High Desert Relief, Inc. v. United States

HOLMES, Circuit Judge.

This case arises out of the efforts of the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") to investigate the tax liability of High Desert Relief, Inc. ("HDR"), a medical marijuana dispensary in New Mexico. The IRS began an investigation into whether HDR had improperly paid its taxes, and specifically whether it had improperly taken deductions for business expenses that arose *1175 from a "trade or business" that "consists of trafficking in controlled substances." 26 U.S.C. § 280E. Because HDR refused to furnish the IRS with requested audit information, the IRS issued four summonses to…