There is no legal marijuana trade in the US, as all marijuana trade is criminal under federal law, and it's generally a crime to knowingly profit from a crime (and, since drug offenses are covered in RICO, it's another crime to use any profits tired to them in the operation of any business engaged in interstate commerce.) Microsoft may be keeping distant enough not to worry (though perhaps not given their formal part…
As a Seattlite I had high hopes when Obama appointed Gil Kerlikowske to be Drug Czar, given that he was the police chief in a city with a very progressive approach to cannabis. But alas, as in myriad other areas of the Obama administration, hope was just that: hope.
What do you mean? Obama is the most progressive president on drug policy in decades.
Please don't call questions dumb. It discourages thoughtful conversation. There's a guideline somewhat related to this: When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. E.g. "That is idiotic; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3" can be shortened to "1 + 1 is 2, not 3."
Unfair questions should be called out. Perhaps "dumb" isn't the most appropriate term, but I do think its fair to challenge the premise of the question. To prevent this leaves a whole rhetorical category immune from challenge.
No, there are very dumb question/statements. And it is indeed correct to call them out.
Why is it dumb? Because it packs in an assertion that is implied true, without asking.
An appropriate answer is "Mu". Or 'unask the question'.
The IRS explicitly states that you need to declare bribes and income from illegal activities [1] "Illegal activities. Income from illegal activities, such as money from dealing illegal drugs, must be included in your income on Form 1040, line 21, or on Schedule C or Schedule C-EZ (Form 1040) if from your self-employment activity." [1] https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch12.html
Also from stolen goods, unless you return them in the same year: "If you steal property, you must report its fair market value in your income in the year you steal it unless in the same year, you return it to its rightful owner."
"We don't care where your income comes from, we just want our cut of it."
IRS refuses to interact with marijuana businesses That's not even remotely true, as even 30 years ago the IRS happily took my money, and did so without telling anyone else where the money came from. I mean, maybe it's changed since, but when it comes to "IRS won't take my money", ima gonna have to pull the "citation needed" card.
Are you saying that you made money selling drugs, told the IRS that the money was made illegally and nothing happened? I've heard that the IRS definitely focuses on collecting tax money and not how it was made, but I thought that people technically never admitted to anything when declaring illegal income sources. It looks like the applicable part on a 1040 would be line 21, which just asks for "other sources of incom…
> told the IRS that the money was made illegally and nothing happened
Is there a checkbox on US tax forms for "illegally earned money"? Or are you expected to put that in a free-text field?
I make https://weedtraqr.com/ - we are operational in Washington and Oregon - and now apparently compete with MS. The company Microsoft is working with (Agrisoft) doesn't even operate in WA, or OR yet. And has been sold like two times in the last two years (first to Surna[0] then to Kind[1]) Additionally their "partnership" is really just Agrisoft getting free Azure hosting. The headline is very click-bait. [0] http:…
There is no legal marijuana trade in the US, You mean interstate trade, of course.
FDR's Supreme Court blew the Commerce Clause open such that the Feds can regulate purely intrastate commerce as well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wickard_v._Filburn
You don't even have to participate in commerce to participate in commerce.
Why is that? Even software firms don't want to deal with weed?
Not so much the software companies, it's the payment processing companies that are risk-averse.
As a customer, these shops have to jump through some amazing hoops just to provide standard POS debit/credit. One store has to process all payments as an ATM withdrawal, and must give change so the "ATM withdrawal" will round to the nearest $5.
The system Oregon (and Colorado) uses for recreational is called METRC and is made by a company called Franwell. When I was at training, the spokes person actually asked for hands raised if anyone knew what a REST API was. Their seed-to-sale tracking system (required by law in Oregon), if used for food (just for example) would be able to tell you what corn field, and what corn plant, in Iowa, when and what fertilizer…
Cumbersome, but cam you imagine the benefits to health, if expanded to food production, when an e.coli etc. outbreak happens or mad cow, etc. Trace back the farm and know exactly which lots to pull.
This is called traceability, and it's a fundamental aspect of food quality and good manufacturing practice (GMP) throughout the food industry. The devil is in the documenting.
The system Oregon (and Colorado) uses for recreational is called METRC and is made by a company called Franwell. When I was at training, the spokes person actually asked for hands raised if anyone knew what a REST API was. Their seed-to-sale tracking system (required by law in Oregon), if used for food (just for example) would be able to tell you what corn field, and what corn plant, in Iowa, when and what fertilizer…
If you know: Do you think it is and will be effective? Could illegal vendors, such as Mexican organized crime, find a way into the industry? Let's not forget that organized crime has been involved in many legitimate industries.
Organized crime is pretty well purged from Colorado (and likely Oregon and Washington as well). Prior to retail taking effect, the DEA and Colorado law enforcement flushed out anyone with even a remote relationship with, call it, persons of interest. Since then, all participants have been subjected to background checks, where the thoroughness ranges from cursory (for, say, an hourly employee) to proctological (for a license owner). There are currently strict domesticity requirements for all "owners" (broadly defined by the state enforcement agency as anyone with "control"), i.e., at least two years of residency in the state of Colorado. Then of course there is the standard clean background check. New laws under consideration would open the market to out-of-state investors as of Jan 1 2017, but those laws are awaiting the governor's signature.