大麻经济落后于合法化

The climate is brightening for cannabis entrepreneurs around the U.S. After more than a year and a half of legal cannabis in Colorado, the results appear to be mostly positive. Though some unexpected health effects have been reported in association with higher rates of marijuana intoxication, studies show that use of pot among youth did not increase in Colorado after legalization as many critics had feared, and the Colorado Department of Transportation recently reported that highway fatalities reached a near-historic low in 2014, dispelling fears of drugged driving. Meanwhile, tourism, housing prices and tax receipts for the state have increased substantially. Now that the perception of cannabis has started to change, business owners — many of whom deliver their tax payments in bags full of cash — say it’s time to address the real danger of marijuana legalization: operating outside the banking system.

因为联邦法律,如银行保密制度ct of 1970 and anti-money-laundering statutes enforced by the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), banks are blocked from even distantly connecting themselves with activity prohibited by federal law, even in states where the activity is legal. FinCEN issued guidance last year to help theburgeoning marijuana industry，银行和信用卡公司开始调和他们的做法和期望，但专家表示，联邦政府的方法只会让事情变得更加困惑。

“所有这一切都是检测指导，所以它可以改变，”纽约律师事务所Herrick Feinstein的企业和监管律师说，“Richard Morris说。“这是处理可以随时撤销的许可。今天的适当可能没有正确的明天，所以我不能告诉[潜在的银行家]他们不会是一个目标。“

This害怕起诉已导致近100％的现金免除行业，商业主处理，运输和储存大量货币，并提高员工和暴力罪犯盗窃风险。

Jessica McElfresh, a criminal defense attorney based in San Diego who works with medical marijuana businesses as part of her practice, says when a legal cannabis business approaches a bank, one of three things usually happens: A client is honest with the bank about its business plan, and the bank declines to issue an account; a client is not completely honest with the bank about the purpose of its business because it anticipates the previous scenario, leaving the bank unable to properly fill out forms and the client omitting vital information; a client obtains a bank account, but the bank closes it in short order because of the large number of cash deposits, which put up a red flag for many banks. Each of these scenarios leads to a less transparent and safe cannabis industry, says McElfresh. “It’s extremely difficult to track activity and adhere to the federal government’s strict regulations without bank accounts,” she adds.

挫败了几项包括在现有银行或创建新的大麻的银行和信贷工会的大麻账户的努力已经被挫败。基于俄勒冈州的MBANK是该州唯一一个向大麻业务支票账户的银行，直到它在仅几个月后从该春季退缩，引用有限的资源来处理75客户的合规需求。在科罗拉多州，第四个角球信贷联盟最近在美联储的决定上起诉了联邦政府，而不是批准在堪萨斯城分公司的主账户申请。

This difficulty has led some cannabis businesses to make creative — and in some cases dangerous — workarounds. In addition to being unable to find a bank, cannabis dispensaries are also largely blocked from accepting credit cards because of Visa and MasterCard regulations and laws governing their sponsor banks. One consumer, who asked not to be named because of the uncertain legality of the situation, tells亚博赞助欧冠这是在科罗拉多州博尔德的一个药房之旅之后，她认为是信用兴盟的名字在她的银行对账单上出现。快速搜索显示名称实际上属于小型物业管理公司。Jeff Foster是Jane of Jane，基于丹佛的现金管理和大麻行业的合规性公司表示，该物业管理公司可能被用作这种特殊药物的前面，以便围绕银行规则。

“药房可能甚至不知道发生这种情况，”福斯特说。据福斯特举行的说法，已知信用卡处理设备的独立卖家用信用卡加工设备展示了信用卡公司的真实性，以便从快速增长的大麻行业中获取业务。最常见的封面业务是花店和美发沙龙。

简化福斯特的经验与支付管理系统和信息亭，旨在将钱与大麻药物的实际动手运作分开。长期目标是让银行更舒适地与卖家和种植者合作，但在那时，重点是通过使用店内售货亭和装甲卡车将现金运送到保管库的现金管理。Jane还协助企业主的合规性，在程序清楚的程度上。福斯特认为，所有这一切都将采取的是一个银行来创造一个成功的大麻融资实践，并“剩下的银行业的竞争精神将从那里照顾它。”

在作品中有一些立法可能使得肯塔基州的总统希望参议员兰德保罗赞助了这一法案，最近在丹佛举行了第一批大麻行业的总统筹款赛者 - 但专家们亚博篮球怎么下串’t optimistic.

“我们所看到的大部分内容都不是鼓励，也不能成功，”律师·麦克尔福什说。“美国国会有各种各样的账单，但我持怀疑态度，以至于他们将从委员会中取出并通过。”

The climate is frustrating for investors as well. Patrick Rea, founder of business accelerator CanopyBoulder, says he’s come across many high-net-worth individuals and a few venture capitalists interested in the sector, but many are turned off from dispensaries and grow operations by the confusing regulations and risks associated with all-cash businesses. The Boulder-based firm matches highly qualified entrepreneurs pitching investor-friendly cannabis-adjacent business ideas, such as software, with wealthy individuals looking to cash in on the nascent industry. The incubator graduated its first class of companies in June after a 13-week program focused on management, financing and pitching.

到目前为止，该计划已经取得了成功，毕业生在丹佛这个夏天的大麻业务峰会上向消费者产品向消费品的辅助大麻业务提出了他们的想法，这是保罗举行筹款机构的同一活动。本周CanopyBoulder第二课程进入了孵化器。但是，虽然加速器正在向越来越多的大麻企业家的特定部门贷款合法性，但参与实际处理法律大麻的人 - 成长运营和索多斯 - 正在落后。

At some point, experts agree, something will have to give at the federal level. Until then, those in the cannabis industry will continue to find ways to do business, even if it means sometimes still behaving like outlaws. It’s not unheard of for cash-heavy cannabis business owners to pay for protection, according to attorney Morris. “Every day that we have this multibillion-dollar underground economy, we are feeding a monster,” he says.

Follow Kaitlin Ugolik on Twitter at@kaitlinugolik.