Blog - Page 9 of 54 - Arizona Medical Marijuana Law

Proposed DUI Bill Targets Medical-Cannabis Users With “Inactive” Metabolites

Phoenix New Times: “A few Republican lawmakers are trying to sneak past the Voter Protection Act with a draconian DUI bill that targets the state’s medical-marijuana users. State Representative Sonny Borrelli, R-Kingman, is the prime sponsor of HB 2273, a bill that could result in DUI convictions for medical-cannabis users who aren’t impaired while driving. Borrelli’s bill would reverse an Arizona Supreme Court ruling in April 2014 that prohibits DUI convictions based solely on the presence in the bloodstream of a marijuana compound known to be incapable of causing impairment.”

By On the Net|2017-02-04T07:38:58-07:00January 28th, 2015|AZ Legislation, Stories & Articles|Comments Off

IRS Limits Deductions For State-Legal Marijuana Businesses

Forbes.com: Internal Revenue Code “Section 280E provides that ‘no deduction is allowed for any amount incurred in a business that consists of trafficking in controlled substances.’ Because marijuana finds itself on Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the IRS has the ammunition necessary to deny the deductions of any facility that sells the drug. And it does. Regularly. On Friday, the IRS released Chief Counsel Memorandum 201504011, which sheds some interesting new light on what expenses a seller of marijuana businesses may and may not deduct, but in order to understand the memo’s impact, we’ve got to take a tour through several Internal Revenue Code provisions – namely Sections 61, 471, and 263A — and understand how they interplay with Section 280E.”

The following questions and answers are from Chief Counsel Memorandum 201504011:

(1) How does a taxpayer trafficking in a Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substance determine cost of goods sold (‘COGS’) for the purposes of §280E of the Internal Revenue Code (‘Code’)?

(2) May Examination or Appeals require a taxpayer trafficking in a Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substance to change to an inventory method for that controlled substance when the taxpayer currently deducts otherwise inventoriable costs from gross income?

CONCLUSION

(1) A taxpayer trafficking in a Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substance determines COGS using the applicable inventory – costing regulations under §471 as they existed when §280E was enacted.

(2) Yes, unless the taxpayer is properly using a non-inventory method to account for the Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substance pursuant to the Code, Regulations, or other published guidance.

By On the Net|2015-01-27T07:41:00-07:00January 27th, 2015|Stories & Articles, Tax Issues|Comments Off

Medbox Founder Comments on Class Action Lawsuit

Vincent Mehdizadeh, founder and majority shareholder of Medbox Inc. issued the following statement about the Josh Crystal vs. Medbox, Inc. lawsuit:

“I just wanted to clarify that one lawsuit was filed and announced on the company’s ticker without, to my knowledge, obtaining the company’s consent. Thereafter, 8 different Plaintiff’s firms, or potentially just referral services, announced that same lawsuit, again without seeking the company’s permission in citing the company’s ticker symbol, in an effort to further solicit clients. It’s a shame that we live in a ‘sue first and get clients later’ type of world but that is the reality,” stated Vincent Mehdizadeh, Founder and Majority Shareholder at Medbox. “I was personally sued in the lawsuit and I can safely say that the allegations contained in the complaint are not accurate. During my tenure with the company I personally witnessed a very supportive shareholder base and I still believe the same holds true to this day. In addition, I will be personally engaging an independent public company accounting firm, on my own, to review prior periods as stated and address GAAP compliance, materiality, and fight this suit vigorously. Although this is not a formal company response on the matter, I needed to set the record straight and now I have.”

By On the Net|2017-02-04T07:38:58-07:00January 25th, 2015|Medbox, Stories & Articles|Comments Off

Colorado Governor Says Legalizing Pot was a Mistake

The Hill: “Colorado’s decision to legalize marijuana was a bad idea, the state’s governor said Friday. Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat who opposed the 2012 decision by voters to make pot legal, said the state still doesn’t fully know what the unintended consequences of the move will be.”

