but 26 states, including here in california, allow the use of medical marijuana. that confusion has led to a bitter fight in san jose. and now, over a million dollars hang in the balance. david armstrong proudly grows all this marijuana. he runs medimarts, a pot shop in san jose. but for the past 4 years, he's openly refused to pay the city's 10% business tax, which is required of all medical marijuana shops. he owes at least $1.3 million. so, why is he stalling? he believes paying his taxes could actually land him in prison. david: i wasn't going to pay a tax that breaks state and federal law, and be looking at 10 years to life. female: that's the offer we made to the city. bigad: armstrong and his legal team believe paying the tax would essentially mean they're admitting to selling marijuana, which is still illegal under federal law. so, medimarts sent this offer to the city of san jose. it's willing to pay that $1.3 million with a catch. the deal says the money will not be labeled as a tax, but instead a contribution. and the city's right to randomly inspect the shop would also have to end. do you see any problems with the offer? richard doyle: i think there are concerns. bigad: richard doyle is the city attorney for san jose. richard: you don't want to send a message that you don't have to play by the rules. one way or another, we're going to try to get the money. bigad: doyle says the courts have already sided with san jose. in july, a judge ordered medimarts to pay up. the pot shop has since appealed to the california supreme court, but a decision still hasn't come down. richard: to say there isn't continuing resources and everything spent by the city to continue to fight this, is that a consideration? it always is. bigad: but you don't see this as a matter of if they'll have to pay, it's when? richard: you know, there's always risk, but i think we have the upper hand. david ball: so, remember when we did prop 215-- bigad: david ball is a law professor at santa clara university, and specializes in marijuana regulations and policies. david: there is going to have to come some day of reckoning because right now, we really are speaking out of both sides of our mouth. the state is saying this is okay for people to use, and the federal government is saying this is not okay for people to use. and there's no--there's been really no attempt to reconcile those two. bigad: but the professor believes medimarts' legal argument still doesn't pass the smell test. david: as long as they're admitting that they're enabling other people to possess marijuana, that's the part that exposes them to criminal liability. bigad: so, in your opinion, not paying the tax doesn't somehow leave them more protected. if anything, it does the very opposite? david: yeah, i mean, the only way they can protect themselves from federal prosecution is by not engaging in any possession of marijuana at any point. bigad: and so, in choosing not to pay the tax, they're just left even more vulnerable because now they're breaking local laws? david: that's right, that's right. bigad: lawyers for the pot shop disagree. attorney dania alvarenga believes san jose is playing a dangerous game of semantics. dania alvarenga: our position is that if the tax were worded differently, if it were for different reasons, then there's no problem. but this is--the word "sales" is in there, the word "business" is in there, so it's a matter of characterization and a matter of what it's for. bigad: regardless, san jose believes it's owed even more money because of penalties and interest that's accrued. the city council will likely decide by the end of the month whether to accept armstrong's deal or keep fighting him in court. david armstrong: it's a shame. i mean, we should just sit down, figure it out, and do it properly. then everybody's happy. bigad: while federal law bans the use of marijuana, the federal government has issued guidelines that say prosecuting anyone isn't likely if they're following local laws. in fact, of the 16 marijuana shops that are in good standing right now in san jose, the city tells us none have ever faced prosecution from the feds for paying their taxes. in the meantime, voters in nine more states could decide to legalize marijuana when they head to the polls next month. announcer: coming up next. vicky nguyen: why doesn't the ncaa take it a step further, and then start requiring this of schools? brian hainline: well, that's a question i ask too. announcer: we investigate the number one health concern facing elite college athletes. plus, deadlocks and delays. we examine why nothing is getting done at the federal agency responsible for ensuring fair and equal elections. bigad: student athletes say there's a crisis in college sports that's often ignored: mental health. and medical experts say eating disorders are the deadliest of all mental-health diseases. but many schools in california fail to even screen athletes who may be suffering. senior investigative reporter vicky nguyen has that story. vicky: when sarah cole is on the volleyball court, she's in control. as a biology major, the cal senior knows how her body works. but sarah says it was a lesson outside the classroom that showed her how it doesn't. sarah cole: i hit rock bottom pretty much. vicky: sarah says she developed an eating disorder during her freshman year at uc davis. did it become an obsession? sarah: oh, 100%, yeah. vicky: she left school to seek treatment off the court. after a year away, sarah made a full recovery, and resumed her volleyball career at cal. that's where she came to believe disordered eating among athletes is a problem everywhere. sarah: since i've