”An organization that represents state financial regulators from across the U.S. is putting pressure on Congress to pass marijuana banking reform as part of a large-scale manufacturing bill that’s currently being finalized in a bicameral conference committee. The head of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) sent letters to Senate and House leaders, as well as conferees on the America COMPETES Act, on Wednesday, imploring the inclusion of language that would protect banks that work with state-legal cannabis businesses. “By granting a safe harbor for financial institutions, Congress can bring regulatory clarity to the financial services industry, address public safety concerns and ensure access to financial services for state-compliant marijuana and marijuana-related businesses,” CSBS Acting President James Cooper said. “I further ask for the safe harbor be extended to all financial services, including money transmission, as the adverse impact of the current inconsistency in state and federal law is not limited to depository institutions,” he said. Cooper said a majority of states have now legalized cannabis in some form, but “due to legal and regulatory risks associated with the contradictory federal and state laws, many financial institutions remain reluctant to conduct business with cannabis-related businesses.”

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 05/27/2022 07:34:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/state-financial-regulators-tell-congress-to-pass-marijuana-banking-protections-in-manufacturing-bill/

California marijuana retailers do a very good job of preventing underage people from entering their shops and purchasing cannabis, a new study found. Researchers wanted to put the cannabis industry’s compliance with ID requirements to the test, so they sent people who seemingly looked underage to 50 randomly selected marijuana shops throughout the state to see if they could get in without presenting identification. Every single retailer required ID. “It was somewhat surprising that there was 100 percent compliance with the ID policy to keep underage patrons from purchasing marijuana directly from licensed outlets,” the authors of the study, published this month in the Journal of Safety Research, wrote. “However, that was consistent with what was observed in two other states, Washington and Colorado.” While the consistency of compliance took the authors by surprise, the reason is likely unsurprising: retailers face serious penalties if they skirt the law, and typically there’s an entry area inside licensed shops where ID is required upfront before a person can even go into the main part of the store.

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 05/26/2022 09:01:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/california-marijuana-retailers-100-percent-compliant-in-checking-ids-to-prevent-youth-access-study-finds/

Governor Dan McKee today signed into law the Rhode Island Cannabis Act, legalizing and safely regulating recreational adult-use cannabis in the state. The Act includes automatic expungement of prior civil or criminal marijuana possession charges, a key provision in the Governor’s original cannabis proposal to the General Assembly. Governor McKee was joined for the historic signing by Lt. Governor Sabina Matos, Senate Majority Leader Michael J. McCaffrey and the bill sponsors – Senate Committee on Health and Human Services Chairman Joshua Miller and House Deputy Majority Leader Scott A. Slater. Under the new law, possession and home-growing of cannabis is now legal for adults age 21 and older, and in-store sales may begin as soon as December 1. The law also establishes a framework for common-sense adult use cannabis regulation with a strong emphasis on public health and public safety. “This bill successfully incorporates our priorities of making sure cannabis legalization is equitable, controlled, and safe,” said Governor McKee. “In addition, it creates a process for the automatic expungement of past cannabis convictions. My Administration’s original legalization plan also included such a provision and I am thrilled that the Assembly recognized the importance of this particular issue.

Mj News Network, MJNews Network, 05/26/2022 12:50:00

Open article: https://mjnewsnetwork.com/business/governor-mckee-signs-legislation-legalizing-and-safely-regulating-recreational-cannabis-in-rhode-island/

Last week, members of the Cannabis Regulators Association (CANNRA) penned a letter to leaders of congress. The letter’s primary signatories were regulators serving in Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Minnesota, Michigan, Hawaii and Georgia. In the letter, the nonpartisan association outlined primary aspects of worry for the respective cannabis markets in their states. While it didn’t endorse the SAFE Banking Act directly, the letter did highlight that the absence of safe financial and banking services for marijuana industry actors and for the individuals involved in marijuana marketplaces was a public safety matter. Legislators are currently holding a debate to attach the language of the SAFE Banking Act to the America COMPETES Act. The letter stated that nearly all territories and member states of the association had been negatively affected by the lack of banking and financial services for marijuana businesses and those who worked with the marijuana industry. The primary issues the association identified concerned public security and safety, the need for small as well as minority-owned companies to have access to financial institutions and the lack of access to depository and banking services.

CannabisNewsWire, 05/27/2022 04:25:00

Open article: https://www.cannabisnewswire.com/420-with-cnw-state-regulators-say-cannabis-banking-reform-will-ease-their-jobs/