If you’ve ever wondered about why some states have legalized marijuana and some haven’t, or why even though marijuana is legal in it’s still illegal to posses or use it, then today’s episode is for you.

https://soundcloud.com/capimpactca/episode-18-a-brief-history-of-the-legalization-of-cannabis

McGeorge Professor of Law Mike Vitiello gives a brief history of the legalization of cannabis in today’s episode.

Today’s episode of The CAP•impact Podcast takes a look at the impacts of changes at the federal level on the regulated cannabis market in California and looks at how that new market is doing.

For the analysis of federal policy changes, primarily the decision in January by US Attorney General Jeff Sessions to rescind the

By: Mike Vitiello

What Rescinding the Cole Memo Means

All use, possession, or sale of marijuana violates federal law. So, why did states like Colorado, Washington, and now California believe that they could legalize marijuana for recreational use?

In 2013, after Colorado and Washington legalized recreational marijuana, James Cole, an attorney in the

With California’s newly legalized  recreational marijuana industry set to begin January 1 and projected to generate $7 billion annually by 2020, devising a banking system for all that money is a priority.  The problem is that banks, which are regulated by the federal government, won’t touch it for fear of being prosecuted criminally.

Last month,

By: Mike Vitiello

In my previous post, I mentioned that many areas of marijuana law are complex and that I would discuss legal ethical issues that marijuana attorneys face. It is critical to remember that every use of marijuana violates federal law, even in states like California, where the state allows medical or recreational

Under Prop 64, city and county governments will be able to ban almost all cannabis activity except for personal cultivation of up to six plants in an enclosed structure and consumption, both by an adult at least 21 years old. Otherwise,  local governments in California are free to restrict cannabis businesses from

When California voters passed Prop 64 in the November 2016 election, they legalized the use and possession of recreational cannabis. This may sound simple, but the decriminalization and legalization of a previously illicit substance requires an intensive regulatory scheme. Prop 64 authorizes three main state agencies to promulgate cannabis regulations: The Bureau

By: Mike Vitiello

Intro to Marijuana Law

Marijuana law is one of the fastest-growing areas of the law in most states throughout the country. California is no exception, particularly since the state’s voters passed Proposition 64 in the November 2016 election, legalizing recreational use of marijuana for adult users. Since then, the state

This Lead Up to Legalization blog series will cover California’s foray into legalized recreational marijuana. We will cover issues leading up to our state’s January 2018 implementation, including the structure of Proposition 64, marijuana’s classification under the Controlled Substances Act, and many other issues that arise during the state’s transition.

At the