Thorburn Law Group, LLC

03/10/2021

Jim is speaking next Tuesday at the Colorado Bar Association 5th Annual Cannabis Symposium. His discussion will focus on whether expressly state legal cannabis is a violation of federal law. Tenth Circuit Judge Carlos F. Lucero calls this the "Huge Federalism Dispute". Find out if the states have a basis to say that their actions do not violate the Controlled Substances Act.

https://lnkd.in/gdPuV2Q

# *****na

https://cle.cobar.org/Seminars/Event-Info/sessionaltcd/MJ031621W

CLE in Colorado, Inc. (Colorado Bar Association CLE) is the nonprofit education arm of the Colorado Bar Association and the Denver Bar Association. We produce high-quality continuing legal education programs and legal publications at competitive prices, with substantial member discounts.

03/03/2021

This article highlights the importance of Women in Construction, the Waymaker campaign & the March 12 Waymaker Finale Event http://ow.ly/Xdcx50DPo2O

Waymakers, Nominators and friends of the AGC?Join us for a Virtual Celebration. The speaker for this event will be announced soon, keep an eye out!

02/15/2021

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALLY COMES OUT AGAINST STATE LEGAL CANNABIS

“Colorado may not authorize any individual or business to violate federal law.”

Many were wondering how the Biden Administration would treat state-legal cannabis. We now have his first official position. Responding to our Standing Akimbo v. United States petition for certiorari, the Biden Administration's Solicitor General, Elizabeth B. Prelogar, states that state legal cannabis is a federal crime, and Setion 280E of the tax code must be fully enforced against state legal cannabis. We still have a long road ahead of us.

The Biden Administration's response can be found here:

https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/20/20-645/168952/20210212160211823_20-645%20Standing%20Akimbo%20a.pdf

If you want the direct document go to supremecourt.gov and do a docket search on 20-645.

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02/10/2021

Last year's ma*****na sales total was more than 25 percent higher than the previous annual record set in 2019.

12/09/2020

One Step Closer to the Supreme Court!

On November 6th, we filed a petition with the Supreme Court to hear whether expressly state legal cannabis violates the CSA and whether Section 280E is unconstitutional. A very important second step is for the Government (through the Solicitor General) to respond to the Petition. The Justices never grant a petition without a response. Most of the time the Solicitor General "waives" response - which is code to the Justices that there's "nothing to see here, move on". To get a government response to a Petition is exceptional. The SG only files responses in about 13% of cases.. Thus, it is an important second step. Without it, we lose.

Today, Acting Solicitor General, Jeffery B. Wall, filed with the Supreme Court a request asking for an additional thirty days to file his response to the Standing Akimbo Petition. The importance of this motion is that the Government states it intends to file a response. You can see the request here. https://lnkd.in/gaQCHSN I feel confident that we are accomplishing this second step.

12/02/2020

The case is part of an ongoing conflict between federal tax collectors and the legal ma*****na industry.

11/09/2020

https://news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-report/ma*****na-dispensary-takes-tax-break-dispute-to-supreme-court?context=search&index=0

A ma*****na dispensary is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on its dispute with the IRS over improper business deductions.

At the center of the case is tax code Section 280E, which says that a business that consists of trafficking in a Schedule I or II controlled substance can’t receive any tax deductions—and state-legal ma*****na businesses currently fall under that restriction.

The code section violates the 16th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit mistakenly concluded that the Controlled Substances Act “reigns supreme” over Colorado cannabis laws, Standing Akimbo said in its petition to the high court.

The 16th Amendment says Congress’s power to tax is limited to taxing income. “It is not a legitimate purpose for the IRS to use its summons power to enforce §280E, an unconstitutional tax,” the petition said.

The Tenth Circuit in April upheld IRS summonses used as the agency tried to determine if the Denver-based company took advantage of barred tax deductions. The court said that the IRS had a legitimate purpose to issue the summons. Standing Akimbo was denied a rehearing in June.

James D. Thorburn of Thorburn Walker LLC, counsel for Standing Akimbo, said in a statement Monday that the petition “addresses the core federalism issue which has besieged this country since the state legalization of cannabis. Accepting the Petition means that the Supreme Court can definitively answer the issue of whether those who have acted in accordance with the ma*****na laws of 37 states are, in fact, federal criminals.”

The petition was filed Monday but isn’t yet available on the Supreme Court’s website. The court’s Public Information Office didn’t return a request for comment. The IRS didn’t return a request for comment.

The case is Standing Akimbo, LLC v United States, U.S., petition filed 11/9/20.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeffery Leon in Washington at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Patrick Ambrosio at [email protected]; Colleen Murphy at [email protected]

A ma*****na dispensary is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on its dispute with the IRS over improper business deductions.