Marin Alliance vs IRS and DOJ

[MarinAlliance]

Hello,

This is the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana (MAMM), a dispensary currently located in Fairfax, California. As the oldest, legally licensed dispensary operating in the U.S., we feel a certain betrayal by the Obama administration. We fully understand that we are not the only dispensary under the gun right now and sympathize with all those who are experiencing harassment by overzealous government agencies. That said, we would like to give a first-hand account of our situation.

Over the past two weeks, our owner, Lynnette Shaw has been interviewed by numerous media outlets, from CBS and FOX Business News to NPR and the LA Times. Media interest in us was based on our size (small), our age (15 years) and the fact that we are currently fighting the battle for the medicinal use of marijuana on two fronts. On March 1, 2011, MAMM was the first licensed dispensary to receive an IRS determination disallowing our business tax deductions. We have filed taxes since 1997 and our books are transparent, as required by our permit. Though the IRS has advised us for years on ways to save money on MAMM's business taxes, it has reversed itself in an attempt to close our doors.

Concurrently, MAMM's landlord has received a letter from Melinda Haag, the San Francisco-based U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California warning him that his property may be seized and he may be prosecuted if the Marin Alliance does not halt dispensing medical marijuana from his property within 45 days. Our landlord is in his seventies, which would make any jail time a death sentence.

We are likely the most regulated dispensary in the entire country. The city of Fairfax has required us to meet 84 distinct conditions in order for us to fulfill patients’ rights to legal access to medications of proven benefit. We are well regarded in our community, we pay our taxes, and local law enforcement believes we have contributed to a reduction in illegal activities within our city limits.

We see our defenses against the IRS and DOJ as high profile test cases and believe the future of patient access to medicinal marijuana across the nation lies in the balance. If you would like more information, please visit http://www.cbcmarin.com to learn how you can help.

Thanks so much and our best to everyone involved in this fight.

 

[Emithsuk]

I'm glad theres people like you guys willing to fight. You are the front lines of the movement.

 

[MarinAlliance]

Thanks for the good wishes, Emithsuk. :)

 

[mrdizzle]

its so serious bullshit, I hope you guys make it out of the shit storm

 

[MarinAlliance]

Thanks all, we don't plan to just roll over on this...

 

[herb]

Good luck with your problems. This crap is spreading nationwide. The producer I was buying from here in New Mexico will be closing down very soon aswell due to backstabbing by the IRS and the Obama admin. I will support and buy thier weed if they decide to go underground, fuck the govt.!

 

[Darth Fader]

Don't let them back you down. The higher it goes, the better your chances of landing a landmark judgement. Also, chances are getting slimmer and slimmer that a jury of your peers would find you guilty of anything. The Feds don't want cases going to court.

 

[MarinAlliance]

We've been to the Supreme Court once already. The Marin Alliance invested every penny for the last ten years in our legal defense tactic. Our attorneys have done the heavy lifting – we spent $400 K preparing a secret weapon – our Supreme-Court-ready case with its huge body of evidence, shows the irrefutable proof, clearly explained and cross-referenced, that the Schedule I status of medical marijuana is irrational, unfair, unscientific, unjustified, and unconstitutional.

As a defendant, we have the right to enter all evidence and any argument to explain our actions. Our repeated requests for a “rational basis review” in the Federal civil lawsuit launched in 1998 (by President Clinton) stopped the Federal court procedures against the Marin Alliance.

They knew, as they know now, that there is no logical or rational reason that medical cannabis should be a Schedule I substance. We appealed for ten years, never getting our review. It ended up as a stalemate, with the MAMM remaining open as a result.

Now we're preparing once again to return to the Supreme Court. We've got a great legal team, all we need is to keep them paid. :) But its worth it because we feel this threat has the potential to eliminate EVERY licensed dispensary in this country. With a lot of public and political support calling for a Constitutional Rational Basis Review, this could be our doorway to overturn Schedule I for marijuana.

 

[Seamaiden]

I wish you all the very best of luck.

 

[ogplatinum]

Thanks all, we don't plan to just roll over on this...

Thats what I like to hear. I wanna see fuss, kicking, screaming, fighting.... anything. I'm sick of watching our rights being taken away and having no one make a proper fight for what we deserve!

Good luck guys, get your shit done! :banana1sv6:

 

[joeca1i]

well theres your hope & change.That "hope and change" slogan wasn't for you,it was for his bosses,and their agenda.Big pharma seen the threat you guys pose,so they made a call too their puppet.

 

[caregiverken]

Keep up the good work MAMM

 

[chrometrichs]

If the government can shut down one the most well respected and run dispensaries in the state, the rest will fall like dominoes. Unless, the will of the people manages to prevail in the court house.

At a time when the country is struggling for jobs and our country is buried in debt, using our limited federal resources to eliminate thousands of jobs and a well run multi-billion dollar economy that is paying taxes is senseless. Instead of working to reclassifying cannabis, this administration would rather see the lives of hundreds of thousands of people irreparably harmed and the death of medical cannabis as we now know it. For every dispensary that's closed, for every person that's arrested fighting this old battle, you (obama) will be losing millions of votes. Take away the green and this state will no longer be blue. With 81% of Americans supporting legalizing medical marijuana, the fact we can't get it simply reclassified is beyond comprehension and an painful reminder of how incompetent our politicians are.