By On the Net|2015-01-24T09:34:34-07:00January 24th, 2015|Colorado News, Stories & Articles|Comments Off

Medbox Sued in Class Action Lawsuit

In Josh Crystal vs. Medbox, Inc. (MDBX), Medbox and several of its current and former officers and directors were sued in a class action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Also named as a defendant in the lawsuit are Pejman Vincent Mehdizadeh, Bruce Bedrick, Thomas Iwanski, Guy Marsala and Douglas Mitchell. Here are some interesting allegations from the Complaint:

1. This is a securities class action on behalf of all purchasers of the common stock of Medbox between November 20, 2013 and December 29, 2014 . . . .

3. Medbox was founded in 2010 by Defendant Pejman Vincent Mehdizadeh (“Mehdizadeh”), a mid-30s aged Iranian immigrant with a checkered history of business failures and criminal conduct, including grand theft in 2013. At the start of the Class Period on November 20, 2013, Defendant Mehdizadeh was Medbox’s controlling shareholder, owning approximately 65% of its common stock, and served as the Company’s Chief Operating Officer(“COO”) and Chairman of its Board of Directors (“Board”). . . .

4. During the Class Period, Defendants issued materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013 (“FY 2013”) and each of the interim financial periods ended September 30, 2013 (“3Q 2013”), December 31, 2013 (“4Q 2013”), March 30, 2014 (“1Q 2014”), June 30, 2014 (“2Q 2014”) and September 30, 2014 (“3Q 2014”). Specifically, Defendants overstated Medbox’s revenues . . . .

13. Thereafter, on October 31, 2014, the Company disclosed that it had appointed a special board committee to investigate a letter from a former Company employee to the SEC “alleging wrongdoing by a former officer of the Company who
[was] a consultant to the Company” and that “a federal grand jury document subpoena [had been] served in August 2014 on the Company’s accountants by the U.S. Department of Justice….” . . . .

17. Finally, on the morning of December 30, 2014, . . . . The Company further disclosed that the earnings restatement had triggered a default on its debt covenants that had forced it to seek a forbearance from lenders. . . .

33. Defendant Mehdizadeh has a checkered history of business failures and criminal convictions, including grand theft in 2013. Specifically, in 2013, Defendant Mehdizadeh pled no-contest to a 15-count criminal complaint that was filed against him relating to a law firm Defendant Mehdizadeh managed as a
non-lawyer. Defendant Mehdizadeh received probation and agreed to pay $450,000 as part of a plea agreement. Defendant Mehdizadeh also declared bankruptcy in July 2010, which was discharged in 2011. . . .

35. At the start of the Class Period, Mehdizadeh owned approximately 65% of Medbox’s common stock and is still “the beneficial owner of the majority of the voting power of the Company[,]” owning or controlling approximately 58% of the Company’s outstanding shares, according to the Schedule 14C Mehdizadeh filed, or caused to be filed, with the SEC on or about January 9, 2015. . . .

Several law firms have jumped on this bandwagon. See:

Rosen Law Firm Announces Filing of Securities Class Action Against Medbox, Inc.

LEVI & KORSINSKY, LLP Notifies Investors of Class Action Against Medbox, Inc. and Its Board of Directors and a Lead Plaintiff Deadline of March 23, 2015

Rigrodsky & Long, P.A. Announces A Securities Fraud Class Action Lawsuit Has Been Filed Against Medbox, Inc.

Johnson & Weaver, LLP Files Class Action Suit against Medbox, Inc.

By On the Net|2017-02-12T07:40:49-07:00January 22nd, 2015|Medbox, Stories & Articles|Comments Off

Washington Growers Struggle with Glut of Legal Weed

Associated Press: “Washington’s legal marijuana market opened last summer to a dearth of weed. Some stores periodically closed because they didn’t have pot to sell. Prices were through the roof. Six months later, the equation has flipped, bringing serious growing pains to the new industry. A big harvest of sun-grown marijuana from eastern Washington last fall flooded the market. Prices are starting to come down in the state’s licensed pot shops, but due to the glut, growers are — surprisingly — struggling to sell their marijuana.”

By On the Net|2015-01-17T07:28:06-07:00January 17th, 2015|Stories & Articles, Video, Washington News|Comments Off

Arizona Medical Marijuana Act 2014 End of Year Report

The Arizona Department of Health Services issued its 2014 annual report with statistics about the state of medical marijuana use in Arizona. See the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act 2014 End of Year Report.

