Marijuana is increasingly available legally — or through medical marijuana licenses — throughout the United States. This is not, however, the same as saying that marijuana is currently legal throughout the United States. This fine point of distinction is what tripped up Florida attorney Ian Christensen, who has been disbarred and ordered to pay $370K in damages for telling his clients they could go ahead and grow pot legally when they very, very much could not.
Florida now has a medical marijuana law, but back in 2015 when Scott and Marsha Yandell were growing cannabis in their backyard — a fact that they were advertising because their attorney, Christensen, had given them a “grow sign” to put out announcing their hobby — the state did not. You’ll absolutely believe what happens next…
A SWAT team raided the home a month later, and the Yandells were arrested on charges of possession of cannabis with intent to sell, manufacture of cannabis, possession of a place or structure for trafficking or manufacturing a controlled substance and trafficking in cannabis in excess of 25 pounds. Their landlord also sued them in excess of $25,000 for lost rent and damages to the couple’s rented home during the raid.
After their arrest, the couple dropped Christensen, hired a new attorney and pleaded guilty to three years’ probation, a $15,000 fine and 100 hours of community service.
For his part, Christensen blames his youth and inexperience for all this, which feels like a reasonable excuse for missing the nuances of some common law interpretation, but a patently unreasonable one when it comes to clearly enumerated criminal statutes.
Apparently the legal system agreed.
Lawyer who told clients marijuana use was legal ordered to pay $370,000 [Fox News]
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.