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Q: Legal implications of U.S. based Marijuana Cultivation Website ( Answered 4 out of 5 stars,   1 Comment )
Question  
Subject: Legal implications of U.S. based Marijuana Cultivation Website
Category: Relationships and Society > Law
Asked by: maximux1-ga
List Price: $200.00
Posted: 03 Mar 2006 10:03 PST
Expires: 02 Apr 2006 11:03 PDT
Question ID: 703263
What are the legal implications of running a Marijuana Cultivation
based website?  I ran a website by the name of HempCultivation.Com
that was a vBulletin discussion board based community much like
Marijuana.Com, however the information was dedicated to the
cultivation.  This included moderated discussions of everything from
germination to harvest and curing.

There is no allowed discussion of selling or purchasing of anything
illegal, ie. seeds, product, etc.  The website is simply a place of
information exchange in grow documentaion and journaling.

Specifically, I am concerned with the legal implications of the RICO
and MAPA (Methamphetime and Proliferation Act)acts as it relates to
the manufacturing of a controlled substance, Conspiracy and/or
Racketeering charges.

I have always assumed this was protected under the U.S. Constitutions
First Amendment, however with the recent arrest and closure of the
popular Overgrow.Com and owner I now have my concerns.

Ref:
http://www.marijuana.com/420/showthread.php?t=44523  News of
'conspiring for the purpose of cannabis cultivation via the Internet'

http://www.marijuana.com/420/showthread.php?t=44554  My interview on
reasons for shutting the cultivation website down.

Does anyone have any advice on this topic please?

Thank you in advance,
Rick

Request for Question Clarification by answerguru-ga on 03 Mar 2006 11:03 PST
Hello Rick,

Before answering this question, I want to confirm that you are aware
that none of the responses on Google Answers are meant to substitute
professional legal advice.

I also had a few questions about you and your site:

1. You say you "ran" this site - what is the current state of the
site? Are you still the owner?

2. Do you advertise on your site? Do any of the advertisements offer
illegal substances?

3. Do you consistently monitor and remove content others may post
related to the exchange of marijuana and related products?

4. Does your site have a clear policy of the terms that members must
abide by to maintain their membership?

5. Where do you reside?

6. Where is your site hosted? If you don't know the geographic
location of the server, provide the same for the company that does
your hosting.

Based on your responses to these questions, I should be able to give
you a clear indication of where you may be liable, and how you can
correct it.

Thanks,
answerguru-ga

Clarification of Question by maximux1-ga on 03 Mar 2006 11:33 PST
Thank you for taking my question:  Answers to your questions are below.

>>Before answering this question, I want to confirm that you are aware
that none of the responses on Google Answers are meant to substitute
professional legal advice.

Yes, I do understand.  I am looking to educate myself for the purpose
of speaking with a lawyer in the coming days.

>>1. You say you "ran" this site - what is the current state of the
site? Are you still the owner?

Yes, I am the President/CEO of Global Sativa Corp.  GSC owns
HempCultivation.com and Marijuana.Com.  I have pulled the site offline
and it is no longer accessible until I am satisfied no illegal
activity is going on.

>> 2. Do you advertise on your site? Do any of the advertisements offer
illegal substances?

Yes, we do advertise on the site.  We have in the past had Marijuana
Seed Advertisers (none in the past 7 months).  We also carry GrowLight
Advertisers, however - the lights themselves are not illegal.  Other
than that, drugtest kits and herbal alternatives and the like.

>>3. Do you consistently monitor and remove content others may post
related to the exchange of marijuana and related products?

Yes, immediately.  There is to be no discussion of the
sale/transaction of ANYTHING on the website.  This is in the AUP that
is accepted prior to registration as well.

4. Does your site have a clear policy of the terms that members must
abide by to maintain their membership?

Yes.

5. Where do you reside?

I am in Arizona, USA.  The webserver resides in Houston Tx.  Global
Satva Corporation is an Arizona based Corp.

>>6. Where is your site hosted? If you don't know the geographic
location of the server, provide the same for the company that does
your hosting.

Houston Tx.  EV1 Servers

>>Based on your responses to these questions, I should be able to give
you a clear indication of where you may be liable, and how you can
correct it.

Thank you for taking my quesiton.  I am looking forward to your detailed help.

Kindly,
Rick
Answer  
Subject: Re: Legal implications of U.S. based Marijuana Cultivation Website
Answered By: answerguru-ga on 04 Mar 2006 14:14 PST
Rated:4 out of 5 stars
 
Hello Rick,

Based on your original question and subsequent clarification I have
come up with some information with the intent of helping you inform
yourself prior to meeting with legal counsel.

