On November 8, 2022, Missouri voters considered Amendment 3 (the “Amendment”), a ballot initiative aimed at amending Missouri’s constitution legalizing recreational marijuana. Medical marijuana in Missouri was initially legalized November 2018 via the passing of Amendment 2. Unlike Amendment 2, the purpose of Amendment 3 is to “make marijuana legal under state and local law…

With Democrats in control of the White House and Congress (at least until the 2022 midterm election), the question remains as to whether this is the year that the federal government enacts meaningful cannabis banking reform. 
As a refresher, in March 2019, the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, or H.R. 1595, was…

On August 11, 2020, the California Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee will hold a hearing on Assembly Bill 1525. The bill, which passed in the Assembly 68-1, protects financial institutions who provide services to licensed cannabis businesses and increases the viability of these relationships.
A.B. 1525 performs two major functions. First, it clarifies that…

On June 29, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) provided additional guidance for financial institutions that monitor hemp-related companies (the “Guidance”). Such Guidance provides a clarification that “is intended to enhance the availability of financial services for, and the financial transparency of, hemp-related businesses in compliance with federal law.”
As background, the Guidance explains that…

The viability of many California cannabis delivery businesses may be at stake next month as a landmark lawsuit brought by local municipalities against the Bureau of Cannabis Control (“BCC”) heads to trial. Last year, the County of Santa Cruz and 24 other California cities sued BCC and its Chief, Lori Ajax, to overturn a BCC…

As the rest of the world reels from the effects of COVID-19 and “social distancing,” the legal cannabis industry is feeling the pain as demand declines and sales suffer. Despite this and the general aversion toward in-person sales, many states and localities, such as New York and San Francisco, declared medical cannabis dispensaries to be…

Next week, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on H.R. 1595, the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act. This is a long-anticipated step forward, as there has not been a stand-alone vote on cannabis legislation in Congress since the Controlled Substances Act prohibited marijuana use in 1970. The bill will be brought…