive and deadly opioids traditionally prescribed for pain (far riskier than pot, despite having a lower scheduled designation under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act).

This rapidly evolving cannabis landscape makes it all the more critical for users, distributors, producers, farmers, ancillary companies, drivers and travelers to consult an experienced Los Angeles cannabis attorney when a legal question crops up.

Still, it’s worth noting that while public support for legal marijuana has never been higher (72 percent of democrats and 52 percent of Republicans are in favor of legalization and two-thirds of states have some type of legal marijuana), many marijuana industry and policy experts say there is no brightline “tipping point” at which legality at the federal level is an inevitable certainty. In fact, some are speculating that following this round, it’s plausible medical marijuana initiatives are going to grind to a halt, and while recreational legalization may expand in those states that already have medical pot, those measures may start hitting a wall too.

The reason? Because it all comes down to the way these measures have come down the pike: Through ballot initiatives filed by voters, rather than bills proposed by state legislators. In the first seven of eight medical marijuana laws (including in California), it began with a ballot initiative. While lawmakers write and pass legislation on key, controversial issues, ballot initiatives rely heavily on public opinion. In the past, such initiatives have limited same-sex marriages – or legalize it. They’ve been used to expand or curtail taxes, minimum wages and spending.

A fair number of ballot initiatives are underwritten by very rich individuals with business interests. For instance in Ohio, pro-marijuana advocates three years ago poured some $20 million into legalization of medical and recreational pot on the same ballot initiative. But voters in Ohio responded with a resounding: No. This was despite the campaign revealing strong support for medical marijuana availability. When marijuana advocacy groups vowed to place a medical marijuana initiative on the ballot in Ohio, the state legislature quickly drafted and passed its own.

In Utah, the governor was a vocal opponent of expanded medical marijuana as indicated on the ballot proposal. But now that it’s passed, he and other lawmakers are in talks to pass an initiative that will supercede it – likely something that will more align with the conservative principles of the Morman Church, widely influential in that region.

The point of all that is: Ballot initiatives can be a powerful means to quickly move the needle toward progress. However, some analysts believe its potential for accomplishing wider access to marijuana is almost exhausted. There are 17 states remaining that have access to no marijuana at all. Of those, just five even allow direct ballot initiatives. In the other states – mostly conservative by a wide margin – lawmakers aren’t showing any indication they are eager to loosen restrictions. And even if the voters wanted such a measure, they have no way to bypass the legislature to get it.

Generally speaking, once a place allows medical marijuana and becomes comfortable with it, they are more likely to be swayed on the benefits of recreational marijuana. However, the remaining “dry” states aren’t likely to be pushed any closer to legalization without federal intervention and THAT is unlikely to happen with President Trump at the helm. The Obama administration was harsh in its approach initially, and later softened. The hope was Trump would further reduce restrictions, but it actually got worse under U.S. Attorney General Jeffrey Sessions, who vowed full enforcement of federal marijuana laws. The president himself has said he supports marijuana legalization, but the future of it is still unclear, even now that Sessions has resigned.

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

Additional Resources:

WHAT DO THE MID-TERMS MEAN FOR MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION IN AMERICA?, Nov. 8, 2018, By Daniel Mallenson, PSMag.com

More Blog Entries:

Cannabis Attorneys: How Outlawing Marijuana Made it More Dangerous, Oct. 30, 2018, L.A. Marijuana Lawyer Blog

The Effects of Proposition 64

The Huffington Post reports that close to one million people in California qualify for relief under Proposition 64. This can include: reducing a felony conviction to a misdemeanor; terminating a sentence of probation or incarceration, expunging criminal records, or dismissing a pending case. The terms of Proposition 64 created a new law (California Health and Safety Code §11361.8) by which to facilitate the process of applying for relief.