Marin, I wish you and yours the best during this stressful and uncertain time. I hope your legal and accounting teams are well prepared for the upcoming challenges. If you do ever do make it in front of a jury, we will come occupy the court house. The jury will hear us, even if they aren't allowed to hear you.

 

[monkey5]

RON PAUL .. here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPuJQaIgJeg&feature=related .. Go ahead RON.. He has a voting record! Ron Paul votes just like he talks! Freedom is the choice! monkey5

 

[monkey5]

www.LawEnforcementAgainstProhibition.org .. www.marijuanaconversations.org .. Get involved .. Pass this information around! Share it with non-users .. get this message out there! YouTube this link: Vitamin C Cannabis -Part 1-6 .. Even non-users DO NOT WANT TO PAY TO KEEP OTHERS FAMILYS ON WELFARE, FOODSTAMPS, HOUSING, MEDICAL.. PROHIBITION IS THE REASON MY STATE HAS 30% of the state budget being spent on WELFARE PROGRAMS!! Let those men out to take care of their own familys! monkey5

 

[MarinAlliance]

Thanks, all, for your support and links. : )

Well said, chrometrichs, you hit the nail on the head.

As an update, we were at the press conference that was set to coincide with Obama's visit to San Francisco yesterday. There was a fair press turnout, from KGO and KTVU to the Sacramento Bee and the AP. State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano referred to the US Attorney actions as “thuggery” and asked for a meeting with the Department of Justice. “We want to meet with the Department of Justice, the Attorney General and the Governor because if I do come up with legislation to provide statewide regulations to address their concerns we need to know what they are thinking.”

Flanked by Fairfax mayor Larry Bragman, Lynnette Shaw, director of the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana, called for Obama to issue an executive order stopping the California enforcement actions.

Matt Cohen, owner of the Mendocino County Northstone Organics medical marijuana farm, also appeared. His premises was raided by U.S. drug agents this month, even though his plants are tagged and monitored by the local sheriff under a county-supervised medical marijuana compliance program.

Steve DeAngelo of Oakland medical cannabis club Harborside Health Center commented, “They have gone after the Marin Alliance, Northstone Organics and Harborside. These organizations are 100 percent compliant," he said. "They (federal authorities) should either learn how to aim or learn how to tell the truth."

There was much solidarity in the room and perhaps the main message was that the Government should step back and let the states regulate medicinal marijuana in ways that would satisfy patients’ rights and the concerns of local municipalities.

The battle continues.

 

[Texas Kid]

I feel for you guys but your on the loosing side of the arguement, especailly when you have DeAngelo harpin about everyone being 100% compliant when they aren't.....not even close...there is absolutely no way in the world, in this country or any other for that matter, where you are able to claim practically 100% of your total product sold is purchased from outside vendors with no documentaion, no records, no paper trail to the actual vendors, no record of income for those vendors, and then act like your within your rights to do so.....sorry it doesn't work that way, wish it did, me and every other business owner out there but it just doesn't, no matter how hard you want it to, no matter how much you wish, it is just a fantasy.

The only way to be compliant is to follow all the rules like everyone else and that means that every vendor/pateint/weed grower that supplies you with at least $600 worth of products or services over the year MUST be 1099 or documented in some way as other income...period...just imagine if Harborside had to send out 2000 or so 1099 tax forms to all the folks that have been selling into the despenary and then all those vendors would owe taxes on those transaction...How many vendors would they have then? thats following the rules in the real world gang..Just imagine if you sent every patient/grower a 1099 for $100,000 in sales that he now owes $28,000-$32,000 to the IRS on, just like every other business does and see how fast things change.....overnite would be my guess.

I am sure alot of these despensary owners have owned other businesses in other industries, they should act like it instead of acting like they are runnin a lemonaide stand on the corner staffed by their kids..business is business and it hasn't changed because your sellin a new widget much less a highly regulated and federally illegal drug.

I bet every liquer store and casino would like that deal..oh we sold a million dollars worth of liquir this year but damn it cost us 2 million, were goin to take a loss, oh and by the way we have no paperwork or documentation, can't even tell ya the names of any of the vendors, hell we don't even have any bank statements because we don't write a single check for goods and services....you just gotta believe us. That is honestly how silly the arguement sounds to me and just about everyone else in the world.

Those vocal folks are really hurtin ya more than you think, askin/demanding for the President to issue a stay on inforcement of a federal law, doesn't help your cause at all rather makes yall look like silly school kids..

My .02

Tex

 

[MarinAlliance]

Hi

For those interested, here is a condensed version of the press conference in which we took part. On October 25. 2011, Northern California leaders in the cannabis community united with Bay Area elected officials, patients, and business owners prior to an Obama campaign fundraiser in San Francisco to discuss the ramifications of the administration's latest offensive against California's medical marijuana community and to call for federal policy reform. In a first-time press conference presenting a united front, leaders including California Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, San Francisco Supervisor David Campos, Executive Director of the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) Aaron Smith, Executive Director Steve DeAngelo of Harborside Health Center, Dale Gieringer of California NORML, Dale Sky Jones of Oaksterdam University, Lynette Shaw of Marin Alliance, Mayor Larry Bragman of the Town of Fairfax, and representatives of the UFCW Local 5 were present.

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