been at cal, i've met at least 20 to 30 people that fall into that category. vicky: unlike concussions and heart disease, the ncaa does not require schools to establish protocols or training to educate students and staff about eating disorders. sarah: right now, if my friend has an eating disorder, i don't really know what to do about it. i don't know who to go to. those resources either aren't there, or they're not advertised. vicky: we reviewed eating disorder policies for schools across the state. we found some colleges, like uc san diego, have strict guidelines on how to de-emphasize weight and identify malnourished athletes. cal guidelines similarly discourage teams from emphasizing weight, explaining the goal of measuring body fat is to improve performance, not to compare athletes. the policy advises athletes should maintain a healthy level of fat, and warns, "extreme dieting and over-concern on body composition may also be a precursor to eating disorders." but some schools have a broad policy that athletic staffers never read. one coach at a major program told us, "i don't have any recollection of seeing one." brian: coaches are key to help setting the culture. vicky: dr. brian hainline is the first chief medical officer at the ncaa. he's in charge of promoting student health. hainline says when he started the job in 2013, student athletes were clear about their biggest concern. brian: the university said, "dr. hainline, we got to--concussions are important, but please make mental health your priority." vicky: did that surprise you? brian: what surprised me is how the student athletes voiced that. i mean, they were unequivocal. and every time i make a campus visit, i've made probably well over 100, i always meet with the student athletes on campus. and every single place i've gone, i'm hearing that. vicky: hainline formed a task force to spotlight those mental health issues, and search for solutions. brian: disordered eating, and if you move to eating disorder, that will kill more people every year than concussion. that will lead to disability in a way that concussion won't. vicky: the last time the ncaa surveyed student athletes about eating disorders was in 1999. the study revealed nearly a third of student athletes are at risk for some form of eating disorder. in march, hainline's office developed this manual to provide schools with best practices when addressing mental health. it's endorsed by a comprehensive list of sports and medical groups, but it's not required for colleges to follow. do you think it should be mandatory? brian: yes. vicky: why doesn't the ncaa take it a step further, and then start requiring this of schools? brian: well, that's a question i ask too. and my job as chief medical officer is to help the membership make informed decisions. so, i'm working on that. ron thompson: we don't have coaches talk with athletes about their weight, about dieting. they're not to make comments about their bodies or their weight. vicky: indiana university psychologist dr. ron thompson works with his athletic department to increase the focus on performance rather than weight. he spent the past 30 years traveling to schools across the country to share that message. ron: when i speak to coaches' groups, first thing i tell them, "you have the power and influence to either promote or prevent eating disorders." vicky: thompson believes the program he's implemented at indiana allows the athletic department to identify and refer athletes for treatment every year. he says this should happen at all schools. ron: it's not like somebody would have to reinvent the wheel. it's not that hard. vicky: now, after getting her degree from cal, sarah cole is hoping to work with the university's athletic department and student health center to create a tighter safety net to catch athletes at risk. sarah: if you are that competitive person that wants to win all areas of life, we're not saying not to do that. go win all areas of life, absolutely, but make sure mental health is one of them. bigad: and this is our second report, following up on a story we first aired in february. for that and more resources on how to treat eating disorders, you can log on to our website. that's nbcbayarea.com. announcer: coming up next, police arrested him, charged him with sexual battery, and closed his south bay gym. but we found he's back in business. we uncover the new place a personal trainer opened up shop after clients accused him of disturbing crimes. [music] gest investigative unit? call 1-888-996-tips, or email theunit@nbcbayarea.com. nbc bay area, we investigate. [music] bigad: what was shut down in one city is now popping up in another. david wolfsmith is a personal trainer in the south bay, but his former clients accused him of unwanted sexual contact at his gym. some are as young as 13. in april, the investigative unit's liz wagner first reported that police arrested wolfsmith, and the city closed down his morgan hill gym. now, he's not only facing more charges, we learned he might have a new gym just a few miles away. liz wagner: inside the walls of the wolf pak gym, men, women, and their kids trained with david wolfsmith. female: he just draws you in. and before you know it, you're sucked completely in. liz: she's a former client who spoke with police about wolfsmith. we agreed to hide her identity and disguise her voice. she describes wolfsmith as controlling and demanding. female: it starts out so subtly that you don't realize it. and it goes on for years. liz: according to court records, 5 women and 2 teenage girls accused him of touching then inappropriately between 2006 and 2015. in police reports, one victim