Tag Archives: Drugs & Vice

Legal Marijuana Faces Another Federal Hurdle: Taxes

Posted on by

“Even as more states embrace legal marijuana, shops say they are being forced to pay crippling federal income taxes because of a decades-old law.  The tax rule, an obscure provision referred to as 280E, catches many marijuana entrepreneurs by surprise, often in the form of an audit notice from the I.R.S. [..] This year, Allgreens, a marijuana shop in Colorado, successfully challenged an I.R.S. policy that imposed about $30,000 in penalties for paying its payroll taxes in cash — common in an industry in which businesses rely on armed guards and cash-stuffed safes because they cannot get bank accounts.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/10/us/politics/legal-marijuana-faces-another-federal-hurdle-taxes.html?_r=0

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

The big drug database in the sky: A firefighter’s legal nightmare

Posted on by

“In Pyle’s case, there was no evidence to suggest he had anything to do with the morphine theft that sparked the investigation. While looking through his prescription history, however, the detective felt that something wasn’t right. Eventually, Pyle heard from the Salt Lake County Attorney’s Office. His case had been screened and declined for prosecution.  Four days later, the Utah Attorney General charged Ryan Pyle with prescription drug fraud.  How can the police have such broad powers to comb through a prescription drug database?  [..] State law changes like Utah’s, however, won’t stop federal agencies like the DEA from accessing these databases without a warrant.”

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/05/the-big-drug-database-in-the-sky-one-firefighters-year-long-legal-nightmare/

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Federal officials stole $1M in bitcoins from Silk Road while investigating it

Posted on by

“The Secret Service agent, Shaun Bridges, allegedly stole $800,000 worth of virtual currency, according to the complaint, and kept his stash in the exchange known as Mt. Gox. The DEA official, Carl Force, was ‘the lead undercover agent in communication’ with Roberts — a role that gave him the power to extort. Using a series of private, fictitious accounts, Force allegedly told Roberts he would bury evidence related to the case if Roberts paid him $250,000. In another instance, Roberts allegedly paid Force $100,000 in bitcoins after Force, using one of his anonymous accounts, offered up information related to the federal investigation.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2015/03/30/doj-these-federal-officials-stole-bitcoins-from-silk-road-while-investigating-silk-road/

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

DEA ‘Cold Consent’ Encounters Constitute Federal Stop-and-Frisk

Posted on by

“In a cold consent encounter, a person is stopped if an agent thinks that person’s behavior fits a drug courier profile. Or an agent can stop a person cold ‘based on no particular behavior,’ according to the Inspector General report. The agent then asks the people they have stopped for consent to question them and sometimes to search their possessions as well. By gaining consent, law enforcement officers can bypass the need for a warrant.  While many people who believe they have nothing to hide may–inadvisably–consent to a police search, they may not be familiar with federal civil asset forfeiture laws, which give federal agents wide latitude to seize property, especially cash, without charging anyone.”

http://www.cato.org/blog/dea-cold-consent-encounters-constitute-federal-stop-frisk

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

No DEA agents fired for Colombia prostitute parties: internal report

Posted on by

“An internal Drug Enforcement Administration report showed the agency gave its agents a mere slap on the wrist for purchasing the services of Colombian prostitutes, sometimes with taxpayer money and sometimes as they let local police watch their weapons and personal property.  A summary of the internal report shows the DEA doled out punishments to 10 of its agents, which ranged from a letter of caution to a two-week suspension. None of the agents who participated in the parties was fired.  In one instance, money to pay prostitutes at a farewell party for a high-ranking DEA official was included in an ‘operational budget’ that used government funds for the party, the report said.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/14/none-dea-agents-who-partied-prostitutes-were-fired/?page=all

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Government Now Tracking Millions of U.S. Cars

Posted on by

“A license-plate tracking system originally conceived to combat drug traffickers along the U.S.-Mexican border has drastically expanded to encompass millions of vehicles across the United States, according to official documents.  Law enforcement officials have tapped a database of vehicle movements, including times, dates and in some cases, images of drivers snapped by roadside traffic cameras, the Wall Street Journal reports.  The Drug Enforcement Agency established the program to monitor and impound cars used by drug traffickers along the US-Mexico border, but documents suggest that the program has expanded for a range of investigations unrelated to drug trafficking cases.”

http://time.com/3683826/license-tracking-cars-government/

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Supreme Court: Cops can’t hold suspects to wait for drug-sniffing dog

Posted on by

“The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Tuesday that the Constitution forbids police from holding a suspect without probable cause, even for fewer than 10 extra minutes.  Writing on behalf of the court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg declared that the constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure prevent police from extending an otherwise completed traffic stop to allow for a drug-sniffing dog to arrive.  According to the Supreme Court, while officers may use a dog to sniff around a car during the course of a routine traffic stop, they cannot extend the length of the stop in order to carry it out.”

http://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/239513-court-rules-cops-cant-hold-suspects-to-wait-for-dog

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Freddie Gray dies one week after Baltimore arrest for nothing

Posted on by

“Video recorded at the scene shows Gray, with his hands behind his back, screaming as police raise him to his feet. They drag him to a waiting van. The attorney added that Gray’s spinal cord was severely injured.  At this point, police are declining to say much about the case, citing ongoing administrative and criminal investigations.  They have not released the incident report, nor have they released the names of the officers involved.  When asked why officers first encountered Gray, Baltimore Police Dept. Capt. Eric Kowalczyk told CNN that they had been working in an area known for violent crime and drug sales. When the officers approached him, Gray fled, Kowalczyk said.”

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/19/us/baltimore-freddie-gray-death/

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

It’s time to talk about the role of police in our public schools

Posted on by

“Possession of nicotine or a tobacco product by a minor is, by all accounts, a minor infraction. In Ohio, it carries the penalty of a $100 fine, having to attend a tobacco education program, or both.  Or, as they used to do in my high school, authorities would just take it away from you. Case closed.  But that’s not what happened here. The 16-year-old student was arrested on charges of resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and given a smoking citation. He was also reportedly given a 10-day suspension, which the school later said it had reversed after video of the incident went viral.”

http://fusion.net/story/120936/its-time-to-talk-about-the-role-of-police-in-our-public-schools/

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

David Cameron’s plans to ban online encryption dubbed ‘infeasible’

Posted on by

“David Cameron‘s proposals to end online encryption have been dismissed as ‘infeasible’ by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology.  In a report titled ‘The Darknet and Online Anonymity’, the office argues that outlawing anonymity networks such as Tor may create more problems that it would solve.  The new dossier states that the network plays only a ‘minor role’ in the distribution and viewing of indecent images of children.  The importance of Tor for whistleblower organisations was also highlighted by the parliamentary office.  The report also downplays the threat posed by online drug markets like Silk Road, claiming that they shorten the supply chain from producers to consumers.”

http://www.digitalspy.com/tech/news/a634487/david-camerons-plans-to-ban-online-encryption-dubbed-infeasible.html

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet