Tag Archives: cannabis business

January 6, 2017

PA Cannabis Banking Committee Announces Formation

By Aaron G. Biros

The Hoban Law Group announced today the formation of a committee to address banking access issues for the Pennsylvania cannabis market. Steve Schain, Esq., nationally recognized consumer finance litigation, banking law and cannabis law expert practicing with national cannabis law firm Hoban Law Group, is the committee’s spokesman and chair.

Steve Schain, Esq. practicing at Hoban law Group and chairperson of the committee. — Steve Schain, Esq. chair and spokesperson of the committee.

Limited access to banking is an ongoing issue plaguing cannabis businesses due to its federally illegal status. According to Steve Schain, cannabis businesses across the country are forced to pay their vendors, utility bills, payroll, taxes and insurance in cash. “At any time, a dispensary or cultivation operation could have up to $200,000 in cash on site- not having a place to bank opens opportunities for criminal activity,” says Schain. It also presents operational issues for business owners like record keeping or even personal bank accounts getting shut down.

“All of those issues could mean less jobs, less economic activity and less tax revenue for the state,” says Schain. “Fully compliant operations should not have to deal with this.”

Schain formed the committee for a number of reasons, including “Setting the table and starting a dialogue. We want this to be scalable. In the past, the great flaws in banking efforts for cannabis were a lack of cohesion and operating credibility- we hope to approach it from a multi-disciplinary angle and change that,” says Schain.

State Senator Daylin Leach introduced the bill — State Senator Daylin Leach

The committee’s members include three PA politicians: Daylin Leach, State Senator of the 17^th District, who introduced the bill that legalized medical cannabis in Pennsylvania, Derek Green, Philadelphia City Councilman and Mary Jo Daley, Representative of the 148^th District. Tom Fleming, former assistant director of the Office of Compliance at the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, is also a member of the committee.

A number of committee members are actively involved in the legal cannabis industry and cannabis banking initiatives. Sundie Seefried, a member of the committee, is the chief executive officer of Partner Colorado Credit Union, which is

Lindy Snider, advisor at Greenhouse Ventures and KIND Financial

currently handling over half of Colorado’s estimated billion-dollar cannabis banking market, according to Schain. Lindy Snider, founder and chief executive officer of LindiSkin, advisory board member of KIND Financial and Greenhouse Ventures, is also listed as a member of the committee.

“According to the treasury department, only 301 financial institutions have reported banking cannabis cash,” says Schain. “Few federally chartered banks or credit unions will work with cannabis businesses, but two states-Washington and Maine- have banking regulators sensitive to cannabis banking and we have found 36 banks and credit unions providing financial services to cannabis enterprises.”

The goal with forming this committee is to change that and create an environment where banking for cannabis businesses is much easier. “We plan on drafting a white paper with best practices on compliant and profitable banking on behalf of cannabis-related businesses and financial institutions,” says Schain.

Working from a banker’s perspective is the key here, says Schain. They want to create a working, compliant and profitable system for banks to do business with cannabis cash. One of the problems in the meantime is the high-risk nature of dealing with cannabis companies, leading to an inability to get insurance on those accounts. In the eyes of the federal government currently, conducting cannabis-related transactions may be deemed money laundering and highly illegal. “The real issue is with the federal government and I strongly suspect this is not an issue at the top of the Trump White House agenda.”

December 28, 2016

Biros' Blog

2016 Year in Review: Why the Cannabis Industry Needs Resiliency

By Aaron G. Biros

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2016 was a tumultuous, but productive year for the cannabis industry. Larger companies began to take interest in the fledgling market, like Microsoft and Scotts Miracle-Gro. This year brought major innovations in technology like market data tools, advances in LED tech, efficient cultivation tech and patient education tools. The Supreme Court set an important precedent by shutting down a challenge to Colorado’s cannabis market.

Voters legalized cannabis in 8 states last month Photo: Nicole Klauss, Flickr — Voters legalized cannabis in 8 states on Election Day.
Photo: Nicole Klauss, Flickr

Election Day brought a renewed sense of vigor to the market with voters in eight states legalizing forms of cannabis. California, Nevada, Maine and Massachusetts passed recreational cannabis measures, making legalization’s momentum seem exponential.

But November 8^th also gave Donald Trump the presidency, and his cabinet appointments, namely Sen. Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, gave many a feeling of uncertainty for the future of federal legalization. Adding insult to injury, the DEA repeatedly stood by their antiquated and ludicrous judgment for cannabis to remain a Schedule 1 narcotic.

