Colorado's booming cannabis sector may be a boon for the state's coffers but it is proving to be a headache for banks, even when they don't maintain accounts for dispensaries. Since legalizing the sale of marijuana for recreational purposes in January, the state has collected more than $37 million in related taxes and licensing fees, according to the Colorado Department of Revenue Services. That total complements the roughly $13 million in revenue the state has garnered this year from businesses that sell medical marijuana, first legalized in 2010. "It's kind of the Wild West," said Jeffrey Asher, senior vice president...
The U.S. Justice Department will draft a plan to more effectively discern whether state and local governments are effectively enforcing federal priorities for state-licensed cannabis sales, a governmental watchdog said Monday.
A little-noticed amendment to a U.S. appropriations bill could do what lawmakers and lobbying groups alike have failed to do: ensure that banks don't pay for taking on state-licensed cannabis companies.
Even after the expected signing of a Colorado state measure clearing the way for marijuana dispensaries to bank themselves, the companies will face a long slog to acceptance by financial institutions.
The nation's financial intelligence unit will weigh whether additional guidance is needed on how banks should treat clients tangentially or directly associated with state-sanctioned marijuana dispensaries, according to sources.
Leaders of the U.S. Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control sharply criticized the head of the nation's financial intelligence unit for issuing guidance on how banks can treat marijuana dispensaries.
A number of marijuana dispensaries are attempting to convert their profits into securities and other investments to hedge against the threat of having their bank accounts frozen and subjected to federal asset forfeiture proceedings, say sources.
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