First, let's consider the closure of Overgrow.com (along with multiple
other sites operated by Heaven's Stairway) in relation to the
operation of your HempCultivation.com.

JURISDICTION

The dismantling of Heaven's Stairway was conducted by the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) within the province of Quebec. The
actual operation was conducted by the newly formed Marijuana Grow
Operations Enforcement Team. Since you run your company and website
from a different jurisdiction you would not fall under the scrutiny of
this group even if you were engaged in activity considered illegal.

Instead, it would be worthwhile to try and find out if the equivalent
task force or agency responsible in your jurisdiction has conducted a
similar operation. This is not to say that you would be accountable if
there were, as there are significant differences between Heaven's
Stairway and your company from what you have told me. More on this
below.

ILLEGAL ACTIVITY

From the newswire reference provided:

"The cybercompany Heaven's Stairway used the Internet sites
hempqc.com, cannabisworld.com, overgrow.com, eurohemp.com,
cannabisseeds.com, and cannabisbay.com. These sites were used to order
cannabis seeds online and obtain information on cannabis cultivation.
These Internet sites also suggested ways to outsmart the police."

I believe that the combination of providing cookbook-style
instructions along with the key ingredients for the cultivation of
marijuana resulted the action being illegal. The reason for this is
that the company didn't fall into either of these categories:

a) The company provided only information and did not facilitate that
the information be used to conduct illegal activity.
b) The company only provided access to certain products without
reference to what can be done with those products. Now this one is
probably a weaker argument since there are a limited number of things
you can do with cannibus seeds (as far as I know).

Additionally, the fact that instructions were provided on how to
outsmart authorities gave a clear indication of their specific intent
(and therefore the conspiracy charges).

PHYSICAL OPERATION

Heaven's Stairway, in addition to it's websites, had a structured
operation for obtaining, marketing, and selling cannabis seeds. The
fact that they used regular mail and were also involved in doing the
same outside of their jurisdiction made them high-profile targets.

In my opinion, I don't believe their OverGrow.com would have been as
highly visible to authorities if it weren't attached to a physical
operation of this scale. That is not to pass judgement on whether or
not it was legel according to the governing legislation, but if this
site operated in isolation the chance of "getting busted" would have
been significantly reduced.

RISK OF ASSOCIATION WITH CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES

The most concerning point from your perspective is that cannabis seeds
are considered a controlled substance in this case. If that is also
true in your jurisdiction, it is cause for concern. The reason being
is due to your provision of sources of this substance (via your
advertising). As mentioned in the newswire, the database of clients
for this company are now accessible to authorities and could face
prosecution. However, authorities typically go after physical
operations, as their mandate is to control the flow of controlled
substances. By their logic, doing so would eliminate\reduce the value
of sites such as yours.

I do know for a fact that Canada has classified cannabis seeds in a
secondary group, and as a result crimes related to this particular
controlled substance have less severe punishments. The same cannot be
said for the USA, where cannabis seeds are categorized along with
cocaine and heroin.

In your case, you don't have clients, but you do have a list of
members (unless you destroyed this information), many of whom use your
advertising as a means of obtaining controlled substances. Techniques
are available to cross-reference membership lists with IP addresses
and online advertising databases. However, I haven't seen any busts
operate in this fashion - there is a tendency to go after the source
rather than the spinoff businesses.

SUGGESTIONS FOR LIMITING LIABILITY

1. Eliminate all advertising for companies who sell controlled
substances. Anything that is classified as "drug paraphenalia" should
be treated the same way as per MAPA Section 3a - I believe a GrowLight
would fall into this classification however I would confirm that with
legal counsel. Seed suppliers certainly should not exist on the site.
A link to the Act is here:

http://www.house.gov/cannon/meth_text.html

2. Never allow information on ways to bypass the authorities to enter
your site. Add this to your AUP if it is not already there.

3. Create a new section on the site that covers the potential
consequences of using information on the site for illegal purposes in
the jurisdictions where the majority of your users reside.

4. Limit your operations in this area to information - do not have any
physical trace of equipment or illegal substances linked to you or
your corporation.


I hope the information above will give you some areas of discussion
with your lawyer. If you are unclear on anything above, please post a
clarification and I will respond promptly.

Cheers!

answerguru-ga
maximux1-ga rated this answer:4 out of 5 stars

Comments  
Subject: Re: Legal implications of U.S. based Marijuana Cultivation Website
From: dadornta-ga on 22 Sep 2006 17:46 PDT
 
You gained much respect for goin on here owner of MJ.com! I appreciate
you digging for answers in a time where the Overgrow.com community was
crushed via legal entaglements. I know you know my name, and I support
your community 100%. Thank you all you have done.

Namaste
-DaDornta

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