One of the biggest obstacles that businesses operating in the cannabis industry face is finding a bank that will work with them. Even ancillary marijuana businesses and people and businesses associated with the marijuana industry have banking problems. To date, there isn’t a perfect solution. While some startups are trying to solve those problems, former […]
Banking
Banking Evolution
The cannabis industry is evolving rapidly and so should your perception of banking. I recently attended the Second Annual State of the Cannabis Industry Conference, in Massachusetts. The event was organized by the cannabis law practice of Burns & Levinson and by Viridian Capital Advisors, a financial advisory firm dedicated to the cannabis industry, with […]
Is This the Solution to the Marijuana Banking Problem?
There are many aspects of the marijuana banking problem that are a long way from being solved. One of the biggest problems is payment processing – getting money from consumers’ hands to marijuana businesses’ bank accounts. In June of this year, both the Senate Appropriations Committee and the House Appropriations Committee voted to block marijuana […]
ICYMI: Legitimate Marijuana Reform May Be On The Horizon For . . . Congress!
By Hilary Bricken The political stars may finally be aligned to see meaningful marijuana law reform be puff-puff-passed. It seems like every year, the old pot guard in Congress tries its hand at some form of marijuana legalization. Though these sorts of actions attract headlines (and votes?), they never seem to go anywhere. But for […]
Banks Gaining Confidence, Opening Doors to Navigable Pathway for Cannabusinesses
Banking for the cannabis industry has been a challenge to say the least. That said, there exists a navigable pathway for existing cannabis markets and for new state markets to follow. In light of lingering concerns that Attorney General Jeff Sessions will crack down on marijuana, the industry continues to see increased support from banking institutions. […]
How to Open a Marijuana Bank Account
According to the Associated Press (AP), more than 300 banks and credit unions (institutions) in the United States now handle marijuana money. This is almost a 500% increase from early 2014. There are more than 25 states with some form of a legal marijuana market, and more marijuana-related bank accounts are opening every day. Companies […]
Start-Ups Step Up and Try to Solve the Cannabis Industry’s Banking Problem
When Lamine Zarrad was not at his job as a federal banking regulator in recent months, he was spending a lot of time at Denver’s marijuana dispensaries. As a federal employee, he could not partake of the pot. He was there, instead, to pitch the shops on a start-up he has been working on in […]
Did the Federal Government Legalize Marijuana? Not quite…
Not quite, but a Bill Just Passed is a Positive First Step By Jonathan Gilinski What is the significance of this bill? Under the Rohrabacher-Farr bill, the federal government no longer has any say or oversight in policing or regulating the plant for medicinal purposes in the 23 medical states, leaving the decision-making up to […]
Federal Judge Has Misgivings About a Charter for Marijuana Credit Union
A federal judge said Monday he sympathizes with pot businesses faced with contradictory regulations, but he expressed misgivings about forcing federal officials to approve a marijuana credit union. U.S. District Judge R. Brooke Jackson made it clear at a court hearing that he was not inclined to issue an injunction forcing the Federal Reserve Bank […]
Feds Deal Another Setback For Cannabis Banking in Colorado
Colorado’s attempt to create a bank to service its marijuana industry has suffered another setback by the federal government and could be facing an impossible dilemma. The Federal Reserve — the guardian of the U.S. banking system — said in a court filing Wednesday that it doesn’t intend to accept a penny connected to the […]
New York Medical Marijuana Businesses Say They Have Set Up Bank Relationships
Several companies preparing to open medical marijuana businesses in New York state say they have established relationships with banks as some dispensaries outside the state have struggled with cash-only operations. Because the substance remains illegal under federal law, banks have been cautious, shying away from doing business with dispensaries and manufacturers in other states where […]
Kansas City Fed in the Middle of Marijuana Banking Debate
The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City finds itself in the middle of a heated debate about the legalization of marijuana, as the target of a lawsuit filed by a credit union seeking to serve the industry. The Kansas City Fed denied Fourth Corner Credit Union — a state-chartered credit union founded in Colorado in […]
Would a State-Run Bank of Marijuana Solve the Industry’s Banking Issues?
A member of the state tax board is on a mission to establish a banking system for California’s medical marijuana industry so growers and retailers can begin paying taxes. Banks won’t serve the industry today because all forms of cannabis are illegal under federal law. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration regularly warns banks against providing […]
Senate Panel Approves Bill to Let Banks Provide Services to Marijuana Businesses
A key Senate committee passed a bill today allowing the nation’s capital to establish regulated marijuana stores and let banks provide financial services to state-legalized marijuana dispensaries. These are just two of several marijuana reforms advancing in Congress. Meanwhile sentencing reform is gaining steam, and the U.S. is shifting towards treating drug use as a […]
Bipartisan Marijuana Banking Reform Bill Introduced in U.S. Senate
Reflecting growing public support for changing the nation’s drug laws, a bipartisan group of senators on Thursday introduced the chamber’s first bill that would legalize banking for recreational marijuana companies. Introduced by the Senate delegations from Oregon and Colorado, two of the first states to legalize recreational marijuana, the bill would prohibit the federal government […]
The State of Illinois Has a Big Issue When It Comes to Marijuana Cash
CHICAGO — The state of Illinois is having trouble finding a bank or financial services company to process the large amounts of cash it anticipates receiving for taxes and fees from the new medical marijuana industry. The state treasurer’s office received no response to an official solicitation published last fall, so Illinois State Treasurer Michael […]
Federal Banking Rules Pose a Problem for Medical Dispensaries in Illinois
Illinois residents now are free to apply for and receive licenses for medical marijuana prescriptions, and the state already has issued about 2,500 for patients with conditions that could be eased by use of the drug. But how can they buy their medications if the state’s limited number of licensed dispensaries can’t take their customers’ […]
Las Vegas Bank Now Says They Won’t Serve Cannabis Industry
A Las Vegas bank that planned to offer accounts to medical marijuana businesses has backed off, citing the astronomical cost of complying with federal regulations. First Security Bank of Nevada’s decision leaves some in the legal cannabis industry scrambling for a place to put their money just as they get ready to open for business. […]
