Colorado's Marijuana Banking Problem

[iacas]

Basically…

Because selling pot is legal in Colorado, but illegal federally, and because banks are under federal jurisdiction, people who own legal (in Colorado) pot dispensaries have nowhere to store millions of dollars. They can't bank it. They can't secure loans. They can't do anything. They could try laundering the money, but obviously that's illegal as well.

It's interesting, and an angle I hadn't considered before.

[Shorty]

If they have earned the money legally, does that not mean that they are able to bank their profits legally, irrespective of where it is banked?

Certainly a dilemma. I'm guessing you wouldn't have posted if the solution were as simple as the line above :-)

 

[Jeremie Boop]

I'm not in support of legalized recreational use of marijuana. I'm for medical use, preferably by processing the plant to extract those chemicals which are beneficial and not by smoking/ingesting it if at all possible. I'm still surprised that states have been able to legalize something that is illegal on a federal level.

[iacas]

13 minutes ago, Shorty said:

If they have earned the money legally, does that not mean that they are able to bank their profits legally, irrespective of where it is banked?

If there was a bank that fell only under Colorado law, sure.

As the video also points out, the federal government has no problem taking their taxes…

[newtogolf]

The marijuana industry should be handled in the same way the gambling industry is today, in that gambling is legal at a Federal level and left to the states to regulate or prohibit the practice of. 

Until marijuana is legalized at the Federal Government level, they should at least require banks to offer accounts and services to these businesses that are paying federal, state and local taxes.

[mcanadiens]

Not my kind of poison, but I know enough people that are both marijuana users and reasonably responsible people. It definitely could be handled in a similar way as alcohol and not have significant adverse results. 

Some of you may or may not know that Ohio had a marijuana legalization issue on the ballot earlier this month. It failed, but it failed because it tried to set up a hand-picked cartel to run the whole thing. My guess is that a more even-handed plan will probably pass in the very near future.  

As far as the feds are concerned, they'll come around when they realize they are costing themselves tax dollars as a result. 

Edited November 13, 2015 by mcanadiens

[Gator Hazard]

Legalize it.   Medical marijuana definitely has a place and there are compounds in it that are beneficial to all sorts of therapy.  The funny thing is there really is not that much difference between medical and recreational.  People will go out of their way to get a diagnosis so they can get medical marijuana if it is just for medical.  Arresting people for having a little bit of a plant to me seems ridiculous in this day and age.

I am not a partaker personally but it would just make sense to at least decriminalize it.

[billchao]

I've seen documentaries on this. It's absurd. These people are doing legitimate business and they can't make normal business transactions. There are companies that have started up that will warehouse the money for them and they drive around with bags full of cash and are armed to the teeth.

They need to make changes on the federal level, especially with the banking. The country may not be ready for legalized Marijuana yet, but that shouldn't stop the states who are from doing business.

I'm all for legalized marijuana, BTW.

[Gator Hazard]

5 minutes ago, mcanadiens said:

Not my kind of poison, but I know enough people that are both marijuana users and reasonably responsible people. It definitely could be handled in a similar way as alcohol and not have significant adverse results. 

Some of you may or may not know that Ohio had a marijuana legalization issue on the ballot earlier this month. It failed, but it failed because it tried to set up a hand-picked cartel to run the whole thing. My guess is that a more even-handed plan will probably pass in the very near future.  

As far as the feds are concerned, they'll come around when they realize they are costing themselves tax dollars as a result. 

I saw that, wasn't there a few celebrities attached to it as well?

[mcanadiens]

Just now, Gator Hazard said:

I saw that, wasn't there a few celebrities attached to it as well?

Yeah. Oscar Robertson for one. Some guy named Nick Lachey as well. The interwebs tell me he used to be in a band of some sort.

[tristanhilton85]

It is an interesting situation, that is for sure. I had been firmly in the "keep it illegal" camp, but I'm not so sure any more. At the very least, they should be able to bank their money legally if it is legal in the state.

[ghalfaire]

I am not in favor of recreational use of Marijuana but am in favor of medical use.  

Having said that I do believe we lost the war on drugs a long time ago.  It is arguable that we ought to legalize all drugs and let people kill themselves if they choose to.  At least if it were legal we would make drugs very inexpensive (they are only expensive now because they are illegal) and no one would have to steal from or harm anyone to get their fix.  Getting organized crime out of the picture could not be a bad thing and as I say the laws are not keeping anyone from getting whatever drug they desire.

[Natural Patrick]

Legalize and decriminalize.

[Patch]

I voted to federally legalize it only only because of the revenue to be had by taxing it. I think because the revenue to be gained in fed taxes DC politicians will eventually legalize it anyway. Give them elected boys and girls several billions of new $$$$$$$ to play with and they will go for it. 

The only draw back I see is the stuff stays in the user's system for quite few days and if in an accident of some sort, the user can be held liable days after their use. Also I think some professional job titles should not allow it's use. I am not sure I would want to be flying while the cockpit is full smoke as an example. 

I coded 2 times in 24 hour period due to an impaired driver with too much alcohol in him. Not sure if he would have made the mistake if he was using pot instead. 

[No Mulligans]

The nanny state doesn't need to tell us not to smoke marijuana anymore than they don't need to tell us not to drink alcohol.

For the record I don't drink alcohol or smoke marijuana.  I've done both in the past.  As such I feel I'm informed and unbiased (and have libertarian beliefs).

[Abu3baid]

I am firmly in the no drugs corner.. But people can do what ever they want as long as I don't have to deal with them.

[jbishop15]

Legalize it and every other drug, far as I'm concerned. Doing that strips cartels of their power, brings revenue, and also stops putting non-violent users in jail, which is an alarming issue.

Amsterdam has the right idea on this sort of thing.

[Jeremie Boop]

16 hours ago, Patch said:

I voted to federally legalize it only only because of the revenue to be had by taxing it. I think because the revenue to be gained in fed taxes DC politicians will eventually legalize it anyway. Give them elected boys and girls several billions of new $$$$$$$ to play with and they will go for it. 

The only draw back I see is the stuff stays in the user's system for quite few days and if in an accident of some sort, the user can be held liable days after their use. Also I think some professional job titles should not allow it's use. I am not sure I would want to be flying while the cockpit is full smoke as an example. 

I coded 2 times in 24 hour period due to an impaired driver with too much alcohol in him. Not sure if he would have made the mistake if he was using pot instead. 

I seriously dislike this mindset. Legalize it because we can't stop people from doing it so let's make money off of it. Of all the reasons people use to justify legalization, this one bothers me the most.