Like it or not, medical marijuana is becoming a legitimate business in Colorado.
As the state embarks on the laborious process of writing rules for the industry, it is clear that regulators would be in a much better position to enforce the complex new law if they had banking records to review.
Unfortunately, that is becoming more difficult as banks, concerned that marijuana is still illegal under federal law, shy away from holding accounts for medical marijuana businesses.
We would like to see the U.S. Treasury Department offer assurances to banks that they won’t face the wrath of the federal government if they do take medical marijuana business.
We’re not suggesting the feds look away if these businesses fail to follow state laws and delve into criminal activity.
But if medical marijuana growers and sellers are following what promises to be a strict regulatory framework, we would hope that federal banking regulators would have better things to do than crack down on them.
Such a policy would be akin to one announced in 2009 by the Justice Department when it made clear that federal resources would not be used to pursue medical marijuana users who were clearly complying with state regulations.
Earlier this year, 15 members of Congress, including Colorado’s Jared Polis, sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner asking him for a similarly understanding policy regarding banks.
This month, Colorado will begin what promises to be a months-long process of writing rules governing the state’s medical marijuana industry.
State lawmakers this year passed broad medical marijuana laws, and the rules will provide the detailed mandates that the industry will be expected to follow.
The regulatory scheme will include tight tracking of pot production and sales, and while it’s possible to scrutinize such activity even if it is conducted on a cash basis, it would be more efficient to have electronic records.
Matt Cook, the state’s senior director of medical marijuana enforcement, is contemplating 24-hour surveillance of grow operations and sales in order to ensure state laws and regulations are being followed.
Bank records surely would help Cook in his quest to ensure medical marijuana operations stay within state laws.
This week, the Post’s John Ingold reported that Wells Fargo & Co. has sent out letters asking medical marijuana business owners to close out their accounts. According to the story, virtually no banks are willing to take medical marijuana business.
A Wells Fargo spokeswoman cited the “complex and inconsistent legal environment” surrounding medical marijuana as the reason behind Wells Fargo’s decision.
We hope the federal government will make the situation less complicated by clearly stating banks won’t be targeted for taking medical marijuana business.
