PRESS RELEASE: FLCA Announces Groundbreaking Legal Network
On its one-year anniversary, Family Law & Cannabis Alliance (FLCA) is proud to announce the official launch of its legal network for attorneys and families. PRESS RELEASE (October 14, 2014) Even in states where marijuana is now legal, decriminalized, or approved for medical purposes, parents, guardians, patients & caregivers around the country are facing scrutiny from the child welfare and family court systems, which often equate use of marijuana by a parent or guardian as child abuse or neglect and use it as a basis to limit parental rights. “Marijuana use does not make someone a bad parent,” said Sara Arnold (a.k.a. Sahra Kant), co-founder of Family Law and Cannabis Alliance. “It should not be the primary or sole basis for any CPS investigation.” The only one of its kind in the country, FLCA’s legal network includes a confidential internal database of family law attorneys who work on or are willing to work on Child Protective Services and family or juvenile court cases (including child custody) involving the use of medical or recreational marijuana by a parent or legal guardian, or medical treatment of a severely ill child. FLCA’s advocates regularly screen inquiries from individuals and families and make referrals to local attorneys in the network for legal advice. FLCA supports legal network counsel by providing expert consultation, help obtaining affidavits and expert testimony, scientific and public health research to supplement briefs, and other assistance on family court cases or administrative proceedings. FLCA also offers model language for marijuana reform legislation and ballot initiatives. Although donations are accepted, all services are provided at no cost to lawyers or clients. “If you’re arrested for a cannabis crime, finding a lawyer to represent you is fairly simple,” said recent law school and public health graduate and FLCA co-founder, Jess Cochrane. “Getting help while facing CPS or a custody battle is a lot more complicated—until now. FLCA’s legal network connects capable family law attorneys with parents and pregnant women in need all over the country, and provides up-to-date, expert consultation on rapidly-evolving marijuana laws and their intersection with child welfare policy.” Please contact Sara Arnold at media@flcalliance.org for more information on this press release. For more information on FLCA and its mission, please see http://www.flcalliance.org/, go to http://www.flcalliance.org/for-lawyers/ to become an early adopter of FLCA’s legal network, and check us out on social media on Facebook and Twitter at @flcalliance....
Read MoreNew State Profile: Florida
Our newest state profile is the sunshine state of Florida. Unsurprisingly, Florida has some of the harshest policies we’ve come across so far. These policies as well as the laws and regulations are extensive and complicated. We break it down for you to only what is relevant for a parent who uses cannabis or a child who is being treated with medical marijuana. As always, we welcome your feedback! Please share this with your friends so all Floridians can benefit!
Read MoreNew State Profile: Tennessee
FLCA’s newest state profile is Tennessee, as voted on in our state profile poll by our Facebook fans and Twitter followers! It is a particularly complicated state with a surprising amount of laws, regulations, and policies on CPS and family court. Did you know that if you use marijuana while pregnant in Tennessee and your infant tests positive, it is considered physical abuse? Read about this and more on our Tennessee state profile! We welcome your feedback. Please share...
Read MoreNew Resource: How to Handle CPS
Today, we’re pleased to announce that we’ve added a brand new resource to the site: a how-to of dealing with CPS! Parents: be proactive instead of afraid! Know what to do if CPS calls, come to your home unannounced, or investigates you and your family. Please like and share this page — knowledge is power!
Read MoreCannabis Research & Media
The course of this past week saw the completion of a major update to our Cannabis Research section. New peer-reviewed clinical studies have been added to all existing pages (Prenatal Exposure, Breastfeeding, Environmental Exposure, and Medical Marijuana). We have also added several new pages of resources — Drug Testing & Reporting, Pediatric Medicinal Cannabis, and Miscellaneous! We always provide links to the abstracts or full texts where available. We have a new Media section as well. You can now find our Writing here, as well as Video & Audio from our appearances and interviews, Links to where FLCA has been mentioned around the web, and which will serve as a repository for our Press...
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