By Alan Hanson There are many articles written about the issues surrounding banking Marijuana-Related Businesses (MRBs), but there are very few that discuss how banks can actually do this. And there are even fewer written by someone who has successfully helped a bank do it! As general counsel and compliance officer for an Oregon credit union, […]
Bank Secrecy Act
A Half-Banked Industry — New Cannabis Businesses Need Access To Financial Service
By Adam Crabtree, Andrew Freedman and Crystal Good If you ever open a cannabis business, you will have this meeting: Some really big guys will contact you about your cash problem. A cash problem only they could solve. It will require unmarked, bullet-proof vans, guns, more big guys, and some special relationships with government officials. […]
Cannabis, Congress and Courage: Why Banks aren’t Banking Marijuana Businesses
By Jim Richards In January 2018, Attorney General Sessions “revoked Obama-era guidance that had effectuated a hands-off approach to state-legalized cannabis businesses.” This quote from an online National Law Journal article (see https://www.law.com/nationallawjournal/2018/09/11/feds-should-be-banging-the-drum-the-loudest-for-cannabis-industry-banking/?slreturn=20180812164053) and others like it, have been used by both (all?) sides of the marijuana argument currently embroiling America. But what, exactly, did […]
Cannabis Banking Issues: All Cash and Not A Lot of Protection
By Steven Schain Ever accidentally find $5.4 billion of cash in your back pocket? The cannabis industry did in 2015, after virtually no bank would accept legalized marijuana sales deposits. Instead, because the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, 21 U.S.C. Section 801, Et. Seq (1970) (Controlled Substance Act), prohibits “manufacture, distribution, and dispensation” […]
Marijuana Law: Protecting Your Client and License
By Steven Schain It’s really here, it’s really lucrative and it’s really tricky.Joining 23 states and the District of Columbia, legalized medical cannabis has come to Pennsylvania in the form of the Medical Marijuana Act, signed into law on April 17 and set to take effect May 16. At that point, 80 percent of America’s […]