alleges wolfsmith massaged her, completely nude, three separate times. another says wolfsmith wanted to get her measurements. she alleges he pulled her underwear down and said, "it's okay. i'm your coach. i can do this." female: i don't want someone else to have to go through what we went through. liz: wolfsmith now faces 13 sexual assault related charges and an empty gym. the city of morgan hill forced him to close at the end of june, but it appears wolfsmith may have plans to open a new gym here in san jose. according to city records, in august, wolfsmith registered a personal training business with the city. twice, our camera found him at the address listed for wolfsmith training. tim mcinerny: mr. wolfsmith should never operate a personal training business, period. liz: tim mcinerny is prosecuting the case for the santa clara county district attorney's office. is this an uncommon move for an individual to shut down in one location to reopen a business somewhere else? tim: i think it shows an extreme level of arrogance. i've never seen that. liz: we reached out to wolfsmith for an interview. his wife sent us this statement, saying he denies the allegations. she writes, "we are proud of our contributions to the morgan hill community." wolfsmith's attorney says the police investigation was, "less than objective from the start," adding, "every man has the right to support their family." tim: we have to be the ones to monitor his activities. liz: mcinerny says the da's office is working with san jose police and the city to close down wolfsmith's new gym. tim: it's like whack-a-mole. you know, we take care of him in morgan hill, and then he pops up someplace else. and so, we're waiting for him to pop up, he has. liz: but this woman wants to know why authorities have to wait for wolfsmith to pop up before taking action. female: he shuts down one door and opens up a brand new one somewhere else. liz: former clients of mr. wolfsmith are wondering why he can apply for and receive a business license for a personal training business without any red flags going up. wendy sollazzi: well, the city's business tax ordinance is strictly for revenue generation for municipal purposes. it's not intended for regulation. liz: wendy sollazzi manages the revenue division for the city of san jose's finance department. she says the city will issue a business tax certificate to anyone who pays the required business tax. wendy: it's not proof of any adherence to city, county, state, federal regulations, or requirements. liz: some businesses, like massage parlors, require extra regulatory permits. personal training does not. tim: we're taking all appropriate action. liz: mcinerny says prosecutors routinely collaborate with city departments to close down businesses they believe pose public safety threats. the system is working? tim: the system is working. the city was not aware of it. they will be aware of it now. bigad: authorities in san jose have taken no official action. they say they haven't been able to verify if clients are actually going to wolfsmith's gym. he's expected in court for a plea hearing later this month. announcer: coming up next, we dig into the fec's voting records to see how the agency charged with protecting your voting laws instead does little to nothing at all. they're bringing crime, when mexthey're rapists.ople... are you going to have a massive deportation force? you're going to have a deportation force. we're rounding 'em up in a very humane way, in a very nice way. we're going to build a wall. that's not america. we're all californians. i'm tom steyer. it's time to speak out. please, register. and vote. vote. nextgen california action committee is responsible for the content of this advertising. because shevery year. ow that it kills 40,000 californians... because she doesn't understand what cancer is. because she can't spell emphysema. because she is a butterfly, who fights fires. because she is my daughter, and the surgeon general says that raising tobacco taxes... is a proven way to make sure she never smokes. that's why i'm voting yes on 56. bigad: the federal election commission is supposed to make sure all of our elections are fair, but political gridlock seems to be getting in the way. senior investigative reporter stephen stock looked at thousands of complaints that were sent to the fec, dating back more than a decade. here's what he found. complaints can linger in the system for years with no action. stephen stock: four years ago, it was a sensation in los angeles county. male: i don't want to see porn leave la. stephen: a proposed ordinance called measure b put before voters to require porn stars to use condoms when filming explicit sex scenes. male: i want to see people have the right to be protected. stephen: but experts say many voters missed the even bigger impact that campaign had on general election law as a whole. female: a mandatory condom law will not make our workplace any safer. stephen: because foreign money backed much of the opposition to measure b, the federal elections commission, the fec, was asked to step in. american election law prohibits foreign money from funding political campaigns. but despite that, in this case, the fec did nothing, forcing california's fair political practices commission to intervene and move to stop the foreign money. ann ravel: this issue was really, really upsetting to me. stephen: bay area native ann ravel once worked for california's fppc. she now serves on the fec in washington. ann: we're not accomplishing what congress intended us to accomplish. stephen: founded in the wake of the watergate scandal that ended with president nixon's resignation, the