Washington State Attorney General Says Local Pot Bans Legal

A formal opinion, given by Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office, has stated that local communities can continue to ban marijuana stores from opening in their jurisdiction. This could put licensed growers and retailers in a bit of a bind. After all, the State Liquor Control Board could issue a license to a marijuana business and then that business could be refused the local business licensing or other permits it would need to open.

Colorado is facing similar issues. In Colorado, local bans have left some communities with marijuana businesses and some without.

Yet those who are for the ban, such as Dan Roach, Council Chairman for Pierce County, are glad that their counties will be able to ban marijuana businesses and “not expend taxpayer dollars to defend it.”

State Representative Chris Hurst, however, has argued that the initiative pre-empts local action. He says that if the ruling holds it could potentially ruin the whole legalized marijuana experiment for the entire state of Washington.

Chris Hurst also says that I-502 will fail without pre-emption. According to Hurst, a major county cannot rely on criminal distribution of marijuana and then have licensed stores in the next county over.

Sharon Foster, Liquor Control Board Chairwoman, agrees because the local bans will in effect allow the current illicit markets to continue, while reducing the state's expectations for revenue that is to be generated from the newly legalized marijuana market.  

According to state law, cities and counties have the right to decide their own regulations unless forbidden by state law and I-502 did not address that issue.

There are two options looming to address this issue. Currently under consideration is a proposal to threaten reluctant cities and counties with loss of funding. The other option is to change the initiative; however, that requires two-thirds supermajorities in the Legislature this year.

For now, it seems that this issue will likely be settled in court. Until then, Washington counties like Pierce and Lakewood are happy with Ferguson's opinion.

Banks Saying NO to Marijuana - Legal or Not

One of the biggest problems facing legalized marijuana in Washington continues to be banks—or rather, the lack thereof. Even though Washington and Colorado have legalized marijuana for recreational use, it still remains against federal law. As such, banks and credit unions are afraid to provide traditional banking services to marijuana businesses. They fear large fines, criminal prosecution, and other federal violations.

This has created businesses that are entirely cash-based and ripe for criminal activity. As a result, businesses have begun installing panic buttons for robberies and security cameras to help protect their businesses and employees. Some have even tried to use personal bank accounts to help direct the flow of their cash.

But financial institutions aren't playing. They have shut down many of these accounts after managers decided that these individuals posed too much of a risk. BECU is the largest credit union in the State of Washington and it has shut down over 20 accounts associated with the legal marijuana trade.

This has made doing business awkward—and dangerous. For example, Kunkel, an owner of 5 marijuana dispensaries in Washington had to hand deliver a bag of cash worth over $51,000 to the Washington State Department of Revenue in Seattle.

Richard Riese, a senior vice president for regulatory compliance at the American Bankers Association wants clear guidelines established for banks. He wants banks and credit agencies to be assured that they would not be aiding and abetting criminal activity by providing financial services to legal marijuana businesses. Until such guidelines and assurances are provided, banks are turning a cold shoulder to Washington's pot industry.

Come Join the Mile High Club

Spirit Airlines has decided to cash into the newly minted marijuana market in Colorado. An advertisement for the airline reads, "The no smoking sign is off. Get Mile High with $10 off your next flight. Fares so low they're barely legal in some states."

Not many entrepreneurs could blame Sprit Airlines for trying to ride the coattails of the legal marijuana industry. In January 2014, Colorado became the first state in the union to legally sell recreational marijuana. Citizens from all over Colorado stood in line for hours for a chance to buy pot legally. Owners of the 37 new dispensaries boasted roughly $5 million in sales during the first week alone. They are projecting an annual profit of $600 million in combined wholesale and retail sales.

Tourists who choose to fly Spirit Airlines to Colorado to partake in the festivities are allowed to purchase up to one-fourth ounce. Colorado residents may legally buy up to one once of marijuana. According to marijuana.com, "one-eighth an ounce of marijuana was selling for an average $65 around the first of the year."

