Posted by azdrugrehabctr on January 28, 2015 under Uncategorized | 
The federal government may still see pot as an illegal substance, but the people selling it still have to pay their taxes in those states that have passed legislation approving the sale of the drug.
Owners of recreational marijuana operations in states like Colorado and Washington are learning some hard lessons while preparing to file their first federal tax returns. The main one being that usual business deductions under section 280E are not being allowed for the business owners designated as potrepreneurs. The cost of selling marijuana is not deductible under the federal tax code, but not the cost of growing marijuana is deductible.
Business owners, CPAs, and tax attorneys in the marijuana industry gathered in San Diego at a marijuana tax symposium put on by the National Cannabis Industry Association to find ways to file the business tax returns for those legally selling marijuana for medical and recreational use.
“Labor for rolling joints is deductible,” said Denver CPA Jim Marty of Bridge West, but he said that retail rent, labor and advertising are not deductible. He added that the IRS differentiates between the two because, “They just are making it up.”
Marty admits that pretax profits in the legal pot industry are very good, but he added that without deductions for retail expenses business owners are, at best, put in the 60-70 percent tax bracket. The worst case scenario on retail pot business owners’ tax bracket is that it can actually exceed 100 percent.
Henry Wykowski, a former federal prosecutor, is now an attorney for the marijuana industry in California. He has gone to court twice against the federal government regarding the tax code. His efforts resulted in some legal workarounds for not being able to take advantage of the usual deductions. Wykowski says that if businesses in the legal marijuana industry do not handle deductions properly, “There’s no way you can make enough money to remain in business.”
As legal pot businesses are trying to figure out how to pay taxes to the federal government, others are estimating just how much the IRS has to gain from this newly formed business sector. Personal finance site NerdWallet took numbers from the United States census and other research to estimate how much money that would be collected by the government if pot was legalized nationally. NerdWallet estimates that the government could collect more than $3 billion in taxes annually. In California, where voters may decide to legalize all pot use in 2016, the federal government could collect over $500 million each year.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on January 22, 2015 under Opiate Abuse |
In this day and age it has become quite clear that no one is immune to the pulls of a drug addiction. One FBI agent proved this when he admitted to being addicted to heroin and stealing evidence from cases to fund his habit. In the wake of this confession, the agency is taking a hard look at their offices and the protocol for securing evidence, all in an effort to avoid future breaches in security, like the one agent Matthew Lowry managed for fourteen months while on the job.
When heroin is seized by the FBI it is immediately weighed, documented, sealed and delivered to an evidence room where the drugs sit until trial. Lowry was able to siphon heroin from these evidence bags because he was on the heroin task force. This means that he was given access to heroin on an almost daily basis.
Lowry’s scheme was allegedly rather intricate and involved much deception. It was reported that oftentimes Lowry would go into the evidence room and take heroin that was part of cases that were already closed. This ensured that the agents working on that case would not need to access the drugs for court purposes. When Lowry was unable to take heroin from closed cases he would take heroin from open cases under the guise that he was taking it to the lab to be tested. Lowry would take the drugs home and consume much of it, replacing what he consumed with laxatives or creatine. In order to keep his habit, Lowry had to forge other agent’s names and signatures so that the drugs would not be traced back to him.
Lowry has since admitted to his crime and has spurned an internal investigation into how the FBI deals with evidence and who has access to guns and drugs. Since the investigation has started the FBI revealed that they have “found that every one of the nation’s field offices had problems tracking gun and drug evidence and that in some cases, drugs disappeared for months without notice”.
Because of Lowry’s transgressions, 150 defendants in drug cases throughout the country may potentially go free, lawyers finding it difficult to prosecute without the evidence.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on January 19, 2015 under Addiction Trends |
Jon Jones is currently ranked as the #1 light heavyweight in the UFC. Recently Jones fought in a much publicized match with Daniel Cormier and won in a unanimous decision. Only a few days after the fight it was discovered that on December 4th Jones tested positive for cocaine. By the time the public was hearing about Jones’ failed drug test he had already checked himself into rehab. While this was the right thing to do, the way the incident was handled brings up questions about professional sports and their desire to handle drug problems or if they just want to brush them under the rug.
In the last several years drug use in sports has been a constant problem. Athletes are often caught using performance-enhancing drugs, and there have also been many athletes arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol, the most recent being Tim Jennings of the Chicago Bears. There is also a lawsuit against the NFL for pushing and illegally prescribing narcotic painkillers. With all of the drug and alcohol problems professional sports is dealing with, it may not be a surprise that Jon Jones fell into the drug trap as well.
The lifestyle of a professional athlete can be very glamorous from the outside looking in. Adoring fans and lots of money can make for a very fast-paced life with the opportunity to do almost anything one desires. Drugs often go hand in hand in a lifestyle like the ones athletes who are at the top of their game often lead.
Checking into rehab was the most effective thing that Jon Jones could have done for himself and his loved ones. It wasn’t mandatory, as the UFC has stricter guidelines when it comes to performance-enhancing drugs like steroids, compared to other illicit drugs like cocaine, especially whether a positive test occurs during the time of being in competition. We certainly hope his rehabilitation is successful and that it serves as an example for other people, athletes and fans alike, to seek treatment for substance abuse problems.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on January 13, 2015 under AZ Drug Rehab News |
Border Patrol Agents working near the state line in Arizona were busy in 2014. The law enforcement agents spent their days policing the border and ensuring that illegal drugs like marijuana, methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine did not get into the country. Public officials have known for a long time that most of the drugs consumed in the U.S. originate in Mexico and other South American countries and have set up agents all along U.S. borders to prevent as much drugs from getting into the hands of U.S. citizens as possible. By the end of the year, the border control agents had seized more drugs at the Arizona state line than in any other year prior.
Marijuana is one of the most popular drugs that the drug cartels attempt to smuggle into the country. In 2014 border patrol was ready, and seized more than 2,183 pounds of marijuana. When officials divided the pot up in dosages (the amount an average user would consume) it was found that the marijuana that was seized equaled almost one million dosages.
“I think it’s important to note how many dosages this involves. When you see how many doses, you get an idea of how many people would have been using these drugs,” explained Randy Moffit, a lieutenant in Arizona. While it is unclear how much marijuana actually made it into the country, officials can say that the amount of weed that was seized this year added up to a street value of almost $4 million dollars. Agents were pleased to announce that they seized more than twice the amount that was intercepted in 2013.
In addition to marijuana, agents seized heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine. In Arizona alone, fourteen pounds of heroin was taken before it could hit the streets and be dispersed to other states in the country. In the past, methamphetamine was manufactured in the United States, however 2014 saw much of the drug being made in Mexico and smuggled into the U.S. Agents were able to prevent 177 pounds of the drug from making it to users, this is more than four times the amount that was seized in 2013.
Preventing illegal drugs from coming into the country is a vital part of Arizona border patrol agents jobs, and in 2014 they managed to exceed almost all numbers from the previous year.
