Tax Treatment of a Marijuana Business

Authors

Douglas A. Kahn, University of Michigan Law SchoolFollow
Howard Bromberg, University of Michigan Law SchoolFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2017

Abstract

Currently, twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes and permit the conduct of a business marketing of marijuana for that purpose. Eight of those states and the District of Columbia permit the recreational use of marijuana. There is reason to believe that more states will decriminalize the marketing of marijuana. However, marijuana is listed in Schedule 1 of the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (CSA) which makes it illegal under federal law to manufacture or distribute marijuana even when it is legal to do so under local state law. In a series of memoranda promulgated by the Justice Department in the period from 2009 to 2014, the Department announced that it would not enforce the CSA prohibition against marijuana if certain requirements are met. Consequently, even the federal government has evidenced some ambivalence as to whether the conduct of a marijuana business for medical use should be illegal.

Recommended Citation

Kahn, Douglas A., co-author. "Tax Treatment of a Marijuana Business." H. Bromberg, co-author. Colum. J. Tax L. - Tax Matters 8, no. 2 (2017): 23-4.