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leon trout
Estimated Prophet



Registered: 09/13/12
Posts: 1,089
Loc: The Timbers of Fennario
Last seen: 3 years, 8 months
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Department Of Justice Paves Way For Banks To Work With Pot Shops, Citing Public Safety 1
#18777303 - 08/30/13 01:17 PM (10 years, 4 months ago) |
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Department Of Justice Paves Way For Banks To Work With Pot Shops, Citing Public Safety
WASHINGTON -- Financial institutions and other enterprises that do business with marijuana shops that are in compliance with state laws are unlikely to be prosecuted for money laundering or other federal crimes that could be brought under existing federal drug laws, a senior Department of Justice official said Thursday.
During a briefing on the department's new policy Thursday, the official would not fully rule out prosecution in any case, but the guidance is a reversal of administration policy that had warned banks not to work with marijuana businesses. The Justice official said that the department recognized that forcing the establishments to operate on a cash basis put them at greater risk of robbery and violence.
A three-page memo that accompanied the Thursday announcement speaks to the situation in more general terms, noting that a well-regulated, legal marijuana industry could come with a number of benefits to public safety and health. After listing a set of federal priorities -- keeping pot away from kids, preventing gangs and cartels from profiting from the drug trade -- the memo, authored by Deputy Attorney General James Cole, suggests that "robust" state regulation of legal marijuana "may affirmatively address those priorities by, for example, implementing effective measures to prevent diversion of marijuana outside of the regulated system and to other states, prohibiting access to marijuana by minors, and replacing an illicit marijuana trade that funds criminal enterprises with a tightly regulated market in which revenues are tracked and account for."
It is difficult to argue that any system that operates only in cash could be a "tightly regulated market in which revenues are tracked and account for."
In some ways, banks may be in a better position after the announcement than shops in Washington and Colorado. Prosecutions of the local businesses are driven by the prosecutors on the ground, such as U.S. Attorney John Walsh of Colorado, who has shown little respect for marijuana guidances in the past, while bank prosecutions would be run out of Main Justice, which authored the memo and presumably would be more likely to abide by it.
Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) said in a statement on Thursday that the banking issues needed to be addressed. "We need to address the public safety, crime and lost tax revenue associated when these legal and regulated businesses are operating in a cash-only system," said Perlmutter, a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee.
“We need to provide financial institutions certainty they can make their own business decisions related to legal, financial transactions without fear of regulatory penalties," he continued. "Currently, under federal banking laws, many legal, regulated legitimate marijuana businesses operating legally according to state law are prevented from maintaining bank accounts and accessing financial products like any other business such as accepting credit cards, depositing revenues, or writing checks to meet payroll or pay taxes. They are forced to operate as cash-only enterprises, inviting crime such as robbery and tax evasion, only adding to the burden of setting up a legitimate small business.”
It remains unclear whether the guidance from DOJ will be followed. Just last week, the Drug Enforcement Administration, which is a subordinate agency within the DOJ but often acts as if it is independent, advised armored car and security companies that they should no longer work with marijuana businesses.
A DEA employee said no one was available to answer questions after business hours Thursday.
-------------------- “I read somewhere that 77 per cent of all the mentally ill live in poverty. Actually, I’m more intrigued by the 23 per cent who are apparently doing quite well for themselves.” ~ St. Jerome of Marin
the bus come by & i got on, that's when it all began
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Le_Canard
The Duk Abides


Registered: 05/16/03
Posts: 94,392
Loc: Earthfarm 1
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Re: Department Of Justice Paves Way For Banks To Work With Pot Shops, Citing Public Safety [Re: leon trout]
#18777313 - 08/30/13 01:22 PM (10 years, 4 months ago) |
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Now this is good news, even better than yesterday's announcement from the DOJ.
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Futuresight
Mind Mage



Registered: 01/19/13
Posts: 1,188
Loc: The Candy Kingdom
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Re: Department Of Justice Paves Way For Banks To Work With Pot Shops, Citing Public Safety [Re: Le_Canard]
#18777566 - 08/30/13 02:12 PM (10 years, 4 months ago) |
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Two good steps forward in two days, only many more can come out of this. The snowball has begun rolling.
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Can-i-bus
Melting