For more read the Arizona Capital Times story called “Arizona patients consumed 10 tons of medical marijuana in 2014.” The story starts with:

Arizona’s more than 63,000 medical marijuana patients ate, drank or smoked more than 10 tons of the drug last year. . . . It comes out, on average, to the equivalent of one joint per patient per day, though clearly some are using more and some are using less. And figuring an estimated price of $350 an ounce, that means Arizonans spent about $112 million on marijuana.

A new report Thursday from the Arizona Department of Health Services also finds:

85 dispensaries were up and running last year;

– More than two thirds of qualifying patients are male;

– The average patient made 17 transactions during the year.

By On the Net|2015-01-16T07:17:55-07:00January 16th, 2015|Stories & Articles|Comments Off

Mehdizadeh to Replace Medbox Execs, Board

Los Angeles Business Journal: “Vincent Mehdizadeh, founder and majority shareholder of West Hollywood’s Medbox Inc., notified investors Friday that he will replace the marijuana dispensing company’s board of directors, its chief executive and its chief financial officer. It’s just the latest in a string of dramatic moves Mehdizadeh has made over the past year.”

By On the Net|2015-01-28T22:21:44-07:00January 9th, 2015|Medbox, Stories & Articles|Comments Off

Medical Marijuana a Challenge for Legal Pot States

Yahoo News: “A year into the nation’s experiment with legal, taxed marijuana sales, Washington and Colorado find themselves wrestling not with the federal interference many feared, but with competition from medical marijuana or even outright black market sales. In Washington, the black market has exploded since voters legalized marijuana in 2012, with scores of legally dubious medical dispensaries opening and some pot delivery services brazenly advertising that they sell outside the legal system.”

By On the Net|2017-02-12T07:40:48-07:00January 3rd, 2015|California News, Stories & Articles, Washington News|Comments Off

Chefs Challenge: Making Pot Taste Good

Seattle Times: “Cooking with pot faces two big problems: It’s hard to control how high people get when they eat marijuana, and it really doesn’t taste that good. Recreational marijuana is both illegal and controversial in most of the country, and its relationship to food does not rise much above a joke about brownies or a stoner chef’s late-night pork-belly poutine. But cooking with cannabis is emerging as a legitimate and very lucrative culinary pursuit.”

By On the Net|2017-02-12T07:40:48-07:00January 2nd, 2015|Stories & Articles, Washington News|Comments Off

People With PTSD Eligible For Arizona Medical Marijuana Card

“People with post-traumatic stress disorder are eligible for a medical marijuana card in Arizona starting Jan. 1. The state health department isn’t expecting a big increase in applicants.”

By On the Net|2015-01-02T07:35:18-07:00January 1st, 2015|Stories & Articles|Comments Off

White Mountain Health Center Opens Dispensary in Sun City

Phoenix New Times: “Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery and other Arizona foes of medical marijuana were hit by another symbolic setback with last weekend’s opening of a Sun City dispensary. The White Mountain Health Center, a nonprofit company operated by marijuana activist and bong-tool inventor Daryl ‘Butch’ Williams, is the now the 84th dispensary in the state that provides cannabis products to qualified patients under a 2010 voter-approved law. Montgomery, the Valley’s elected top prosecutor and a former Army tank-unit commander, thought that Sun City would be the battleground where he’d stomp out the will of the voters. He thought wrong.”

By On the Net|2017-02-04T07:38:58-07:00December 30th, 2014|Stories & Articles|Comments Off

Neighboring States Challenge Colorado Pot Laws in Court

Yahoo News: “Nebraska and Oklahoma challenged neighboring Colorado’s recreational marijuana laws in the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday amid complaints its pot was seeping across their borders, and Colorado vowed to defend its laws.”

By On the Net|2014-12-19T07:45:11-07:00December 19th, 2014|Colorado News, Stories & Articles|Comments Off

Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Use Increased

Arizona Journal: “The Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA) has been in effect for four years, and the annual report by the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) shows that more and more people are taking part in the program. The first annual report presented in 2012 revealed that there were 35,641 active cardholders in the state. This year that number has increased by almost 17,000, with the state currently showing a total of 52,374 cardholders, which includes 51,783 qualifying patients and 591 caregivers. In addition, this year there were 904 dispensary agent cards issued.

