US marijuana banking regulations on the way

poledriver

poledriver

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US marijuana banking regulations on the way

Attorney General Eric Holder says the Obama administration is planning to roll out regulations soon that would allow banks to do business with legal marijuana sellers.

During an appearance today at the University of Virginia, Holder said it is important from a law enforcement perspective to enable places that sell marijuana to have access to the banking system so they don't have large amounts of cash lying around.

Currently, processing money from marijuana sales puts federally insured banks at risk of drug racketeering charges.

Because of the threat of criminal prosecution, financial institutions often refuse to let marijuana-related businesses open accounts.

The issue has taken on some urgency now that Colorado and Washington have become the first states to legalise recreational use of marijuana.

http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/us-marijuana-banking-regulations-way-5807175
 
Holder: Feds to set rules for banks and pot money

Holder: Feds to set rules for banks and pot money
By JOSH GERSTEIN
1/23/14 5:33 PM EST

The Obama administration will soon announce regulations to make it easier for banks to do business with legal marijuana sellers, Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday.

"You don’t want just huge amounts of cash in these places. They want to be able to use the banking system," Holder said during an appearance at the University of Virginia's Miller Center. "There’s a public safety component to this. Huge amounts of cash—substantial amounts of cash just kind of lying around with no place for it to be appropriately deposited is something that would worry me, just from a law enforcement perspective."

While Holder spoke twice of new "regulations" that were being prepared, a Justice Department spokesman said later that the attorney general was referring to legal "guidance" for prosecutors and federal law enforcement. Such a legal memo wouldn't be enforceable in court and would amount to less than the kind of clear safe harbor many banks say they would want before accepting money from pot businesses.

The federal banking accommodation, being worked out jointly by the Justice and the Treasury departments, comes in the wake of decisions by voters in Colorado and Washington state to legalize the sale and possession of pot. The moves have created legal tensions, since marijuana remains illegal under federal law. One particular problem has been the refusal of banks to deal with pot-related businesses out of fears they will be accused of violating money laundering laws.

"We’re in the process now of working with our colleagues at the Treasury Department to come up with regulations that will deal with this issue," Holder said. He added that the new rules were likely to emerge "very soon" and were not intended to amount to a blessing of marijuana by the federal government. "It is an attempt to deal with a reality that exists in these states," he said.

Holder did not specify whether the rules would apply only in the states which have broadly legalized marijuana, or also to states which have legalized it for medicinal use.

In August, the attorney general announced the Obama Administration would not seek to overturn the Colorado and Washington state measures. He said federal drug agents would continue to leave most drug law enforcement to local authorities and would focus on large drug operations, setting priorities that appeared to make it unlikely the feds would engage in aggressive enforcement in the states which have legalized pot.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/under...eds-to-let-banks-handle-pot-money-181777.html

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FunctionalOlfactio said:
While Holder spoke twice of new "regulations" that were being prepared, a Justice Department spokesman said later that the attorney general was referring to legal "guidance" for prosecutors and federal law enforcement. Such a legal memo wouldn't be enforceable in court and would amount to less than the kind of clear safe harbor many banks say they would want before accepting money from pot businesses.
Click to expand...

Need I mention how pointless such memos have been in the past?

http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads...Slam-Obama-for-Broken-Promises?highlight=memo
 
23536 said:
Need I mention how pointless such memos have been in the past?

http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads...Slam-Obama-for-Broken-Promises?highlight=memo
Click to expand...

Perspective is important here. I am admittedly overt so please don't take offence to this, none is intended.

The above is interesting. Politicians tend to play their statements in a way to allow flexibility to promote their personal motives. It is always disappointing to see a leader play a situation with such strategic antisymmetry. This is the norm these days. The current generation learned this from their predecessors and this behaviour is so omnipresent I try to avoid casting moral judgement on this lest I condemn the majority of the western world.

In 2008 Obama was working to be elected and had a bunch of votes to earn. This holds true for the duration of his first term as well. Now Obama is a lame duck and can focus more on posterity and legacy. The majority of Americans favour cannabis legalization and this opinion is rapidly becoming more popular. Obama doesn't have to worry about re-election and I expect him continue to exploit the trend towards legalization to solidify his legacy with younger generations by supporting legalization.

The other important factor is tax revenue. If legalization of cannabis succeeds the government needs to set the foundation for a reliable method of holding cannabis distributors accountable for their income now. Cash only businesses are ideal for tax evasion and money laundering. If the government wants to insure it can reliably tax revenue on this industry in the future it needs to set the precedent now by giving banks confidence in the legality of working with these businesses.

I EXPECT A DECREE MORE SOLID THAN A SIMPLE MEMO IN THE NEXT YEAR. IF THIS OCCURS AND BANKS RECEIVE SOLID LEGAL GUIDELINES ON HOW TO DEAL WITH THIS INDUSTRY I PREDICT CANNABIS LEGALIZATION WILL SNOWBALL AT THE STATE LEVEL IN THE FOLLOWING FIVE YEARS.

--------------------
http://www.shulginresearch.org
http://www.freeleonardpickard.org
http://www.maps.org
http://www.erowid.org
 
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I'm just saying, if I'm a bank, I do nothing until weed is completely removed from the controlled sUbstances act.
 
If I were a bank I would be the first one to realize that this is going to happen and be the first one to open my doors to the new business.. growers and MJ people have strong loyalty and this would be the smart move IMO.
 
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