I am a US citizen in California where there are medical marijuana laws. I started a website that focuses mainly on paraphernalia (sp?) for marijuana and tobacco smoking. The site does not itself sell anything illegal, but makes money off of affiliate sales. There is no direct mention of marijuana on the site, but many of the inbound and outbound links are to/from marijuana related sites. In the united states it is illegal to sell paraphernalia on the internet. Am i legally safe here? Or should i quit before i get myself into some shit? I would consult a lawyer but the site isn't making that much money to be worth it yet. There is a disclaimer on the site that states thatt you should leave the site and not purchase anything or follow any of the links if you are from a country, state or province where any of the contained information or products are illegal. It also states that none of the products are to be used for illegal purposes and that those in areas where such products are illegal should not buy them through the site. What do you guys think?
I think you answered the question yourself. You are not making much money so do not continue to invest time or money in a site that you could be jailed over the content. If you can't afford a laywer with the money you are making, is hardly seems worth the risk to continue. That is just my lay opinion. If you decide to keep the site you should seek a legal opinion.
well it is making money, but $xxx.xx per month in the first couple of months it has been open. Speaking with a lawyer about it would be much more expensive.
If you want to meet with a lawyer in los angeles, the County Bar will refer you to an attorney for a free consultation. There is a fee to th bar of $35 for an initial consultation - I think they will refer you to up to 3 attorneys. That hardly seems out of range. But hey, it is just your freedom. http://www.lacba.org/showpage.cfm?pageid=1403&CFID=133162&CFTOKEN=2217160
donot take risk , if you just started this business , just move out , its a big offence ( upto life in prison) . selling such drugs . I understand you are not doing it , but as you know law can still catch you claming that you are helping such peoples to sell products .... Thats why i just never promoted pharma related program
Look at it this way... if you're making $xxx a month in the first few months, business can only grow as you get more and more SE placement, etc... Investing some bucks now to get legal advice is a smart move and I'd say if you continue to operate the site you definitely need it. I live in PA. While shops in PA can legally sell paraphenalia (head shops), there is a law that makes it illegal for businesses in other states to sell the same thing to people in PA. I'm pretty sure this is the reason Tommy Chong was busted a few years back and spent a few years in prison, though I'm not certain. What the legal liability would be for having ads and not actually selling the products yourself, I have no idea. And the disclaimers probably won't protect you if there is a legal problem. Thats why you need a lawyer. I can point out HighTimes.com, they've been selling magazines and have the website for so many years now, advertising far more than paraphenalia... So I'm assuming it's legal... But then again I'm sure they have high priced lawyers on their side
well if high times can get away with it, and seemingly other affiliates are earning within the US. Im gonna risk it. If it comes down to it i will turn over all the profits and close the site.
well if your gonna risk it just make sure your not hosting it in the us and that you obscure the whois details