This article referenced in this post was originally published in Volume 99, Issue 11, of CCH’s Taxes—The Tax Magazine (November 2021). In the November 2021 edition of International Tax Watch in TAXES – The Tax Magazine, Tom Firestone, Scott Frewing, Ethan Kroll, Erika Van Horne, Stewart Lipeles, and Julia Skubis Weber explore the U.S. international tax implications of section 280E, concluding that section 280E should not disallow deductions for expenses U.S. persons incur in connection with: maintaining cannabis IP in,…

This article was originally published by Law360 on December 16, 2020. On Nov. 3, Oregon passed Measure 110, a novel law[1] that reclassifies personal or noncommercial possession of controlled substances such as heroin, cocaine and methamphetamines, from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E violation, punishable only by a $100 fine.[2] It also establishes a drug addiction treatment and recovery program funded in part by the state’s marijuana tax revenue and state prison savings.[3] In 1973, Oregon was the…

This article was originally published by Law360 on December 2, 2020. “You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly.” —Dwight D. Eisenhower What did this election do for the marijuana industry? A lot. Four states — three traditionally red — voted to legalize recreational marijuana while a fifth, one of the reddest, voted to legalize medicinal…

The Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) implementing regulations at 31 CFR Chapter X require covered financial institutions to file reports of suspicious transactions with the Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) in circumstances where the bank knows, suspects, or has reason to suspect that the transaction “involves funds from illegal activities.”  The requirement to file such suspicious activity reports or “SARs” arises under federal law.  Marijuana-related business activity that has been legalized under certain state laws—e.g., recreational cannabis…

The Department of Justice recently took the extraordinary step of releasing a previously confidential memo from its Office of Legal Counsel concluding that DEA’s long-standing policy on marijuana research violates federal law and U.S. treaty obligations. Why did DOJ do this? What does the memo mean for the future of marijuana research? In this podcast, Matt Zorn and Shane Pennington, the lawyers who litigated this case, explain how they got DOJ to release the memo and what it all means.…

In August, the FBI announced that it would be focusing on public corruption in state marijuana licensing. In September, the Mayor of Fall River, Massachusetts was indicted for extorting more than $250,000 in bribes from cannabis businesses in return for assistance with licenses.  In October, alleged Rudolph Giuliani associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman were indicted for, among other things, a scheme to make illegal campaign finance donations in connection with a planned recreational marijuana business in Nevada.  Last week,…

Adam Schleifer is a candidate for Congress in New York’s 17th congressional district. He previously worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles where he prosecuted violent drug cartels. In this podcast, he talks about why he believes that federal legalization of marijuana would be an effective means of combating drug cartels. Please join us for a fascinating discussion. Global Cannabis Compliance Podcast · Episode 4 – Legalization as a strategy to combat drug cartels?

This podcast features Steve Kemmerling, founder and CEO of CRB Monitor, a database that aggregates and maintains corporate information on 37,000 direct marijuana-related businesses, 68,000 marijuana business licenses and 68,000 beneficial owners, which is used by financial institutions for KYC and compliance purposes. In the podcast, Steve talks about what the data show about how the industry has evolved, where it may be going, and the banking challenges it faces. Steve also talks about the system he developed to help financial…

The Great Depression and the need for tax revenue to fund the New Deal ended prohibition in 1933.[1] The economic fallout from the COVID crisis, according to some experts, could result in a “New New Deal,” and Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) recently said that 2021 would, like 1933, have an “FDR moment.”[2] Just as the first “FDR moment” included the (re) legalization of alcohol, there are indications that the next may include the legalization of marijuana. The COVID crisis has…

How to eliminate the marijuana black market? As the COVID-19 crisis continues to ravish state budgets, this question has become even more important, particularly in states like California, which have legalized marijuana but have not seen the expected tax revenues due to the persistence of the “tax exempt” black market. Increased enforcement would help, of course. But the best way to eliminate the illegal market is to support market entry by legitimate businesses. Several states have declared marijuana businesses “essential”…