fec is made up of 3 republicans, 2 democrats, and an independent, who our analysis found voted with the democrats 92% of the time, causing a 3-3 deadlock. the fec was designed to create, regulate, and enforce election law. ann: unfortunately, we don't really do any of those things. stephen: so, we teamed with our nbc investigative partners in washington dc to check the fec's own records and see if that was true. reviewing nearly 1,900 cases dating back to 2000, we found the average investigation of a complaint took a year and two and a half months to complete, or close, even cases where they took no action. forty-two percent of all those cases went on longer than a year. compare that to california's fppc, where only 12% of the cases stay open longer than a year. mark everson: it's dysfunctional. stephen: mark everson is a former irs commissioner, who also ran for president as a republican this campaign cycle. mark: i think the members themselves understand it, and i think that the political players understand it, and that's why they can take advantage of it. stephen: we dug even further and found the problems of delays grew starting after 2009. this graph shows the number of closed or decided cases dropping dramatically through this year. in fact, our analysis found that it now takes an average of a year and 10 months to even get to a vote. and when they did vote, republicans voted as a block 98% of the time. democrats and that independent voted together 87% of the time. paul: the fec is atrocious at enforcing our campaign finance laws. stephen: paul ryan serves as deputy director of the non-partisan campaign legal center. paul: nothing's getting done, lots of deadlocks. stephen: the fec's own calendar even shows deadlocks kept some cases open 4 years or longer. one case remained open 9 1/2 years. paul: the republican commissioners are just as unwilling to enforce the law against democrats who break it as they are to enforce it against republicans who break it, so they're not trying to do republicans a favor. they're trying to do all candidates, and parties, and outside groups, big spenders a favor by letting them run roughshod over the law. stephen: do you believe there are people in power in congress who like it this way? ann: i do believe that there are people in power who like it. there are people who do not want any change at the fec. stephen: why? ann: because they understand that if the law is actually enforced at the fec, it can have implications for how campaigns are run. matthew petersen: i would strongly dispute that. stephen: at their regular open commission meeting on september 15, republican appointees spoke through their chairman, matthew petersen. matthew: there is no signaling, so to speak, to say that, you know, you're free and clear to do whatever you want because we're just not going to enforce. the cases where we've had a disagreement are based on a disagreement over what the law requires and prohibits. stephen: but even chairman petersen conceded the fec can do better. matthew: there have been times when i think all of us would agree that we need to do a better job, and i think that we have done a better job this year at getting through those matters. stephen: why should mom and dad at home care about this? ann: they should care about the fact that we are supposed to make sure that it's fair. stephen: it seems like you can't get agreement on anything. ann: not on very much. bigad: the fec's inaction now has the attention of a federal court, which ruled the commission misinterpreted campaign finance law when it dismissed complaints against two conservative superpacs raising dark money. experts say that one ruling could slow down the use of untraceable campaign cash currently flooding the system. now, if you have a story for us, call our tip line, that's 888-996-tips. you can also send us an email to theunit@nbcbayarea.com. and that's it for us tonight. thanks for joining us. you can watch our investigations regularly right here on nbc bay area. have a great night. [music] [music] cc by aberdeen captioning 1-800-688-6621 www.abercap.com the final debate is done. hi, welcome to "access hollywood" weekend edition. i'm liz hernandez. trump and clinton faced off final time in las vegas. there i found a baldwin family divided, trump supporter stephen saying, he does not find brother alec baldwin's impersonation of trump very funny. no handshakes before or after the debate. where hillary wearing a white ralph lauren suit outspoke trump by six minutes. clinton talking 40 minutes. trump 34. >> hea didn't get an emmy for hs tv program three years in a row started tweeting the emmys were rigged. >> should have gotten it. >> following a subdued first half-hour. trump interrupted hillary 67 times at one point calling hillary a nasty woman. >> he can't figure out how to get out of it. what we want to do. >> such a a nasty woman. >> hillary supporter mark skew ban took offense speaking with us backstage in the media packed room. >> calling her liar, liar, liar, crooked, crooked, crooked. calling her every name he can thing of. she comes back at him one time. and he is intimidated and calls her a nasty woman. that's just crazy. >> onean

Related Keywords

Mexico , United States , Santa Clara University , California , Washington , Santa Clara County , Indiana University , Indiana , Hollywood , San Diego , Los Angeles County , Morgan Hill , Californians , America , American , Matthew Petersen , Vicky Nguyen , Ann Ravel , Dania Alvarenga , Tom Steyer , Ron Thompson , Ralph Lauren , Las Vegas , Richard Doyle , Liz Wagner , David Armstrong , Alec Baldwin , Paul Ryan , Sarah Cole , Liz Hernandez ,