You are here
Home 🌿 Recreational Marijuana News 🌿 Privately-funded marijuana banks proposed for California cannabis cash 🌿News Categories
Privately-funded marijuana banks proposed for California cannabis cash

Managing the billions of dollars generated by California’a cannabis industry has been one of the industry’s main problems. Now the state is one step closer to getting that money into banks.
Since marijuana sales are still illegal under federal law, banks cannot work with dispensaries.
“[Dispensaries] want to pay their taxes,” said state Sen. Scott Wiener (D, San Francisco). “They want to operate like a professional business, and they’re very frustrated because they don’t want to carry around suitcases of cash.”
When California voted to legalize recreational marijuana, many cities wanted a piece of the pie. The industry is subject to a sales tax, a cultivation tax, a city tax and a state excise tax. The state is expected to collect 600 million dollars in cannabis taxes this year – all in duffel bags of cash.
“They’re going to be receiving a significant significant amount of money in a couple of days, as the first quarter excise tax has to be remitted,” said Sabrina Fendrick with the Berkeley Patients Group.
Weiner is co-sponsoring a bill that would allow for the creation of privately-financed banks, regulated by the state, to work with the cannabis industry. He says the current system is not only dangerous for dispensaries, it’s difficult for the state to collect money from them.
“You’re risking crime, you’re risking tax evasion,” said Wiener. “It makes it very hard to audit the industry.”
“There are just a lot of expenses and it becomes very dangerous and very challenging to move all this cash into other facilities and to pay people,” said Fendrick.
In addition, Fendrick says dispensary has to coordinate hiring armed guards, not just for the front of the store but also to accompany the cash on the road.
“Cannabis legalization is here to stay it’s a legitimate legal industry and its time to start treating it like one.
Last week, the Trump administration softened its stance on cannabis banks, saying it will allow states to decide this issue on their own. But industry leaders are still anxious the president could change his mind, so they’ll be hoping this bill passes smoothly.
A report from a cannabis industry research firm estimates California sales of cannabis will approach nearly $4 billion by the end of 2018.
420 Intel is Your Source for Marijuana News
420 Intel is the leading source for cannabis news from around the world. Get the latest updates on cannabis legalization, politics and technology, as well as developments in medical and recreational marijuana news. Our commitment is to bring you the most important cannabis news stories every day of the week.
At 420 Intel we understand that effective marijuana industry news coverage is a constant endeavor. Every day stories develop regarding cannabis legalization, technological developments, and the medicinal benefits of marijuana use. Each new development carries the potential to impact the marijuana industry regionally, nationally, and internationally. 420 Intel is the marijuana industry news outlet that will keep you up to date on these developments and how they impact the world around you.
With the marijuana industry constantly evolving, you need a cannabis news outlet to keep you abreast of the pertinent information. At 420 Intel, we cover marijuana legalization news throughout the world, offer reliable information for cannabis business owners, detail technological advances that impact the marijuana industry, cover marijuana rallies from across the globe, and everything in between.
You can get 420 Intel news delivered directly to your inbox by signing up for our daily marijuana news, ensuring you’re always kept up to date on the ever-changing cannabis industry. To stay even better informed about marijuana legalization news follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.