Reason TV: Rabbi Fights Feds to Open Pot Shop

Medical marijuana is legal in some states. However, that doesn't mean the federal government makes it easy for these dispsenary owners to operate. 

Original release date was June 27, 2013 and original writeup is below:

"[The federal government] should know who is a pot dealer and who is not. For them to pretend otherwise is ridiculous," says Rabbi Jeffrey Kahn. Kahn, an ordained rabbi who has served congregations for over 30 years, is opening a medical marijuana dispensary in Washington, D.C. this summer alongside his wife. Kahn says the federal government has made it impossible for him to get a bank account for his small business. 

Medical marijuana is legal in D.C. and 18 states, but it's still illegal under federal law. This means that even though Kahn is abiding by D.C. law, banks won't work with his business for fear of losing FDIC protection--or worse. Kahn says he has not been able to open a bank account with any financial institution. If he is forced to be a cash-only business, he will be more vulnerable to crime and IRS auditing.  

About 4 minutes.

Produced by Amanda Winkler. Shot by Todd Krainin and Winkler. Narrated by Krainin. Additional help by Joshua Swain. 

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Comments

[SIV]

Rabbit Fighter

[Acosmist]

Gonzales v Raich says it's not.

[sage]

"There's no better place to do business than right here in the United States of America."

-Barack Obama

[Francisco d Anconia]

And businesses going overseas highlights the fact.

[John Galt]

Good ole Barry, always the comedian.

[John C. Randolph]

Mr. Lynch is incorrect when he says that marijuana is against federal law. There is no constitutional authority to ban any drug, and any act of congress that purports to do so is not a law at all, but a usurpation.

-jcr

[SIV]

Peneltax

[SIV]

Penaltax

[Wasteland Wanderer]

Peniletax?

[playa manhattan]

There it is.

[Paul Pot]

Why do the banks have a problem?
The HSBC and Wachovia were caught with over a trillion dollars and they paid a really tiny fee and were left alone.
The banks can do what they like obviously.
Or is it that big money can get away with anything not the small enterprise.

[OneOut]

For them to do business with the legal outlets mean they are helping the competition of their bigger customers.

They probably got the word from higher up not to help the legal competition.

[Paul Pot]

20+ yrs of decriminalization and medical marijuana did not cause any problems.
The last year of legal possession in Colorado and Washington did not cause any problems.
The first week of legal sales in Colorado did not cause any problems.
Legalization in Colorado, Washington and Uruguay will not see any problems over the next 12 months.
Other states and nations will soon be asking why they are spending so much money on a law that is completely uneccessary.

[Daily Beatings]

Other states and nations will soon be asking why they are spending so much money on a law that is completely unnecessary.

No, other states and nations will soon be asking when can we start taxing the shit out of the revenue generated from the sale of marijuana.

[mad libertarian guy]

No, other states and nations will soon be asking when can we start taxing the shit out of the revenue generated from the sale of marijuana.

Bingo.

And they have a built-in out too.

They'll tax and regulate the fuck out of it such that users will have no incentive to buy from state authorized stores, and then they'll have all of the evidence they need to keep putting people in jail.

[Pope Jimbo]

My wet dream is that some state decides to legalize all drugs, prostitution and gambling. And they lower the age for all that to 18.

Put a tax on all those activities to replace the hiway funds that the feds would be sure to yank.

Watch the tourist dollars pour in.

My two-wet-dreams-in-one-night is to have that state be Sunny Minnesota and put in a giant casino right next to the Mall of America. With a cat house inside the mall. Men would finally stop bitching about their wifes spending 8 hours there.

[Acosmist]

They'd be ok with their wives working a shift?

[Brucehy]

my best friend's half-sister makes $71/hour on the internet. She has been fired for nine months but last month her paycheck was $13504 just working on the internet for a few hours. check

======== http://WWW.CASH46.COM

[Cdr Lytton]

If he is forced to be a cash-only business, he will be more vulnerable to crime and IRS auditing.

On the other hand, he'll be able to get better D.C. police protection for his biz.

[Eduard van Haalen]

OT: Political biographer writes in Politoco on "tha case for retribution in politics."

After all, the Club for Growth spends "shadowy millions" to oppose incumbents, so why can't "an elected leader...dangle [], or rescind [], a political favor to induce cooperation?" I mean, what were they elected for, if not that?

http://www.politi.co/1cXgWKj

[SweatingGin]

Archbishop Becket, in the course of a battle between church and state, spurred an angry English King Henry II to shout

It's not passive voice, instead, it's putting the action on Becket. A rather interesting phrasing, I think. "The suspect spurred the officer to beat him to..."

Wonder if this is one of those "float an idea out and see how much opposition there is" articles. Interesting/scary read.

[mad libertarian guy]

If he is forced to be a cash-only business, he will be more vulnerable to crime and IRS auditing.

And I'd say that's exactly the point. They want crime to be associated with legal marijuana so that they can have an excuse to say "I told you we needed to keep it illegal" and in order to continue supporting the Law Enforcement Industrial Complex, and they want any excuse possible to harass business owners whenever it's convenient for them to do so.

[RishJoMo]

Sometimes man, you jsut have to roll with it.

http://www.Anon-Global.tk

[OneOut]

Can't you at least come up with some original quips to accompany your spam ?

[SusanJWong]

my best friend's mother makes $82 hourly on the internet. She has been fired for 10 months but last month her paycheck was $14496 just working on the internet for a few hours. find out this here
http://www.cash46.com

[MSimon]

He used to be my Rabbi.

Here is a post about his recent visit to Rockford: http://classicalvalues.com/201.....-rockford/

[MSimon]

Jeffrey used to be my Rabbi.