Shoot Up at IRS Nonprofit Crackhouses; The IRS Decided That Drug Dens Should Have Tax-Exempt Status

Shoot Up at IRS Nonprofit Crackhouses:

The IRS decided that drug dens should have tax-exempt status.

The Department of Justice has spent years in litigation with Safehouse. The Philly based nonprofit wants to run a ‘crackhouse’ where addicts can use drugs under ‘supervision’.

‘Safe injection sites’ have become popular with pro-crime policymakers but, like a lot of drug-based efforts, are illegal at a federal level. The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 makes it a crime to “knowingly open, lease, rent, use, or maintain any place, whether permanently or temporarily, for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing, or using any controlled substance” punishable by a fine of $2 million and as much as 20 years in prison.

“The issue is that people who are addicted to narcotics, that get to heroin, are no different than anyone with high blood pressure, or diabetes, or cancer,” Mayor Jim Kenney argued in defense of the crackhouse. “We don’t question the fact that people go for treatment for these diseases.”

The majority of Philly residents disagreed with the idea that shooting up heroin is like diabetics getting insulin and so did the City Council which recently passed a ban on ‘safe injection’ crackhouses by a vote of 13 to 1.

In its latest move in federal court, Safehouse is making the frivolous argument that operating a crackhouse is protected under Freedom of Religion. “There are many ways for Safehouse’s board members to exercise their broadly stated religious beliefs that do not involve maintaining a facility for individuals to consume drugs,” the Justice Department replied.

But while the federal litigation continues, Safehouse continues to take in donations as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The Justice Department may have a problem with Safehouse running a crackhouse, but the IRS does not object to a nonprofit crackhouse. Even though it’s illegal.

Tax code regulations state that “exempt purposes may generally be equated with the public good, and violations of law are the antithesis of the public good”. They warn that the, “violation of constitutionally valid laws is inconsistent with exemption under IRC 501(c)(3)” and that “planned activities that violate laws are not in furtherance of a charitable purpose”.”

Either the IRS believes that ‘shooting up’ equates with the public good or that the ‘Crackhouse Statute’ is not a constitutionally valid law. Either that or it decided to just ignore the law.

Safehouse first received its tax-exempt status from the IRS in 2019. Treating Safehouse as a 501(c)(3) not only provided a lucrative source of donations, but was used by the organization to argue that its activities had been approved of by a branch of the federal government.

“I think it is important for the court to know that a federal agency has looked at this activity and determined that it’s lawful,” Ronda Goldfein, Safehouse’s vice president, had argued. —>READ MORE HERE

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