california medical marijuana law

How quickly things can change

2012-01-19T14:59:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-17T16:13:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-17T13:19:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-16T10:51:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-16T09:35:00.000-08:00

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

2011-06-22T15:40:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

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

Redwood Herbal Alliance

2011-02-23T11:06:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow at 1:00, one of our clients, Redwood Herbal Alliance, will have their hearing to obtain a medical marijuana dispensary permit from the county of Sonoma. Feel free to join us and show your support for the collective at 2550 Ventura Ave in Santa Rosa.

For more information, call our office, or visit our website at http://www.SFLegalHelp.com.

Thanks and stay well.

Scot

Marin Holistic Solutions wins victory for patients of Marin

2010-12-27T15:19:00.000-08:00

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, a settlement was negotiated between the City of Corte Madera and Marin Holistic Solutions, the medical marijuana patient's collective in Corte Madera. Under the terms of the agreement, the collective is permitted to remain open for the next 3 1/2 years, the time remaining on it's 5 year lease. They must raise the age to join the collective from 18 to 21, and must give a percentage of their sales to the city, a portion of which will be used for drug abuse prevention programs. In return for adhering to these conditions, the patients of Marin will have a safe place to receive their medicine. Congratulations MHS and patients of Marin!

To visit the collective's website, click www.mhs420.com

Visit our website at www.sflegalhelp.com

Update June 2009

2009-06-16T09:52:00.000-07:00

Things are still continuing to change quickly, especially here in Marin County. Several collectives have opened up in spite of their unpopularity with the local politicians. There areas include Corte Madera, Novato, and others. Collectives are beginning to work together and to help each other to fight for the rights of patients. It is exciting. We'll see what happens.

For more info, see our website at http://www.sflegalhelp.com

Medical Marijuana Update - May 2009

2009-05-21T16:05:00.000-07:00

Many things have happened since my last post. Fed's raided a San Francisco dispensary despite a pledge from the US attorney general that they would not. The DEA stated that it was because the club was in violation of state law, but refused to elaborate, only saying that the information was under seal and could not be disclosed. However, nobody was arrested and no charges were filed as of the date of this post. This raid occurred over a month ago, and I am not aware of any raids since. Things may finally be settling down.

Tom Amiano's bill to legalize marijuana for all purposes was shelved for a year, so that will not be voted on anytime soon.

San Francisco is kicking around ideas to distribute it's own medical marijuana in order to increase revenue, but as of today it is only an idea.

New collectives are opening up everyday throughout California. Los Angeles is supposed to lift its moratorium in September. Sonoma is setting up regulations to allow collectives. San Mateo has set up regulations to allow collectives. The medical marijuana movement is moving forward each day.

The supreme court refused to hear an appeal regarding federal vs. state rights in the medical marijuana arena. What that means is that the lower court's ruling that local and state law enforcement must enforce state law and not federal law when the two conflice will remain as a final and binding decision.

More updates will follow. For more info, visit our website at http://www.sflegalhelp.com

Feds to end raids on medical marijuana dispensaries

2009-02-26T10:43:00.000-08:00

US Attorney General Eric Holder said at a press conference yesterday that he plans to end federal raids on medical marijuana collectives in states that have legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes. He stated that ending the raids "is now American policy." Americans for Safe Access reported "In response to a question last night about DEA raids at medical marijuana facilities in California, Holder said, "What the President said during the campaign...is consistent with what we will be doing here in law enforcement. He was my boss in the campaign....He is my boss now. What he said in the campaign is now American policy." "

We should thank the political organizations that have continually put pressure on the federal government to change its stance, in particular, Americans for Safe Access and NORML.

for more information on this story, you can see the article by ASA at their website, http://www.safeaccessnow.org

In other news, Tom Amiano introduced a bill to legalize marijuana for all purposes in California. I will keep everyone posted as that progresses.

For more information on California Medical Marijuana laws, you can visit our website at www.SFLegalHelp.com

Have a great day

Scot

collectives

2009-02-11T15:10:00.000-08:00

In case you missed it, the California Attorney General announced that Dispensaries are out, and Collectives are in. If you want to share medical marijuana with other patients, there are specific legal requirements you must follow. This is an excerpt from the Attorney General's Report. Enjoy!

For more info, visit our website at www.SFLegalHelp.com

B. Guidelines for the Lawful Operation of a Cooperative or Collective: Collectives and cooperatives should be organized with sufficient structure to ensure security, non-diversion of marijuana to illicit markets, and compliance with all state and local laws. The following are some suggested guidelines and practices for operating collective growing operations to help ensure lawful operation.

1. Non-Profit Operation: Nothing in Proposition 215 or the MMP authorizes collectives, cooperatives, or individuals to profit from the sale or distribution of marijuana. (See, e.g., § 11362.765(a) ["nothing in this section shall authorize . . . any individual or group to cultivate or distribute marijuana for profit"].