By On the Net|2019-06-14T08:28:48-07:00December 18th, 2014|Dept Health Services, Stories & Articles|Comments Off

Phoenix-Area Native American Communities Mum on Legalizing Pot

Phoenix New Times: “News broke last week that the Justice Department is advising federal prosecutors not to stop tribes from growing or selling marijuana on their lands, even in states where marijuana remains illegal. According to the Justice Department memo, some tribes had requested guidance on how federal drug laws would be enforced in regards to marijuana, although it didn’t say exactly which tribes were curious. We checked with a couple of Phoenix-area Native American communities, and they’re staying mum on the issue.”

By On the Net|2017-02-04T07:38:58-07:00December 17th, 2014|Federal Dispensary Attacks, Stories & Articles|Comments Off

U.S. won’t Stop Native Americans from Growing, Selling Pot on Their Land

Los Angeles Times: “Opening the door for what could be a lucrative and controversial new industry on some Native American reservations, the Justice Department on Thursday will tell U.S. attorneys to not prevent tribes from growing or selling marijuana on the sovereign lands, even in states that ban the practice. The new guidance, released in a memorandum, will be implemented on a case-by-case basis and tribes must still follow federal guidelines, said Timothy Purdon, the U.S. attorney for North Dakota and the chairman of the Attorney General’s Subcommittee on Native American Issues.”

By On the Net|2014-12-17T06:35:55-07:00December 11th, 2014|Federal Dispensary Attacks, Stories & Articles|Comments Off

Dispensary Providing Green to Local Nonprofits

Mohave Valley Daily News: “Mohave Green, a medical marijuana dispensary in Fort Mohave, is donating a total of $30,000 divided among 12 local nonprofit organizations during the month of December. . . . Mohave Green was the ninth operation in the state to be approved to grow medical marijuana and the first dispensary licensed in Mohave County”

By On the Net|2015-04-06T18:57:50-07:00December 10th, 2014|Stories & Articles|Comments Off

Arizona Pot Legalization Could Get Boost from Legislative Study

The Cannabist: “Arizona lawmakers introduced a bill in April to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol. Thirteen state representatives sponsored HB 2558, but it didn’t go far. After reading it into the record, leadership referred it to the House Rules Committee, where it languished. The bill’s status on Legiscan, a legislation tracking website, lists the measure as “died in committee.” Before that happened, however, lawmakers ordered a study of retail marijuana revenue projections. . . . Jeremy Gunderson, a fiscal analyst for the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, estimates in the report . . . that legalization would bring $48.3 million to state coffers in 2016.“

By On the Net|2017-02-12T07:40:48-07:00December 10th, 2014|AZ Legislation, Stories & Articles|Comments Off

LA City Attorney Sues to Block Pot Delivery App

myfoxny.com: “The Los Angeles city attorney filed a lawsuit Tuesday to shut down a mobile phone application that arranges medical marijuana home deliveries.”

By On the Net|2017-02-12T07:40:48-07:00December 3rd, 2014|Legal Issues, Stories & Articles|Comments Off

Nevada Dispensary Dispute Could Lead to a Lawsuit

Las Vegas Journal Review: “The future dispensaries of Clark County’s burgeoning medical marijuana industry might not be as initially widespread as expected. The county’s and state’s top picks didn’t match up, and as a result, the unincorporated areas of the county could start out in early 2015 with 10 dispensaries that sell medical marijuana products instead of 18.”

By On the Net|2014-12-01T07:52:16-07:00December 1st, 2014|Stories & Articles|Comments Off

California – the Make-or-break Marijuana State

USA Today: “Although state elections are now in the books for another two years, it’s not too early to start thinking about which states could be the next to introduce legal marijuana and medical marijuana legislation in the next election. Though we could theoretically see as many as a dozen states bringing some degree of marijuana vote in front of their citizens in 2016, no state has greater make-or-break potential for the marijuana movement than California.”

By On the Net|2014-12-01T07:59:54-07:00November 29th, 2014|California News, Video|Comments Off

Frustrations Mount for Marijuana Card Holders Seeking Employment

CBS5AZ.com: “Arizona has one of the toughest laws protecting people who have medical marijuana cards. Some of those people are saying they can’t get a job because of that card and that Arizona employers might be breaking the law.”

