In the Weeds

POT LAW PRACTICES GROW AS MEDICAL MARIJUANA DEBATE RAGES

The universe of marijuana laws may be devolving into chaos, but Bill
McPike remains a mellow man. For 30 years, the Fresno, Calif.,
attorney has defended clients against pot charges and counseled
entrepreneurs on setting up shop to legally grow and sell the
substance that spawned a thousand slang terms.

But whatever its name over the years -- Mary Jane, weed, wacky tobaccy
- -- at no other point has the law been so unsettled. A collision of
federal policy, state statutes, local ordinances and old-fashioned
politics means more clients for McPike to defend and more uncertainty
to navigate. Although U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. said last
year that federal prosecutors would back off cases involving medical
marijuana usage, authorities in California and elsewhere recently have
vowed to rein in what they see as an unwieldy industry of pot growers
and consumers.

Added to the mix are a jumble of local ordinances drawing odd
boundaries that can make it legal to sell marijuana on one side of the
street and illegal on the other. "It creates a lot of problems," said
McPike, 59. A longtime member of the National Organization for the
Reform of Marijuana Laws, he regularly conducts seminars about
conforming with California's medical marijuana laws. Last month, he
hit Burbank's Holiday Inn to talk about what it takes to establish a
medical marijuana business. It was an event organized by the
California Medical Marijuana Club. The group's Web site proclaims that
"A friend with weed is a friend indeed."

McPike also teaches courses on establishing a medical marijuana
business through 420 College, the self-described premier medical
marijuana school in California. For $250, students get training in
opening a nonprofit marijuana business, transporting marijuana,
cultivating it and cooking with it. Those who successfully complete
the program receive "Bill McPike's Cannabis Businessmen"
certification.

Throughout his 30-year legal career, McPike has seen highs and lows in
the support for reforming marijuana laws. But what's going on now in
his home state and elsewhere is unprecedented. In November, California
voters will consider an initiative to legalize and tax marijuana.

The patchwork of laws has created plenty of confusion, McPike said,
especially among those seeking to start a medical marijuana business.
"They just go do it, with no forms to back them up, then the cops come
across them and they're in real trouble," he said.

Gray Area

Fourteen states now allow the cultivation and use of
marijuana for medical reasons. Besides California, they include
Michigan, New Jersey and Colorado. Last month, the District of
Columbia Council approved a law to allow people with HIV, glaucoma,
cancer and other chronic diseases to buy medical marijuana from a
small number of dispensaries in the city. Also last month, a group of
about 100 medical-marijuana workers in California voted to join the
United Food and Commercial Workers Union. The group includes growers
and sellers.

Amid the changes in the laws across the country, medical marijuana
dispensaries have flourished, with the number of dispensaries in Los
Angeles alone estimated at 1,000. In his announcement in March 2009,
Holder indicated that government resources would go to catching
illegal large-scale dealers and more violent drug-related crimes
rather than raiding dispensaries.

But just as the federal government has demonstrated a laxer attitude,
local authorities say the proliferation of dispensaries has spawned
operations that supply pot for recreational, not medical, reasons. On
June 7, the city of Los Angeles announced that it would seek to close
400 dispensaries there. The City Attorney's Office said the crackdown
affects unregistered dispensaries that opened after the implementation
of a 2007 moratorium. Also on June 7, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter signed
two bills to increase the oversight of medical marijuana in his state.
At the time, Ritter cited the "chaotic proliferation of medical
marijuana dispensaries" as the reason for the change.

"There's a lot of gray area," said McPike, speaking from his home near
Shaver Lake, Calif.

At one point in his career, he was defending 32 clients in 16
counties, he said. Many of his clients were prosecuted even though
they had with them at the time of arrest documentation showing that
the pounds of marijuana they possessed were for legitimate medical
reasons, he said. McPike was able to get several of those cases
dismissed by filing demurrers -- an unusual move in criminal
prosecutions. Instead of his clients pleading guilty or not guilty --
typically the only two choices in a criminal case -- his clients
admitted the facts of the case and put the burden on the prosecution
to show how it was illegal. "They couldn't do it," he said.

McPike grew up in Fresno, a community that he said was steeped in
marijuana culture. He worked as a claims adjuster before graduating
from Humphreys College Laurence Drivon School of Law in 1980 when he
was 29. One of his law professors would become a client, he said.

Trevor Oppliger, a deputy district attorney in Fresno, said McPike
knows his stuff. He and McPike crossed paths numerous times as
opposing counsel when Oppliger was prosecuting drug cases. "He's a
grandfatherly type, if that makes sense," Oppliger said. "His
experience and knowledge are profound."

Former Mendocino County deputy district attorney James Lee Nerli
described McPike as a "mellow guy." Now in private practice in Fair
Oaks, Calif., Nerli worked opposite McPike on several marijuana cases.
"He had plenty of clients. That's for sure," Nerli said.

McPike still represents a few individuals, but he spends most of his
time consulting with people who want to open dispensaries. More and
more of his work involves individuals outside California who want to
either use or produce medical marijuana. To set up a storefront shop
such as those allowed in California, it takes as little as $5,000, he
said.

Homegrown Work

McPike is not alone in his line of work. Several solo
practitioners and law firms, mostly in California, tout themselves as
marijuana defense attorneys. For instance, Beverly Hills is home to
Allison Margolin's practice. The 2002 Harvard Law School graduate
describes herself as "L.A.'s dopest attorney." About 70% of her
practice focuses on people who have run afoul of California's medical
marijuana laws. Since Holder's announcement last year, more older,
retiree types have gotten into the business, she said.

Then there's Michael Kraut, also a Harvard-educated attorney, whose
pot practice focuses exclusively on criminal defense. He does not
assist with startups. He's a former deputy district attorney in Los
Angeles. His clients, he said, most often get in trouble with the law
because they simply do not understand it.

McPike said he's had a steady flow of clients and that it's been
relatively easy to grow his practice over the years by word of mouth.
He's never run a Yellow Pages advertisement.

"I get all kinds of people calling me. I don't know how they find me,"
he said. A few days ago, a gentleman who had recently received two
heart stents contacted him to see about becoming part of the marijuana
"clubs" that California allows. They are co-ops of sorts that permit
medical marijuana users to grow and use their own product.

Later this month, McPike is headed to Los Angeles to conduct a seminar
through 420 College. The curriculum includes how to start a marijuana
delivery service for just $500.

McPike said he has learned that the best piece of advice for clients
is to keep their mouths shut with authorities until they get an
attorney. "The biggest mistake is the talk," he said.