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Contact Scott@Pot-Laws.com
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Criminal Law |
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WE ARE THE INTERNET'S FIRST AND
FOREMOST AT PROPERLY FORMING
CALIFORNIA PROPOSITION 215
DISPENSARIES AND COLLECTIVES
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WANT TO OPEN A CO-OP
OR DISPENSARY?
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With over 28 years of legal
experience, the Law Office of Schofield, Grossman & Linden
have assisted with the formation and operation of well over 35
dispensaries, collective growing associations and medicinal
edible companies across Southern California.
Several city officials and
county planners have requested our office to assist them with
the creation of their various zoning codes, ordinances,
procedures and regulations regarding medical marijuana.
We have met with city
attorneys, city and county planners, zoning committees, city
council members, and several counties' Board of Supervisors in
support of medical marijuana and patients' rights to easy
access.
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We can help with
difficult and hard to work with landlords.
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We can assist with
designing your dispensary to use the space in the most
efficient manner while maintaining maximum security.
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We can assist at finding
licensed contractors to build your dispensary to code.
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We provide all our
clients with complete proprietary operations documents.
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We are part of the NORML
Legal Committee and supporters of other non-profit
organizations including several Cancer and AIDS Research
Organizations, Kiwanis International and the Elks
Foundation.
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Have you ever stopped to
consider what you would do if you were suddenly faced with the
prospect of getting arrested and being asked by the police to
speak to them?
Most of my law abiding
clients never consider such circumstances since they do not
foresee the possibility of ever having problems with the
law.
Unfortunately, life is not
always predictable, and some of us may find ourselves in a
compromising position when the police attempt to speak with us.
NEED A CRIMINAL
DEFENSE ATTORNEY?
CONTACT
US NOW |
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| Corporate Law |
Criminal Law |
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| A
SPECIAL MESSAGE REGARDING MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES |
Due to the high volume of email and calls our firm receives, I
believe it easier for me to create an outline of the current process
of purchasing and/or operating a California MMD instead of
discussing the same issues with each and every person individually.
There is no question that owning and operating an MMD can be a
lucrative business, however, you must also be advised that under
Federal Law, the sale and/or distribution of marijuana, (medical or
not), is considered illegal and we can not guarantee any change in
Federal Law or their position and tactics used to close down MMD's.
As someone interested in this business, one thing you must ask
yourself is why you want to own and operate an MMD. If
it merely for the income, then this is probably not the business for
you, the constant bombardment from various state and federal
agencies can become taxing on an owner. A proper owner is
someone who believes in the cause itself and an MMD operator
must be someone with the compassion necessary to work with seriously
ill patients on a daily basis as well as the ferocity and tenacity
to stand up for what they believe in, even if it means spending
a few hours in handcuffs.
That being said...if you
are starting from scratch and looking in the Los Angeles City area,
you will need to purchase someone else's license as the City of Los
Angeles is no longer accepting or issuing the licenses. If you
already have a license and need assistance with a
currently open and running location, then I am certain we can assist
you, please call our office to set up an appointment at (626)
578-0708, press extension "4" to reach me.
Alternatively, if you
are looking to purchase a license in the City of Los Angeles,
we have several clients who are willing to sell their license and/or
locations. Each of the license owners are currently
requesting $50,000 per license; this price is non-negotiable across
all of the owners. Please also be advised that these are
corporations that own licenses only and the buyer must procure their
own retail rental space, the current owner has an office
Headquarters, but all buyers must obtain their own retail rental
location.
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Each MMD license is owned
by a California "C-Type" corporation and was opened and
properly filed with the California Secretary of State as well as
the City of Los Angeles prior to the September 2007 deadline,
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Each corporation has
its own corporate kit, including corporate book, stock
certificates and corporate seal.
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On some of the MMD
licenses, the owner failed to file a "zero
income" return for the final quarter of 2007 with the City,
but this is merely a form that must be filed and (I believe) the
late fee is @ $250,
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Each of the MMD's
carries its own liability insurance,
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Each of the MMD's has
its own CA State Seller Permit, and
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Each of the MMD's has
its own Federal Tax Identification Number.
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Transfer of
ownership from one party to another is effectuated by a
Shareholder Meeting discussing and approving the sale.
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A Purchase Agreement
is signed by both parties, payment is made and the stock
certificates are signed over to the new owner.
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The new owner(s) have
an immediate Shareholders meeting where they name a new Board of
Directors
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The Board of
Directors, in turn, have an immediate meeting where they nominate
and elect the new Officers.
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The list of the new
Directors and Officers are filed with the California Secretary of
State
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The City of Los
Angeles is notified of a change of address (these are licenses
only and the buyer must procure their own retail rental space).
Please note that this is a change of address only, this not an
application for a new license, the buyer operates under the
license that is already in existence.
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The State Board of
Equalization is notified of the change of address
Additionally, there are
other cities that are still allowing (or at least not disallowing)
the opening of new dispensaries. For example, many
unincorporated areas located within a county, such as the
unincorporated parts of the County of Los Angeles, require the
filing of a Conditional Use Permit, This process can take 6 months
to 1 year to be completed and requires impact studies, land and
community surveys and other lengthy requirements before meeting with
the County Council to discuss approval or disapproval of the
Conditional Use. There is no guarantee of approval or refusal
when following this process. We can perform these services at
our firm's normal hourly rate of $250.
Please also be
advised that we do not keep a list of all the cities and counties in
California that have and do not have moratoriums and/or ordinances
set-up and, unfortunately, unless a client is willing to pay for the
time it takes to contact each city and/or county planning
department, city council and possibly others, it is not a
cost-effective practice for our firm to perform this research, so we
do not do so.
We also have other
clients who currently have open and running MMD's that they are
willing to entertain offers for purchase, most of these are
starting their requests at $200K to $300K and up based on their current
patient load. Obviously, purchase of an open and running
MMD requires the above process, plus the additional steps
necessary for a full business review; this can include inspection
of the business' patient records, profit and loss statements,
goodwill and reputation in the community, as well as prior tax
returns. We can perform these services at our firm's normal
hourly rate of $250. In addition, we would also suggest
obtaining an independent assessment of the business by a Certified
Public Accountant.
Our firm is still
accepting appointments from potential new clients, but, again,
because of the high volume of calls and emails we receive, and
because of many recent improper events and/or occurrences in
the medical marijuana community itself, we feel that the spirit of
the Compassionate Use Law is being stretched too far and we have had
no choice but to become extremely discerning in who we do and do not
accept as clients.
If you are interested in
purchasing one of the licenses or MMD locations that our clients
have available, then please call our office to set up an
appointment at (626) 578-0708, press extension "4" to
reach me. Please be certain and serious
about your decision to go forward before making an appointment as we
do not appreciate clients who make and break multiple appointments.
Our initial
interview meeting is 1 hour long and is billed at our firm's normal
hourly rate of $250, payment is to be made in cash, up front, at the
beginning of the meeting. There are no exceptions to this
rule. Please prepare a list of questions and concerns that you
have before the meeting because there is a lot of information that
can be covered and 1 hour is not a very long time.
One final thought:
We believe that the Compassionate Use Law is an important step in
changing the way our government looks and deals with our nation's
failing medical system as a whole. By recommending the
use of natural alternative medications and stepping away from
the big business of chemical drug manufacturing, we take a step
closer back to a more natural and healthier way of living.
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Contact Scott@Pot-Laws.com
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