How quickly things can change

Two days ago I posted how dark it was looking for medical marijuana in California. Today, the tide may have started shifting. The California Supreme Court decided to review decisions by lower courts that made it difficult for medical marijuana collectives to operate. By granting review, the Supreme Court temporarily nullified the decisions, causing then to have no effect until he issue is decided by the Supreme Court. The result - cities and counties my begin allowing collectives to open again. Now if we could just do something about federal interference with states rights ...

for more information, visit our website at www.candell-law.com

January 2012 update

It's been a tough few months for medical marijuana patients in California. Cities and counties seem to be using recent court rulings as excuses to ban medical marijuana collectives in their communities. In addition, the US Attorney's office has been meddling more in local affairs by threatening to take the property of any landlord that rents space to a medical marijuana collective. As a result, access to safe medicine has been shrinking every day with no sign of letting up. There are a few initiatives that will be on the November ballot that may change the momentum, but that is 10 months away.

In the meantime, collectives seem to be switching to delivery services in order to avoid local regulations and federal intervention. These are interesting times.

For more information on medical marijuana laws in california, please visit our website at www.candell-law.com

Success in Butte County

Butte tried closing down the last operating collective in the county by citing its employees for violating its zoning laws by allowing or causing a collective to operate. We took the case to trial and lost, but appealed the case and won. The cases against all defendants were dismissed, and the court held on appeal that individuals working for the collective (corporation) were not individually liable for its actions. Congratulations to North Valley Holistic Health, its staff, and its patients.

For more information on medical marijuana law in California, please visit our website at www.Candell-Law.com

California Medical Marijuana Law Updates

In the Courts:

This has not been a good month for medical marijuana advocates. One appellate court ruled that cities and counties in California have the right to ban medical marijuana dispensaries. This ruling is a published opinion (binding) but will be appealed [Riverside case]. In another case, the Court ruled that Cities and Counties that give permits to medical marijuana collectives are violating state law [Long Beach case].

In the Cities and Counties:

Because of the two decisions mentioned above, and because of the pressure being applied by federal law enforcement, local governments have been backpedaling in their efforts to regulate medical marijuana.

Sacramento: decided to freeze its permit process

Redding: enacted a ban

Santa Cruz: enacted a moratorium

Sonoma: suggested they will be moving towards limiting the number of permits available.

The only good news this month came from grass roots efforts to overrule local politicians:

In Butte County, patients organized and gathered enough signatures for a referendum against growing restrictions. In San Jose, patients gathered close to 50,000 signature for a referendum against an ordinance that would have imposed severe restrictions on patients rights to collectively cultivate their medicine. Local organization seems to be the path to success for patients and this point in time.

Check back for updates. For more information about medical marijuana law, visit our website at www.candell-law.com

Stay well,

Scot

Updates in the law

We have been inundated with telephone calls asking for legal updates regarding federal law, state law, and within individual cities and counties. We have decided the best way to keep our clients informed is to post updates to our blog for all to see. Please check back here regularly to keep current on medical marijuana law in your city or county.

For more information, visit our website at www.candell-law.com

New Attorney Hired at LOSC

The Law Office of Scot Candell is proud to announce the hiring of David Mishook, a recent graduate of Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley. I'm confident he will be a valuable asset to the medical marijuana community.

For more information about medical marijuana law in California, visit our website at www.sflegalhelp.com

Scot

Congratulations to Valley of the Moon Collective

Valley of the Moon Collective received its permit from Sonoma County and is now one of the few licensed collectives in the county. Unfortunately, Sonoma County Council is trying to collect over $50,000 from the collective for alleged costs and fees and penalties. We will update this blog as the situation develops.

For more information about medical marijuana laws in California, visit our website at www.SFLegalHelp.com

Scot