Tax Law Insights

Cannabis (or marijuana) dispensaries have long stated that they are subjected to harsher tax consequences under the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC” or “Code”) than their “legal” counterparts.  Specifically, they have argued, in and out of court, that their businesses pay tax on what may otherwise be losses for other businesses but are considered income due to IRC § 280E.  At the end of May, however, Harborside Health Center (“Harborside”) filed its appeal brief to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals with the hopes of ending this disparate treatment.

Harborside’s ...