Many patients often ask me legal questions about getting involved in the medical marijuana industry.  Although I am obviously not an attorney I have become fairly well versed in cannabis law in the State of California.   The person who I respect the most in this area of law is attorney Anthony Curiale located in [...]

A lot has happened to the medical marijuana industry in 2011.   I expect more of the same for 2012 so hold onto your shorts.   2011 was supposed to be a year of growth for the medical marijuana industry.  More and more patients in California were seeing the benefits of this plant first hand [...]

Since proposition 215 was passed in 1996 by California voters patients have been able to use medical marijuana legally.  However, because of lack of accurate information the majority of California patients have no idea that they would even qualify to use medical marijuana.   This blog post will walk you through whether or not you [...]

California attorney general Kamela Harris has leaked her guidelines for the states medical marijuana laws.    There are few changes which will change how the business is currently being run by dispensaries and cultivators. In this blog I will summarize the most pertinent changes: 1) Patients will be allowed to join ONLY ONE collective (dispensary): [...]

Since April 31 American Express is no longer allowing its cardholders to purchase medical marijuana. No reason was given for the decision but it is safe to say that risk management made the call based on federal policy.

This is not unusual and I would imagine that MasterCard, Visa and Discover will follow suit. For the past 2 years the banking industry has given the medical marijuana community a heck of a time trying to conduct ordinary business. READ ON….

I have blogged about this previously but felt it necessary to caution patients again. Today I had a patient tell me he called two medical marijuana clinics and was told that for $250 the doctor will provide him with a “Cultivation License” which allows him to grow up to 99 plants.

I want to reiterate one more time that a Cultivation Certificate from a doctors office is NOT VALID NOR RECOGNIZED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT.

If you plan on growing more than the 12 plant limit established by Senate Bill 420 I highly recommend you contact a knowledgable attorney. Spending $325 for one hour of his professional recommendation will save you tens of thousands in legal fees and stress that you can not imagine.

I RECOMMEND THAT YOU FIRST SPEAK WITH ATTORNEY:

ANTHONY CURIALE

418 South Brea Boulevard
Brea, CA 92821-5301
(714) 529-9376

He is super knowledgable and very reasonable in his pricing.

I hope that helps.

Dr. Breen

I was recently asked by a patient if I could write him a written note exempting him from the 12 plant limit placed on California medical marijuana patients. Interestingly I spoke to a physician who has a clinic in the IE and actually charges patients $50 if they want a written exemption to grow more medicine.

Although I am not an attorney, I want to give you some practical advice on growing your own medicine. In addition I want to give you information based on my EXPERT testimony in court regarding patients charged with growing with intent to sell. READ ON…

I am writing this blog to clarify patients rights in California to grow medical marijuana. Under the Compassionate Use Act (Proposition 215) passed in 1996, any patient who receives a written recommendation to use marijuana can legally grow their own medicine. In fact, in most cases patients can grow 12 immature or 6 mature plants at any given time and possess up to 8 oz of marijuana.

Out of that law came the “growers certificate” which doctors offices provided patients with who wish to grow their own medicine.

The intent of this blog is to clarify this document and answer any questions you may have. READ ON….

A new state law that says medical marijuana dispensaries can not be located within 600 feet of any school is forcing the closure of 6 Lake Forrest dispensaries.

This is the latest effort of cities to get a handle on an industry they have neglected to regulate. READ ON…

Last week I spoke to the city of Costa Mesa’s city council which included the mayor, city attorney and all 5 counsel members. The purpose was a study session on creating an ordinance to allow and regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in the city. It was 30 minutes and there were 6 industry professionals who outlined a logical solution to what cities consider a negative blight on the community.

More and more I read about how states, local and federal governments are pushing back at medical marijuana laws in an attempt to curtail them. There is good reason and I think the medical marijuana community is partly to blame.

At the end of of our presentation one of the counsel members, a middle aged caucasian women (who happens to be a high school teacher) made this comment: “At the high school I teach I hear students talking about how easy it is to get a medical marijuana card and it seems like they all have one. What are you doing to curtail all the use among teenagers?” THIS IS A GREAT QUESTION AND A MAJOR PROBLEM RIGHT NOW. AND I THINK THIS IS THE REASON WE ARE SEEING THE PUCH BACK FROM LOCAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS. READ ON….