Former congressman takes on new role with legal weed connection
STATEN ISLAND - A former Staten Island elected official recently entered a new role that’s bringing him in close contact with the nation’s legal marijuana industry.
Former District Attorney and Rep. Dan Donovan (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) now serves as chairman of a company called Token Corp, which among other services provides a financial solution to the burgeoning industry.
While legal in several states across the nation, marijuana remains an illicit substance at the federal level limiting legitimate business owners’ abilities to interact with the nation’s banking systems.
That inability forces weed business owners to conduct most of their transactions in cash leaving them vulnerable to a host of crimes, but that’s where Token Corp’s marijuana component, Token HiFi, comes in hoping to provide a financial services option using a digital asset and exchange platform.
Donovan joined the company’s founder and co-CEO — David Harrison, a former professional basketball player who spent time with the Indiana Pacers — to speak with the Advance/SILive.com about their new venture.
“I’m joining in an industry that’s a financial services industry. Cannabis is just one of the verticals,” Donovan said. “It’s a financial service company that I’m the chairman of the board of.”
Despite that distinction, attention has shifted to Donovan, who’s been part of write-ups in publications like “High Times” and “Marijuana Moment,” for the company’s attempts to provide the marijuana industry with banking options, and for his position on the drug during his time in office.
As Staten Island’s district attorney, Donovan broke with his Brooklyn counterpart, former District Attorney Kenneth Thompson, in 2014 when Donovan decided to keep prosecuting marijuana offenses according to the law despite more leniency across the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.
Donovan also had a mixed voting record while in Congress on marijuana issues, but his former body’s latest inaction around the issue will likely serve as a boon for his new business venture.
Congress is not expected to pass the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act during the lame duck session before the end of the year. Had it passed, it would’ve provided marijuana businesses more options on what to do with their money.
Donovan and Harrison see Congress’ failure as an opportunity for their business, particularly since they don’t expect banking for marijuana businesses to be a priority in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives next year.
“This is not going to be a priority of theirs,” Donovan said. “I was pretty confident that the SAFE Banking Act wasn’t going to pass in this Congress.”
The new venture uses technology that seems similar to cryptocurrencies on its surface, but Harrison laid out a series of differences, the most important of which is that Token Corp is built for transparent use that doesn’t provide anonymity.
To comply with the varying state regulations, the company provides a siloed service specific to each state where marijuana is legal.
Harrison, who served a five-game marijuana suspension during his time in the NBA, described the business as a sort of club that provides marijuana businesses, not consumers, with an option of what to do with their money.
“I’ve been passionate about the rescheduling of [marijuana] my entire life, and the ability to be able to work with [Donovan] is a complete privilege,” Harrison said.