Registered: 01/22/13
Posts: 1,161
Loc: WA
Last seen: 2 months, 2 days
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Re: Department Of Justice Paves Way For Banks To Work With Pot Shops, Citing Public Safety [Re: Futuresight]
#18777803 - 08/30/13 02:58 PM (10 years, 4 months ago) |
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This is amazing news. Hopefully they don't do a 180 on their position
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Camwritesgonzo
The Unflushable Stool



Registered: 06/09/12
Posts: 2,333
Loc: On Uranus
Last seen: 5 months, 23 days
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Re: Department Of Justice Paves Way For Banks To Work With Pot Shops, Citing Public Safety [Re: Futuresight]
#18777966 - 08/30/13 03:33 PM (10 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
Futuresight said: Two good steps forward in two days, only many more can come out of this. The snowball has begun rolling.
Oh... he was rolling! I always wondered what he was on
-------------------- "I've always maintained that reality is for those who can't face drugs."-Tom Waits "I feel the same way about disco as I feel about herpes."-Hunter S. Thompson A squid eating dough in a polyethylene bag is fast and bulbous, got me?
 
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Nature Boy
Stranger than most



Registered: 07/09/07
Posts: 8,241
Loc: Samsara
Last seen: 2 months, 6 days
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Re: Department Of Justice Paves Way For Banks To Work With Pot Shops, Citing Public Safety [Re: Le_Canard]
#18778596 - 08/30/13 06:09 PM (10 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
ToiletDuk said: Now this is good news, even better than yesterday's announcement from the DOJ.

Wow...THAT is good news. Looks like the Federal Government is finally realizing that pot is a multi-billion dollar business and so needs the tax revenue for their war-mongering efforts that they are willing to ease their objections to opening the door a crack.
What might be next to fall, I wonder...
N.B.
-------------------- All submitted posts under this user name are works of pure fiction or outright lies. Any information, statement, or assertion contained therein should be considered pure unadulterated bullshit. Note well: Sorry, but I do not answer PM's unless you are a long-time trusted friend. If you have a question, ask it in the appropriate thread.
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boneynerd
Mushway! EatFresh!



Registered: 04/23/07
Posts: 1,287
Loc: milkyway.usa
Last seen: 1 year, 6 months
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Re: Department Of Justice Paves Way For Banks To Work With Pot Shops, Citing Public Safety [Re: Nature Boy]
#18780355 - 08/31/13 05:57 AM (10 years, 4 months ago) |
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start with 1 item.. ganja, the rest are to follow based on the biased system in place. but all truths will be told in due time. it makes its way i promise
-------------------- "Your mama's grow was so contaminated, the shroomery got trich." -SpitballJediS "your a female, no one woulda cared you were naked,hell probably made someone's day, but I pull my balls out on a bus and im the bad guy.." -Bishlap
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whitelights
Stranger



Registered: 11/25/11
Posts: 1,559
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Re: Department Of Justice Paves Way For Banks To Work With Pot Shops, Citing Public Safety [Re: boneynerd]
#18785024 - 09/01/13 11:59 AM (10 years, 4 months ago) |
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two or three years ago. i thought we may not see this kind of push in in the right direction for say ten maybe twenty years, fuck maybe even never. it is ridiculously exciting seeing these kinds of things happening slowly but deffinatley surely.
-------------------- its that bitter-sweet-sour, electric-smooth-twang. everything you ever have, are. or will feel along with every emotion, joy, hate, love, fear or aspiration burning down your nerves and into the fabric of your place in this existence at ten thousand degrees above and below zero will you find yourself wondering if you've been dead or alive this whole time. being born over and over only to die over and over hoping the wheel stops in the same place it started when you spun it, and when it finally does and you can step back and take a nice deep breath you realize how beautiful life is, remember, wake up to the most beautiful day of your life every single day, its just the way.
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