Alaska Attorney General Calls On Lawmakers To Revamp Federal Banking Rules Surrounding Cannabis Activity

The Attorney General from Alaska, Jahna Lindemuth, has gotten together with a bipartisan group that consists of 18 attorneys general from states that have legalized cannabis, to call for a change to federal rules surrounding banking activity for cannabis exchanges in the market.

Together, the group sent a letter to congressional leaders and they are asking for a safe harbor to be established so that banks can help cannabis businesses to take care of the billions of dollars in revenue that they are generating.

They want banks to be able to do business with the companies who are licensed pot retailers.

At the moment, a great deal of entrepreneurs in the cannabis space have had difficulty in securing financing, obtaining insurance, and carrying out other financial activities, because of the gray around surrounding the legality of the work they are involved in.

This means that customers often can't use debit or credit cards when making purchases with these cannabis companies. And because of this, many are left operating solely with cash.

Cannabis might have been legalized in many states already, but it still remains prohibited federally and this is why there is the difficulty for them of obtaining financing through traditional banking methods.

Thankfully, cryptocurrency provides an alternative to banks. And experts have suggested that the cannabis industry for this reason could be a front-runner in moving to adopt cryptocurrency as a payment alternative.

Though it might be difficult to try and find a bank that will work with a cannabis company, it's estimated that there are at least a few out there currently who are willing to work with them.

More Control...

Unfortunately, the motivation for lawmakers is often about control and not really about helping people. And they've already suggested that by allowing banks to make exchanges with these businesses, that it would allow for law enforcement to better track the exchanges, and help bring billions more into the traditional banking sector.

Those attorneys general who've gotten together to sign the letter, come from states like New York, California, and Iowa. And they don't want the banks to miss out on this business. It's estimated that for 2016, legal cannabis sales were around $6.7 billion and by 2021 it's expected that it could easily pass the $20 billion mark.

For lawmakers who've already demonstrated that they are rather incapable of balancing a budget or operating in such a fashion that doesn't fuel continual, crippling amounts of debt, no doubt getting hundreds of millions of dollars more in funding to play with sure looks appealing.

In their letter, they've asked Congress to fast-track the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act that got introduced last year.

One of the changes that this legislation makes is that it prohibits federal regulators from trying to terminate or limit deposit insurance for a bank if they are found to be servicing businesses in the cannabis market. It also seeks to protect banks from any prosecution that might arise due to their activity working with cannabis entrepreneurs.

Right now, the proposal, which has been cosponsored by at least 12 senators, is in a Senate committee and there still hasn't been a hearing. Some of the senators that have supported the initiative include people like Bernie Sanders, Cory Gardner, Rand Paul, and others.

Pics:
Diana Quach via Vocativ
via vocativ.com/349890/marijuana-schedule/index.html
via cyberpot.com

Sources:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/11/banking-restrictions-on-the-pot-industry-may-benefit-security-business.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/debraborchardt/2017/01/03/marijuana-sales-totaled-6-7-billion-in-2016/#60f301f175e3
https://www.alaskapublic.org/2018/01/16/ak-attorney-general-asks-congress-to-open-banking-for-pot-businesses/
https://www.ktoo.org/2018/01/16/alaska-attorney-general-asks-congress-open-banking-pot-businesses/
https://www.courthousenews.com/states-ask-congress-to-open-banks-up-to-pot-industry/
http://www.vocativ.com/363932/cops-still-make-a-marijuana-arrest-every-49-seconds/index.html
https://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/12/15/bitcoin-offers-the-cannabis-industry-an-alternative-to-banks.html
https://perlmutter.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1750
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/1152

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