By On the Net|2019-06-14T08:28:47-07:00November 24th, 2014|Stories & Articles|Comments Off

Arizona Doctors can’t be Charged for Marijuana Referrals

East Valley Tribune: “Doctors who recommend marijuana to patients can’t be charged with crimes even if they did not follow the procedures required by law, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. The judges acknowledged that Robert Gear, a Phoenix naturopath with offices in several communities, had been charged with recommending the drug to a patient without having access to 12 months of her medical records. That is a requirement under the law. Gear was indicted on charges of forgery and fraudulent schemes after saying on a form required by the Department of Health Services that he had, in fact, seen those records.”

By On the Net|2014-11-24T19:11:30-07:00November 24th, 2014|AZ Marijuana Law Lawsuits, Marijuana Crimes, Stories & Articles|Comments Off

Feds Taxing Marijuana Businesses to Death

Vox: “Due to a section of the tax code known as 280E, many state-legal marijuana businesses have to pay taxes on their expenses — unlike other legal businesses, which are allowed to deduct them. For some businesses, this can drive their effective tax rates to 70 to 85 percent of their profits, which is enough to force many shops and growers out of business. ‘It’s basically a dagger at the throat of the entire legal cannabis industry,’ said Steve DeAngelo, co-founder of California-based medical marijuana dispensary Harborside Health Center.”

By On the Net|2015-01-28T22:15:35-07:00November 17th, 2014|Stories & Articles, Tax Issues|Comments Off

Vets Want VA to OK Medical Marijuana

Washington Post: “At a time when the legalized use of marijuana is gaining greater acceptance across the country, Rising is among a growing number of veterans who are coming out of the “cannabis closet” and pressing the government to recognize pot as a legitimate treatment for the wounds of war. They say it is effective for addressing various physical and psychological conditions related to military service — from chronic back pain and neuropathic issues to panic attacks and insomnia — and often preferable to widely prescribed opioid painkillers and other drugs.”

By On the Net|2014-11-16T07:54:38-07:00November 16th, 2014|Stories & Articles|Comments Off

Medical Marijuana is Here whether We Like It or Not

Ahwatukee Foothills: “It’s been four years since Prop. 203 was passed in Arizona, the proposition that made medical marijuana legal in the state and tasked the Arizona Department of Health Services with creating a medical marijuana program. The program took time to create and it has been slowly adjusted as time has gone on, but one thing was established in the beginning: Ahwatukee Foothills would have a dispensary.”

By On the Net|2017-02-04T07:38:58-07:00November 13th, 2014|Stories & Articles|Comments Off

Cannabis Industry: Enforcing Contracts

Chron.com: “One of the many problems created by the conflict between federal and state marijuana law is uncertainty in the enforceability of certain contracts. Judges can, and in cannabis cases often do, void contracts for violating federal policy.”

By On the Net|2017-02-04T07:38:58-07:00November 13th, 2014|Legal Issues, Stories & Articles|Comments Off

Marijuana Patient Sues After Firm Won’t Hire Her

Associated Press: “A graduate student has sued a textile company for refusing to hire her for a two-month internship because she uses medical marijuana to treat frequent and debilitating migraine headaches, a decision her lawyer calls discrimination.”

By On the Net|2019-06-14T08:28:46-07:00November 13th, 2014|Legal Issues, Stories & Articles|Comments Off

New York City NYC to Stop Small Marijuana Arrests

New Jersey Herald: “Thousands of people carrying small amounts of marijuana may no longer be arrested or face criminal charges, [New York] city officials announced Monday, marking a significant shift in how the nation’s biggest city approaches policing pot.”

By On the Net|2015-04-06T18:57:50-07:00November 12th, 2014|Stories & Articles|Comments Off

Study Says Pot Smokers’ Brains Shrink

Los Angeles Times: “Experimental mice have been telling us this for years, but pot-smoking humans didn’t want to believe it could happen to them: Compared with a person who never smoked marijuana, someone who uses marijuana regularly has, on average, less gray matter in his orbital frontal cortex, a region that is a key node in the brain’s reward, motivation, decision-making and addictive behaviors network.”

By On the Net|2017-02-04T07:38:59-07:00November 10th, 2014|Stories & Articles|Comments Off

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