This isn't the first time Spirit Airlines has pushed the envelope of advertising. In 2012, the shocking airline tried to capitalize on the U.S. Secret Service prostitution scandal by advertising flights to Cartagena, Columbia as "More Bang for your Buck".

Banking and Marijuana: Hot Topic of 2014

The legalization of marijuana has been likened to a gold rush of sorts with industry prospectors projected to make millions. The only problem is banks can’t legally do business with them. Even though Washington and Colorado have legalized marijuana, banks under fear of federal prosecution, cannot make loans or provide checking accounts and other services to pot businesses.

For years, marijuana dispensaries have been calling for changes, and several lawmakers and officials have joined them in light of the Washington and Colorado votes. Recently, a Treasury Department spokesman announced that there would be a “frank discussion” of the issue at a federal Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group meeting.

Several lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Denny Heck, D-WA, have been pushing for changes. Along with a Colorado colleague, Heck has proposed new legislation that would allow banks to do business with marijuana businesses while protecting banks from federal prosecution. Heck cites the difficulties of trying to run a legitimate business on a cash-only basis.

Because the federal banking group will meet in private and is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, the public will not know what decision it makes. Experts speculate, however, that as long as federal law prohibits marijuana, the banking group will have very little incentive to act, and with pot being illegal in so many states, few lawmakers will have any incentive to support new legislation.

More Washington Drivers Testing Positive for Marijuana

During the first six months of 2013, Washington State patrol’s crime lab said 745 people tested positive for marijuana when, typically, it takes a full year for 1,000 drivers to test positive. A patrol spokesman said that this doesn’t mean there has been a rash of people driving high, just that troopers are looking harder for drivers operating under the influence of pot, and consequently ordering more marijuana blood tests.

In August, the Justice Department announced that it would not sue to block recreational marijuana sales in Washington and Colorado as long as those states satisfy eight federal law enforcement criteria, including keeping pot away from children and off the black market, and work to combat drugged driving.

When Washington and Colorado voters legalized recreational marijuana for 21 and older adults last year, they also set a legal limit of 5 nanograms of active THC per milliliter of blood for drivers. Anything higher is a per-se violation of impaired driving laws. Of the 745 people who tested positive during the first half of this year, 420 tested above the legal limit. 609 drivers tested positive in 2012, up from 506 in 2011. The positive pot-test numbers represent cases handled by the patrol as well as local police agencies. 

What the numbers don't reveal is whether more drivers are driving under the influence of marijuana or if police officers are simply testing for marijuana use now that it is legal. 

AHP Releases Cannabis Monograph

The American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP) has released the first installment of a two-part Cannabis monograph, in a historic move that classifies cannabis as a botanical medicine, alongside many other widely accepted alternative medicines.

The cannabis monograph details long-awaited standards about the plant’s botanical properties, including other scientific data, and provides a foundation for healthcare professionals to incorporate marijuana therapy into their practices.

The Executive Director for Americans for Safe Access (ASA), an organization, which supported the development of the monograph, applauds the AHP’s monograph, which is the first of its kind in over seventy years.

Partly because of a need for validated standards to guide laboratory analysis, the AHP began development of the cannabis monograph in 2011. The monograph was reviewed by the world’s leading researchers and represents one of the most comprehensive documents on cannabis in a long time.

The second installation of the monograph, the Therapeutic Compendium, is due out in the spring. Among other topics, it will encompass historical data, pre-clinical and clinical pharmacology and interactions with conventional medicines.

AHP is a worldwide network of experts in medicinal plants formed in 1995 to promote the responsible use of herbal products and medicines. The group expects to eventually publish over 300 monographs covering the most widely used Western, Ayurvedic and Chinese botanicals.

Later this week, ASA will launch a third-party certification program for the medical cannabis industry called Patient Focused Certification (PFC), based on the AHP monograph. PFC and professional training will be available in all twenty medical marijuana states and the District of Columbia.