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Obama administration issue new banking rules for marijuana businesses
Justice Department and Treasury Department Announce New Guidelines Allowing Banks to Work With Marijuana Businesses
Policy Changes Will Protect Public Safety, Honor the Will of the Voters, and Help Small Businesses
Statement from the Drug Policy Alliance’s Ethan Nadelmann: White House Appears to be Working in Good Faith with Colorado and Washington’s Efforts to Responsibly Regulate Marijuana
This afternoon, the Obama Administration announced new guidelines that will allow banks to legally provide financial services to state-licensed marijuana businesses. Twenty states and Washington D.C. have legalized marijuana for medical use; two of those states (Colorado and Washington) recently legalized marijuana like alcohol.
Many banks have been afraid to open checking or savings accounts for legalized marijuana businesses out of fear of breaking federal law. As a result these businesses are forced to deal with large amounts of cash, creating public safety risks for employees, bystanders, and police officers.
In a joint statement, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, said the move gives "greater financial transparency" to an industry that remains illegal in nearly every state. It also makes clear that banks would be helping law enforcement with "information that is particularly valuable" in filing regular reports that offer insights about how marijuana businesses work.
Holder’s announcement closely follows guidance issued in August by the Justice Department that indicated the Obama administration will not undermine state marijuana legalization provided states are responsibly regulating marijuana businesses. In a recent interview with The New Yorker, President Obama said marijuana is less harmful to people who use it than alcohol, the war on marijuana is creating unjust racial disparities, and it is important for legalization to move forward in Colorado and Washington “because it’s important for society not to have a situation in which a large portion of people have at one time or another broken the law and only a select few get punished.”
Statement from Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance:
“It appears that the Obama Administration is trying to provide as much protection as possible for the marijuana industry, given the constraints of federal law,” said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. “The assurances the administration have provided appear fairly substantial and will hopefully prove sufficient so that banks will feel safe doing business with the marijuana industry. I have to say I’m impressed by how the White House is trying to make this work, especially given the inability of Congress to do anything constructive in this area.”
http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/2014/02/justice-department-and-treasury-department-announce-new-guidelines-allowing-banks-work-
Policy Changes Will Protect Public Safety, Honor the Will of the Voters, and Help Small Businesses
Statement from the Drug Policy Alliance’s Ethan Nadelmann: White House Appears to be Working in Good Faith with Colorado and Washington’s Efforts to Responsibly Regulate Marijuana
This afternoon, the Obama Administration announced new guidelines that will allow banks to legally provide financial services to state-licensed marijuana businesses. Twenty states and Washington D.C. have legalized marijuana for medical use; two of those states (Colorado and Washington) recently legalized marijuana like alcohol.
Many banks have been afraid to open checking or savings accounts for legalized marijuana businesses out of fear of breaking federal law. As a result these businesses are forced to deal with large amounts of cash, creating public safety risks for employees, bystanders, and police officers.
In a joint statement, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, said the move gives "greater financial transparency" to an industry that remains illegal in nearly every state. It also makes clear that banks would be helping law enforcement with "information that is particularly valuable" in filing regular reports that offer insights about how marijuana businesses work.
Holder’s announcement closely follows guidance issued in August by the Justice Department that indicated the Obama administration will not undermine state marijuana legalization provided states are responsibly regulating marijuana businesses. In a recent interview with The New Yorker, President Obama said marijuana is less harmful to people who use it than alcohol, the war on marijuana is creating unjust racial disparities, and it is important for legalization to move forward in Colorado and Washington “because it’s important for society not to have a situation in which a large portion of people have at one time or another broken the law and only a select few get punished.”
Statement from Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance:
“It appears that the Obama Administration is trying to provide as much protection as possible for the marijuana industry, given the constraints of federal law,” said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. “The assurances the administration have provided appear fairly substantial and will hopefully prove sufficient so that banks will feel safe doing business with the marijuana industry. I have to say I’m impressed by how the White House is trying to make this work, especially given the inability of Congress to do anything constructive in this area.”
http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/2014/02/justice-department-and-treasury-department-announce-new-guidelines-allowing-banks-work-
Medical Marijuana Advocates Welcome Long Awaited Change in Banking Policy for Licensed Businesses
Advocates vow to continue pressure on Obama Administration to establish comprehensive medical marijuana policy
February 14, 2014 | Kris Hermes
Washington, D.C. -- Medical marijuana advocates are applauding a new memorandum issued today by the U.S. Departments of Treasury (DOT) and Justice (DOJ) giving long-awaited guidance to financial institutions, such as banks and credit unions, to provide services to marijuana-related businesses in states where it's legal. A refusal to engage in these services has plagued medical marijuana businesses for years, dating back to the Bush Administration. Due to an aggressive accelerated policy under Obama Administration, States like California, Colorado, Washington, Michigan and others have been forced to deal in large amounts of cash.
