MarinAlliance
10-23-2011, 06:37 PM
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 Marin Alliance For Medical Marijuana - cbcmarin.com (http://www.cbcmarin.com) to learn how you can help.
Thanks so much and our best to everyone involved in this fight.
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 Marin Alliance For Medical Marijuana - cbcmarin.com (http://www.cbcmarin.com) to learn how you can help.
Thanks so much and our best to everyone involved in this fight.