Marijuana business in Los Angeles, California.

You are a business owner who recently started a marijuana business in Los Angeles, California.
As you know from the live session, recreational and medical marijuana is legal in California (i.e., under state
law) but continues to be illegal under federal law. Specifically, Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act,
which categorized marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug. Other Schedule 1 drugs include heroin and LSD. Further,
Congress can regulate and restrict the intrastate (entirely within a state) consumption of marijuana via the
Commerce Clause (See Gonzales v. Raich, 545 U.S. 1 (2005); more about the Commerce Clause in Week 7).
To build awareness, you decide to write a blog post (similar to the one provided in your reading this week) that
will be circulated widely. The intended audience will be other business owners and employees working at
marijuana businesses.
In your blog post, you will address the following:
1.Supremacy Clause and Preemption: Provide a detailed explanation of how these concepts apply to the issue
of marijuana. [8 points]
2.Knowing that preemption is a possibility, identify and explain three steps a business owner should take to
plan for a possible raid or shut down. In your explanation, provide why you would take the step and the
relevant authority supporting that step. [6 points]
3.Knowing that marijuana is still illegal under federal law, explain why you think lawyers are hesitant to
represent clients in this space? [3 points]
4.Ask your employees if they would be interested in petitioning the state bar to allow non-lawyers to render
advice in this area. In other words, provide a persuasive explanation on whether marijuana business advice
could be an area for non-lawyer participation. [3 points]