Marin Alliance vs IRS and DOJ

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 patientsâ?? 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 to learn how you can help.

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

Good luck.....We will be watching closely.......we only hope you have a fund set up to fight the legal battles......because I know first hand the tactics being used are to just outspend most business in legal fees.....its easy for the state, county, federal government....they are using tax-payers money....to defend you have to use your own money.....and most people have no idea how much money it takes to defend......for all of us mmj patients.....keep us informed.

Really, good luck.

Thank you for sharing your first hand account. It's tough to get a picture of what is really happening on the ground from news stories.

Your hard work will not go unnoticed.

Remember that even if dispensaries are unjustly closed, the movement surges on, and we will not be quieted by such federal actions.

Thanks very much for your words of encouragement.:)

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 â??thuggeryâ?� and is asking for a meeting with the Department of Justice. â??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.â?�

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, â??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 patientsâ?? rights and the concerns of local municipalities.

The battle continues.

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.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5n3RMWoSBQ