2. Business Licenses, Sales Tax, and Seller's Permits: The State Board of Equalization has determined that medical marijuana transactions are subject to sales tax, regardless of whether the individual or group makes a profit, and those engaging in transactions involving medical marijuana must obtain a Seller's Permit. Some cities and counties also require dispensing collectives and cooperatives to obtain business licenses.

3. Membership Application and Verification: When a patient or primary caregiver wishes to join a collective or cooperative, the group can help prevent the diversion of marijuana for non-medical use by having potential members complete a written membership application. The following application guidelines should be followed to help ensure that marijuana grown for medical use is not diverted to illicit markets:

a) Verify the individual's status as a qualified patient or primary caregiver. Unless he or she has a valid state medical marijuana identification card, this should involve personal contact with the recommending physician (or his or her agent), verification of the physician's identity, as well as his or her state licensing status. Verification of primary caregiver status should include contact with the qualified patient, as well as validation of the patient's recommendation. Copies should be made of the physician's recommendation or identification card, if any;

b) Have the individual agree not to distribute marijuana to non-members; c) Have the individual agree not to use the marijuana for other than medical purposes; d) Maintain membership records on-site or have them reasonably available; e) Track when members' medical marijuana recommendation and/or identification cards expire; and f) Enforce conditions of membership by excluding members whose identification card or physician recommendation are invalid or have expired, or who are caught diverting marijuana for non-medical use.

4. Collectives Should Acquire, Possess, and Distribute Only Lawfully Cultivated Marijuana: Collectives and cooperatives should acquire marijuana only from their constituent members, because only marijuana grown by a qualified patient or his or her primary caregiver may lawfully be transported by, or distributed to, other members of a collective or cooperative. (§§ 11362.765, 11362.775.) The collective or cooperative may then allocate it to other members of the group. Nothing allows marijuana to be purchased from outside the collective or cooperative for distribution to its members. Instead, the cycle should be a closedcircuit of marijuana cultivation and consumption with no purchases or sales to or from non-members. To help prevent diversion of medical marijuana to nonmedical markets, collectives and cooperatives should document each member's contribution of labor, resources, or money to the enterprise. They also should track and record the source of their marijuana.

5. Distribution and Sales to Non-Members are Prohibited: State law allows primary caregivers to be reimbursed for certain services (including marijuana cultivation), but nothing allows individuals or groups to sell or distribute marijuana to non-members. Accordingly, a collective or cooperative may not distribute medical marijuana to any person who is not a member in good standing of the organization. A dispensing collective or cooperative may credit its members for marijuana they provide to the collective, which it may then allocate to other members. (§ 11362.765(c).) Members also may reimburse the collective or cooperative for marijuana that has been allocated to them. Any monetary reimbursement that members provide to the collective or cooperative should only be an amount necessary to cover overhead costs and operating expenses.

6. Permissible Reimbursements and Allocations: Marijuana grown at a collective or cooperative for medical purposes may be:

Provided free to qualified patients and primary caregivers who are members of the collective or cooperative;
Provided in exchange for services rendered to the entity;
Allocated based on fees that are reasonably calculated to cover overhead costs and operating expenses; or
Any combination of the above.

7. Possession and Cultivation Guidelines: If a person is acting as primary caregiver to more than one patient under section 11362.7(d)(2), he or she may aggregate the possession and cultivation limits for each patient. For example, applying the MMP's basic possession guidelines, if a caregiver is responsible for three patients, he or she may possess up to 24 oz. of marijuana (8 oz. per patient) and may grow 18 mature or 36 immature plants. Similarly, collectives and cooperatives may cultivate and transport marijuana in aggregate amounts tied to its membership numbers. Any patient or primary caregiver exceeding individual possession guidelines should have supporting records readily available when:

Operating a location for cultivation;
Transporting the group's medical marijuana; and
Operating a location for distribution to members of the collective or cooperative.

8. Security: Collectives and cooperatives should provide adequate security to ensure that patients are safe and that the surrounding homes or businesses are not negatively impacted by nuisance activity such as loitering or crime. Further, to maintain security, prevent fraud, and deter robberies, collectives and cooperatives should keep accurate records and follow accepted cash handling practices, including regular bank runs and cash drops, and maintain a general ledger of cash transactions.

Medical Marijuana Updated

2009-02-10T11:20:00.000-08:00

As an attorney in California specializing in medical marijuana, these posts are to update readers on the current state of the law and inform people of changes as they occur. As you probably know, the DEA has been raiding medical marijuana dispensaries in California and other states under the Bush administration as a way of intimidating patients and persuading property owners not to rent to a medical marijuana collective. Just recently, white house spokesman Nick Shapiro issued a press statement saying that President Obama will end that policy when new DEA Administrated is appointed, which should be within the next month. “The president believes that federal resources should not be used to circumvent state laws, and as he continues to appoint senior leadership to fill out the ranks of the federal government, he expects them to review their policies with that in mind," Shapiro said.

Things are looking up!

For more info on medical marijuana law in general, see our website at http://www.SFLegalhelp.com

For more info on the press release, go to Americans for safe access at http://safeaccessnow.org