It’s U.S. vs. Calif over Pot: Former Prosecutor says We’ve been ‘Bushwhacked’

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NY TIMES - Matthew R. Davies graduated from college with a master’s degree in business and a taste for enterprise, working in real estate, restaurants and mobile home parks before seizing on what he saw as uncharted territory with a vast potential for profits — medical marijuana.

He brought graduate-level business skills to a world decidedly operating in the shadows. He hired accountants, compliance lawyers, managers, a staff of 75 and a payroll firm. He paid California sales tax and filed for state and local business permits.

But in a case that highlights the growing clash between the federal government and those states that have legalized marijuana for medical or recreational use, the United States Justice Department indicted Mr. Davies six months ago on charges of cultivating marijuana, after raiding two dispensaries and a warehouse filled with nearly 2,000 marijuana plants. (Read more … including what the US Attorney wants from Mr. Davies and how long Mr. Davies could be in prison… here)

-cw

CityWatch

Vol 11 Issue 5

Pub: Jan 15, 2013