Huffington Post:  “Nearly half of U.S. states have legalized marijuana in some form, whether medical or recreational. But marijuana remains illegal under federal law, and as a result, the legitimate businesses selling the drug are subject to sky-high tax rates.  Dispensaries can’t deduct traditional business expenses like advertising costs, employee payroll, rent and health insurance from their combined federal and state taxes. That means dispensary owners around the U.S. often face effective tax rates of 50 to 60 percent — and in some states, those rates soar to 80 percent or higher, according to members of the pot industry who spoke to The Huffington Post.  In other words, the federal government rakes in tax revenue from pot shops while prohibiting them from accessing the same financial benefits afforded to non-cannabis businesses.  ‘We now have thousands of basically small- and medium-sized businesses across the country in over 20 states that are perfectly legal, who are being discriminated against in terms of the tax system because they can’t deduct legitimate business expenses,’ Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) told The Huffington Post. ‘Their effective tax rate is two, maybe three times higher depending on where they are in their business cycle’.”