News

Banking News

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U.S. state bankers’ associations jointly sent a letter to leaders of a key Senate panel saying they support cannabis banking reform and urging the committee to hold a hearing on the overall merits of such legislation.

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Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, sent a formal letter to Congressional leaders last week demanding that lawmakers pass the SAFE Banking Act or similar legislation that would provide a safe harbor for banks to provide financial services to the marijuana industry.

A bill to allow financial institutions to assist the cannabis industry without penalization has backing on both sides of the aisle and from the White House.

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A survey found that 82% of banking executives want the federal government to allow financial services providers to do business with the marijuana industry. 

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In the News

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Take it to the bank

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Manuchin told a federal lawmakers that there is no regulatory solution to existing banking access issues for the marijuana industry, and he encouraged Congress to resolve the problem with legislation “on a bipartisan basis.”

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Cannabis helping kids stand up to bullies 

Parkview Elementary School in Lamar uses more than $100,000 a year it receives from the state’s cannabis taxes for its anti-bullying program. The program has made a big difference in the lives of elementary school kids.

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No legal immigrants need apply?

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and City Attorney Kristin Bronson are pressing the Trump administration to rethink its citizenship policies after legal immigrants in Denver have been denied the opportunity to become naturalized citizens because they work in the marijuana industry.

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Legal banking for state regulated marijuana companies – I guarantee it

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U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), who sits on the House Financial Services Committee, purportedly “guaranteed” that a bill allowing banks to legally service state-regulated marijuana companies “is “going to pass the House overwhelmingly” according to former U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA). “Democrats want it. Banks want it. The Republicans are split. But the main obstacle before was [former Attorney General] Jeff Sessions, who was obstinate on this, and now he’s gone,” said Frank, who has joined with Beantown Greentown, a local group of underground growers, marketers, and event organizers trying to go legit.

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Even Denver Mayor Michael Hancock weighed in, tweeting: “Time is long overdue for marijuana businesses to have access to the same banking and financial services that other legitimate U.S. businesses have. Let’s make this happen.”

Who Tweeted It?

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“#TBT That time I rode  a car with an Oregon cannabis business owner to deliver a $70,000 tax payments.”   

U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR). 

 

Quotable

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“Every one of those dollars has to be proven to be a valid, legitimate dollar, and that is very labor-intensive. It is not that banks and credit unions don’t want to get in and serve this industry — they do — but the roadblocks are real.”

Cannabis banker Sundie Seefried

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Let Cannabis Companies Operate Like Other Legitimate Businesses

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That was the clear message delivered from Ron Kammerzell, who oversaw the Marijuana Enforcement Division at the Colorado Department of Revenue, and Nate Bruggeman, an assistant attorney general at the Colorado Department of Law’s Marijuana Enforcement Division. 

“One specific area that warrants serious consideration is the prohibition on publicly traded companies from holding marijuana business licenses or investing in Colorado marijuana companies,” they wrote in The Denver Post. Not only does the prohibition not enhance public safety, they said, it “is depriving Colorado businesses of access to needed investment capital.”

Kammerzell and Bruggeman also suggested that Colorado update, simplify and streamline it’s marijuana laws.  

Denver Post Article »

Headlines

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Cannabis industry slowly wooing banks

While most banks are still weary, some are finding ways to jump into the cannabis space.

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State expands cannabis education campaign

The new “Responsibility Grows Here” campaign targets youth, tourists and pregnant and breastfeeding women.

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‘Cannabis girl’ fights to operate cannabis gym

City of Wheat Ridge and Fit Cannabis Girl at odds over whether business is a gym or marijuana club.

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In The News

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Just Say Yes

The New York Times magazine highlights the small Colorado financial institutions that are trying to solve the legal marijuana industry’s banking problems.

Cannabis and women’s health

A new study shows women with children still living at home are the most likely demographic to use marijuana for health and wellness.

2017 marijuana sales break 2016 record

Colorado officials report marijuana sales for the first 11 months surpassed the $1.31 billion recorded during the entirety of 2016. But the once astronomical sales growth rates are beginning to hit a more realistic pace.

Colorado Speaker of the House Crisanta Duran and Colorado Leads members met this month to talk about ways the cannabis industry can expand on its partnerships with state and local leaders to educate the public about Colorado’s responsible marijuana regulations. Colorado’s rules and regulations have become a model for the nation.