Retroactive application of a sentencing law is unusual in and of itself, but §11361.8 is even more striking, in that it does not place a time limit on which the conviction must have occurred. Any person currently serving a sentence may apply for relief if he or she would not have been guilty – or been guilty of a lesser offense – had the Act been in affect at the time of the offense. Moreover, California courts are instructed to broadly grant petitions for relief. In order to deny such a petition, the court must determine that an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety would be posed by granting it. This creates a de facto legal presumption that qualified applicants are entitled to have their petitions for relief under the Act granted. This presumption can be challenged (and overcome) by a prosecutor, but it is still an advantage for defendants seeking relief from their sentences for marijuana offenses.

A Civil Rights Issue

Convictions for drug offenses in the United States have historically demonstrated a high racial disparity. The Orange County Reporter identifies a study which found that Latinos were twenty-six percent more likely, and blacks were five times more likely, than whites to be arrested for a marijuana felony in 2015. This is in spite of evidence that blacks, whites and Latinos all consume and sell marijuana at similar rates. Celebrities such as rapper Jay-Z and actor Danny Glover cited this as the reason they supported the Act. It was also the reason that Silicon Valley billionaire Sean Parker donated more than seven million dollars to support the passage of Proposition 64.

The state’s recreational marijuana referendum has wide-reaching applications which can help those with previous convictions for marijuana offenses. Sentences can be reduced or overturned, inmates can be released, and criminal records changed as a result of the retroactive sentencing provisions of Proposition 64.

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

Additional Resources:

California Today: Still Serving Time for Marijuana, May 17, 2017, by Mike McPhate, The New York Times

More Blog Entries:

Report: California Arrested 500k People in 10 Years for Marijuana, September 5, 2016, by Cannabis Law Group

According to the study’s co-author, this research is the first of its kind to follow people who had access to both medical marijuana and prescription pharmaceuticals, such as opioids, benzodiazepines and anti-depressants. The study followed more than 250 people who were prescribed medication for formally diagnosed conditions ranging from chronic pain to gastrointestinal issues to mental health. In all, about 63 percent of respondents indicated they preferred to use cannabis over the prescriptions to treat chronic pain, depression and other conditions.

So why would people prefer pot? According to the study authors, it may have a lot to do with the reduction in side effects, as well as the overall feeling that marijuana is a lot safer than many prescription drugs.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last year that prescriptions for opioid medications had quadrupled since 1999, with more than 40 people in the U.S. dying daily from overdoses. The problem is that while doctors may prescribe these drugs for legitimate purposes, people require an increasing dose for the medication to be effective over the long-term. This prompts physicians to up the dosage (or for patients to do so on their own). These increasingly higher levels of power medications put patients at high risk of accidental death from overdose.

Researchers in the U.S. with the University of Michigan School of Public Health and Medical School surveyed 185 patients from a marijuana dispensary in Ann Arbor in 2013 and again in 2015. What they discovered was a 45 percent reported improvement in the quality of life since using marijuana over prescription painkillers to alleviate chronic pain.

The newer Canadian study, published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, mirrors these findings and suggests marijuana can – and should – have a key role in addressing the opioid epidemic that has been sweeping both bordering nations.

Canada was one of the first countries in the world to develop a program that allowed access to medical marijuana. Nationally, there are 30 federally-authorized licensed producers and approximately 65,000 patients.

Obviously if the U.S. federal government were to ease its restrictions and allow for medicinal use of marijuana, the numbers here would be much higher. As it now stands, there are 28 states that allow for legal medicinal use of the drug, while eight states and Washington D.C. allow cultivation, sale and possession for recreational purposes.

But while the majority of the country has approved of medical marijuana, our federal government has been yet to lift the federal Schedule I classification that labels marijuana a dangerous drug – one that is highly addictive and with no redeemable medicinal properties. Although the Obama administration had finally eased enforcement of federal statutes so long as marijuana businesses and individuals followed well-formulated state laws, it does seem as if the Trump administration – U.S. Attorney Jeff Sessions in particular – plan to take a tougher line. This is despite the obvious benefits as outlined by this study and more.

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

Additional Resources:

Given the choice, patients will reach for cannabis over prescribed opioids, Feb. 27, 2017, Science Daily

More Blog Entries:

Marijuana Sobriety Tests Still Elusive, Feb. 28, 2017, Marijuana Attorney Blog