The memo issued today by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the DOJ "clarifies customer due diligence expectations and reporting requirements for financial institutions seeking to provide services to marijuana businesses," said a press release issued by FinCEN. The memo also includes clarity for credit card service companies, such as VISA and MasterCard, whose services for medical marijuana-related businesses had also been suspended for years.
Nearly all of the more than 1,000 licensed dispensaries in California and Colorado have for years been forced to operate on a cash-only basis, considerably increasing the risk not just for the affected medical marijuana businesses, but also for the tens of thousands of patients who have had to use cash to obtain their medication. To make matters worse, due to apparent pressure from the Obama Administration, armored car companies began refusing to service licensed medical marijuana businesses last year.
"We have been pushing the federal government for years to make these commonsense concessions and we're pleased that the Obama Administration is finally doing so," said Steph Sherer, Executive Director of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), which successfully lobbied members of Congress in 2010 to change the administration's errant policy. "At the same time, a piecemeal approach to medical marijuana policy is shortsighted and is an issue that deserves a comprehensive public health solution."
Although the federal government has issued guidance memoranda concerning discrete marijuana policy for a number of executive departments, such as DOJ, Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Veterans Affairs (VA), the Obama Administration has so far failed to address medical marijuana in a comprehensive policy framework. For example, the reclassification of marijuana from its current status as a Schedule I substance, a dangerous drug with no medical value, has been long sought by advocates like ASA but strenuously resisted by the federal government.
"We will certainly be working with banks, credit unions, and credit card companies to ensure proper implementation of this federal guidance," continued Sherer. "Removing the risks of operating as an 'all-cash' business cannot be overstated, but we will also continue to put pressure on the Obama Administration to wrap these types of discrete practices into a more comprehensive medical marijuana policy."
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/medical_marijuana_advocates_welcome_long_awaited_change_in_banking_policy_for_licensed_businesses
Advocates vow to continue pressure on Obama Administration to establish comprehensive medical marijuana policy
February 14, 2014 | Kris Hermes
Washington, D.C. -- Medical marijuana advocates are applauding a new memorandum issued today by the U.S. Departments of Treasury (DOT) and Justice (DOJ) giving long-awaited guidance to financial institutions, such as banks and credit unions, to provide services to marijuana-related businesses in states where it's legal. A refusal to engage in these services has plagued medical marijuana businesses for years, dating back to the Bush Administration. Due to an aggressive accelerated policy under Obama Administration, States like California, Colorado, Washington, Michigan and others have been forced to deal in large amounts of cash.
The memo issued today by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the DOJ "clarifies customer due diligence expectations and reporting requirements for financial institutions seeking to provide services to marijuana businesses," said a press release issued by FinCEN. The memo also includes clarity for credit card service companies, such as VISA and MasterCard, whose services for medical marijuana-related businesses had also been suspended for years.
Nearly all of the more than 1,000 licensed dispensaries in California and Colorado have for years been forced to operate on a cash-only basis, considerably increasing the risk not just for the affected medical marijuana businesses, but also for the tens of thousands of patients who have had to use cash to obtain their medication. To make matters worse, due to apparent pressure from the Obama Administration, armored car companies began refusing to service licensed medical marijuana businesses last year.
"We have been pushing the federal government for years to make these commonsense concessions and we're pleased that the Obama Administration is finally doing so," said Steph Sherer, Executive Director of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), which successfully lobbied members of Congress in 2010 to change the administration's errant policy. "At the same time, a piecemeal approach to medical marijuana policy is shortsighted and is an issue that deserves a comprehensive public health solution."
Although the federal government has issued guidance memoranda concerning discrete marijuana policy for a number of executive departments, such as DOJ, Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Veterans Affairs (VA), the Obama Administration has so far failed to address medical marijuana in a comprehensive policy framework. For example, the reclassification of marijuana from its current status as a Schedule I substance, a dangerous drug with no medical value, has been long sought by advocates like ASA but strenuously resisted by the federal government.
"We will certainly be working with banks, credit unions, and credit card companies to ensure proper implementation of this federal guidance," continued Sherer. "Removing the risks of operating as an 'all-cash' business cannot be overstated, but we will also continue to put pressure on the Obama Administration to wrap these types of discrete practices into a more comprehensive medical marijuana policy."
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/medical_marijuana_advocates_welcome_long_awaited_change_in_banking_policy_for_licensed_businesses
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Thanks ProSense~