Since you have to consider both federal and state laws, you should work with a marijuana law attorney who understands marijuana trends and risks. Such a lawyer will help ensure that your cannabis company or business is not violating any marijuana laws. This article looks at the various benefits of hiring a marijuana law attorney.
Your city government, state government, city attorneys, and police authorities are actively forming their cannabis policy. With the right approach, they may be quite receptive and work with you to get the laws and enforcement right. Help them understand your clients’ issues and get to know the best lobbyists. Your clients will need them.
Some benefits of recreational marijuana use: Smoking has become a means of bonding among friends since marijuana tends to loosen inhibitions. Cannabis can help people speak their minds and exchange ideas freely, allowing them to grow closer to peers.
When it comes to the positive aspects of legalization, it can create more revenue and aid in employing millions. The state-licensed cannabis industry is already worth $10.73 billion and provides jobs to over 243,000 people in the US.
Therefore, a rampant push or urge for legalization is visible when we look at the current legal state of cannabis. Over the last few years, both Europe and North America have seen a massive push for legalization. One of the primary reasons for this push is the mounting evidence highlighting cannabis’s medicinal and therapeutic properties.
Humans have been relying on cannabis and marijuana to treat various illnesses for centuries. Even thousands of years ago, natives worldwide used cannabis to numb pain, reduce inflammation and relax. As a result, marijuana is an integral part of the natural medicine history of various civilizations globally.
The only difference between cannabis and alcohol is that the government cannot tax, test, or regulate the latter. Not only does this affect the quality of products on the market, but it also leads to monetary loss for the government. The US is famous for its free-thinking ways and its emphasis on personal liberty.
While making marijuana illegal in the 1930s meant to reduce consumption and use, it led to the opposite, popularizing the substance. Now, 90 years later, the debate still rages on while cannabis use has exploded within the country. Almost any individual who wishes to use marijuana now can find it.
The state-licensed cannabis industry is already worth $10.73 billion and provides jobs to over 243,000 people in the US.
Another primary advantage that legalization provides is ensuring the products on the market are safe and hygienic. By bringing out legislation regarding the sale and manufacture of such products, states can ascertain and boost product safety.
Eighteen out of fifty states in the US have legalized marijuana, but it’s still illegal at the federal level. On the other hand, thirty-six of them allows the sale and marketing of medical marijuana. Therefore, a rampant push or urge for legalization is visible when we look at the current legal state of cannabis.
Most of the arguments used to prevent large-scale legislation regarding the sale of cannabis do not make any sense. For instance, legal vape markets have been able to help thousands of people reduce their dependence on nicotine and tobacco.
Marijuana law, like entertainment law, is an amalgamation of other practice areas, including business law, administrative law, intellectual property, criminal law, employment law and tax law. I would advise that any attorney targeting the cannabis industry should start with a firm foundation in business law.
It is very important that you choose your clients with care. Do not be afraid to send them to your competitors. Many of the most experienced people in marijuana are long-time criminals. All are criminals under federal law. Most often, veteran marijuana kingpins are rather docile. However, some of the people knocking on your door may be more dangerous and prone to shady dealing. Even organized crime is trying to get into the action. You will be working closely with the marijuana regulatory bodies and it is best to maintain your credibility for yourself and your clients.
While this nascent industry is growing at a pace unparalleled since the dot-com era, many large law firms refuse to service the clientele because the federal government considers marijuana to be a Schedule 1 drug, as defined by the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. State v.
Medical marijuana is legal in 23 states at the time this article was published. The international community is following suit, with an increasing number of nations decriminalizing or outright legalizing cannabis. Colorado now brings in more tax dollars from marijuana than from liquor.
The laws and regulations will change quickly and be applied incons istently as the governing bodies learn and adapt to the subject matter. As a result, understanding of the law is not enough to best serve your clients.
Marijuana law is a fantastic but mine-filled practice area. If you are looking for something different, where you can help forge the laws, culture, and trajectory of an entire industry, there is nothing like it. Nothing is boilerplate and everything requires creative thinking. There is no place I would rather be.
Neil Juneja is a registered patent attorney and is the founder of Gleam Law, a cannabis-focused law firm with offices in Seattle and Oregon. He can be reached at [email protected].
Employers and their lawyers have been grappling with the implications of medical cannabis for years, while most agree that employers are still able to enforce a drug-free workplace, regardless of an employee’s medical cannabis status, it can be more complicated.
According to legal analysis blog JD Supra in December 2020, “The federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Rehabilitation Act expressly exclude from coverage employees or applicants “who [are] currently engaging in the illegal use of drugs.” 42 U.S.C. § 12114 (a); 29 U.S.C.
As JD Supra noted above, recreational cannabis and medical cannabis are federally illegal, meaning all levels of legalization are state-specific.
Some people are naturally shy which can be a social disadvantage. Using marijuana may help one become more confident, vocal and outgoing. Cannabis temporarily masks negativity and helps users see life from a different (and more positive) perspective.
Marijuana has become associated with Mexican immigrants, which has also become synonymous with fear and prejudice. There were anti-drug campaigns to hopefully prevent the spreading of marijuana as terrible crimes have also become associated with its use by the Mexicans.
Smoking has become a means of bonding among friends since marijuana tends to loosen inhibitions. Cannabis can help people speak their minds and exchange ideas freely, allowing them to grow closer to peers. Marijuana heightens the senses, reportedly enhancing the taste of food and the sound of music.
According to a report by ArcView Market Research, North American marijuana sales increased by more than 30% in 2016, raising sales to $6.7B. It is also predicted to greatly increase in the coming years. A very astonishing fact from legal sales of recreational marijuana use in Colorado reached almost $1 billion in 2015.
The Virginia Assembly passed a legislation requiring every farmer to grow hemp. There was a proliferation of hemp production after the Civil War. By the end of the 19 th Century, marijuana became a popular ingredient in creating medicinal products which were sold in public pharmacies.
Marijuana or cannabis is the most commonly used illicit substance. Recent surveys showed that there are about 94 million people in the United States alone that have admitted to using marijuana at least once in their lifetime.
THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the chemical responsible for most of marijuana’s psychological and physical effects: Impaired Balance.