What types of Medical Cannabis legal issues does J.D. see regularly? [02:28]
Utah state laws about guns and cannabis [04:59]
Can the federal government arrest Medical Marijuana Card holders? [09:34]
J.D.’s recommendations for dealing with police if you are pulled over [11:17]
More of J.D.’s thoughts on the chemical test administered for DUI arrests [14:16]
Is it legal to possess and use cannabis here regardless of where you got it from? [17:30]
What is the best way to store cannabis? [19:47]
J.D. thoughts on the provisions that prevent patients from using combustion when consuming Medical Marijuana [23:14]
How much Medical Marijuana can you possess? [27:51]
Can a patient buy Medical Marijuana products from another patient? [41:06]
How to get in touch with J.D. [47:09]
Christianson and Jensen website
@utcannabislaw on Twitter
J.D. Lauritzen is a lawyer with Christensen & Jensen. J.D. has seen an increase in B2B disputes with the cannabis industry, including class action lawsuits that are being filed against hemp and CBD companies for false advertising, legal actions, and lawsuits between growers and dispensaries, and other business litigation.
If a Medical Marijuana Card holder purchases a firearm from a licensed firearm dealer, they will be required to complete an ATF form. This form requires the purchaser to admit to using federally illegal drugs. Without federal legalization laws in place, this now presents a dilemma for firearm purchasers who have the legal right to use Medical Marijuana in Utah.
Utah legislators did write provisions into HB 3001 that prohibit state law enforcement from spending any resources on trying to enforce gun laws, federal or otherwise. However, federal law enforcement, such as ATF officials, could still arrest you for possession of a firearm.
Yes, technically a federal official can arrest you for possession, even with a Medical Marijuana Card. However, a federal law has been enacted that the government cannot spend federal resources against people abiding by the state law.
Recently, U.S. Attorney General William Barr has faced backlash for an increased number of cannabis-related investigations, which in J.D.’s opinion, underscores why the federal government needs to implement legalization of marijuana.
When pulled over by the police, the protections of the Fifth Amendment provides you with no obligation to speak to answer their questions. You are only required to provide your license and registration.
J.D. recommends that if you are pulled over by police, roll down your window to a point where you can safely hand your license and your registration through to the officer. Next, ask the officer their reason for pulling you over. If you are asked any other questions from law enforcement about what you have been doing, where you have been, where I’m going, you can refuse to answer those questions.
At some point in the encounter, you should ask whether you are being detained or whether you’re free to leave. If you’re free to leave, it is a consensual encounter and you can drive away.
If you are being detained, you can invoke your Fifth Amendment right and then you have nothing more to say without legal counsel present.
If you’re pulled over for a DUI, you do not have to consent to the field sobriety test. However, you do have to consent to a chemical test by getting a driver’s license in Utah.
J.D. sees problems with law enforcement using the alcohol model of impairment to test for cannabis impairment. Some states have a limit in the certain amount of nanograms that can be in your blood. However, cannabis affects people differently.
So the way the law is written currently, you can still get a DUI if you are intoxicated. However, that leaves it up to officer interpretation, because there is no standard amount deemed to be intoxicating.
For Medical Cannabis patients, the law has an exception that they can have just cannabis metabolites in their system.
J.D. is a proponent of making law enforcement do their job and not volunteering any information to them.
It is important that you always have your Medical Marijuana Card with you in case you do encounter a situation with law enforcement. Also, if you are driving with cannabis in the vehicle, be sure to keep it in a locked case.
It is federally illegal to transport marijuana across state lines. However, under the state law until the end of this year, you can possess cannabis regardless of where you acquired it.
If you do purchase marijuana in an illegal way, law enforcement can still arrest you during the transaction. However, once you’re in possession, state law enforcement will not arrest you.
Starting January 1, 2021, all marijuana purchases must be done in-state at approved dispensaries.
J.D. recommends that patients use a lockable container. You are looking to make it difficult for others to access your Medical Marijuana products, similar to how opioids are put in child-proof containers.
Smoking is the most recognized way of ingesting cannabis. Telling patients that they are no longer able to smoke marijuana creates a problem. For example, a patient may have a letter or card, but in their car they have a pipe with resin in it. They will still be subject to criminal charges. Because this rule is in place, it opens up legal Medical Marijuana card holders to prosecution.
Patients in Utah can possess up to 113 grams of unprocessed flower, up to 20 grams of total THC.
There’s no statute for this in the law, but the only people that are licensed to sell cannabis in Utah are the dispensaries.
You can call his office at (801)323-5000. You can also find him on the Christianson & Jensen website, on Twitter @utcannabislaw, or UTCannabisLaw.com.