Trump nominated Sen. Jeff Sessions (R) for Attorney General Photo: Gage Skidmore, Flickr

A lot of the fervor surrounding public safety could be described as overdramatic or somewhat unwarranted. 2016 was the year of misinformation. Fake news spread like wildfire with people sharing stories like this or this that turned out to be very misleading or just downright false.

States with legal cannabis came under heavy public scrutiny and addressed problems like consumer education, public safety and lab testing. Pesticides became a highly publicized and persistent issue in a number of areas, with some states regulating it heavily and addressing public health concerns. Plenty of new rules were formed surrounding labeling and testing, with Oregon, Colorado and Washington experiencing some regulatory growing pains.

Those growing pains shed light on the need for regulators to craft rules that allow for changes, adding rules where necessary and getting rid of cumbersome rules that might thwart market growth. Rules need to be able to adapt as the industry grows, much like businesses need to adapt to a changing market climate to stay afloat. This is all the more reason why cannabis businesses need to make their voices heard and work with regulators to move things forward.

Pesticide Use was a major issue of 2016 Photo: Michelle Tribe, Flickr — Pesticide use was a major issue in 2016
Photo: Michelle Tribe, Flickr

With so much uncertainty surrounding the future of legal cannabis in America, the word of the year for 2017 should be resiliency. In a social-ecological context, resiliency is “the capacity of a system to absorb or withstand perturbations and other stressors such that the system remains within the same regime, essentially maintaining its structure and functions. It describes the degree to which the system is capable of self-organization, learning and adaptation.”

A warning label for cannabis in Oregon after the October 1st compliance deadline

Self-organization, learning and adaptation are three very important attributes of a resilient system. Without knowing what will happen when Trump’s cabinet takes the reigns of federal agencies, it is important to prepare for the unexpected. Adhering to standards like FOCUS allows cannabis businesses to prepare for unexpected events like recalls or product safety failures.

Those standards could also become the law down the road, as government officials often look to an industry’s voluntary consensus-based standards when deciding how to regulate it. In 2017, a number of state governments will embark on the heavy undertaking of writing the regulatory framework for legal cannabis.

2017 will bring opportunities and challenges to the cannabis industry. The industry’s rapid growth juxtaposed with political, economic and regulatory uncertainties create a climate that requires resilience to be built into the system at all levels. It is critical, now more than ever, that cannabis businesses build strong relationships with industry groups, advocacy groups and regulators to craft the institutional capacity and mutual trust needed to weather the uncertainty ahead.

December 4, 2015

U.S. Postal Service Memo Implications for Cannabis Marketing

By Aaron G. Biros

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The U.S. Postal Service sent a memo to print publications in the Northwest this week reminding them of federal law regarding advertisements for Schedule I controlled substances. This comes as less of a directive and more of a reminder for many magazines and newspapers that ads for marijuana in print publications delivered via the postal service are not compliant with federal law.

While nothing has changed in the legislation, it produces some confusion for small cannabis business owners and publications alike that are in compliance with state and local laws when running ads involving cannabis. The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board’s frequently asked questions page on their website explicitly contradicts federal law.

One of the questions on that webpage asks: “May I use direct mail to households and inserts delivered via the Seattle Times and other publications?” And the answer provided by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board states: “Yes, inserts may not contain coupons.” This statement is clearly contradictory to federal law and to the memo sent by the U.S. Postal Service.

According to David Paleschuck, director of licensing and brand partnerships at DOPE Magazine, thinks this confusion will effect mainly small businesses. “As a business owner this tells me that it is OK to publish in newspapers like the Seattle Times which we all know is not directly delivered using the USPS.”

The memo does not directly affect DOPE Magazine’s distribution because it is not subscription-based. “We distribute via retail through dispensaries and recreational stores so it is not mailed directly to our readers,” Paleschuck says. “This will however affect many of our advertisers that are featured in subscription-based publications; Those companies and brands will not be able to advertise in publications sent through the postal service and thus non-subscription-based publications will pick up the slack.”

“States like Washington have very vague guidelines for marketing cannabis,” says Paleschuck. “There needs to more clarity for state and federal guidelines on marketing for cannabis businesses.” Moving forward, regulators will have to clarify these guidelines to determine how cannabis businesses can stay compliant.

Dawn Roberts, marketing executive at O.penVAPE, believes the memo will have a number of implications for her marketing strategies. O.penVAPE operates in nine states, manufacturing and selling oil cartridges and vape pens. “We are responsible for booking the advertising for all of our licensees to identify the best opportunities and provide support and direction for advertising and promoting their business,” says Roberts. “This [the U.S. Postal Service memo] affects our considerations for developing marketing strategies for all of the nine states we are in with regard to print publications.”

Looking at how the effects will impact their business development, Roberts needs to revisit every print publication they advertise in and check to see if it is subscription-based. “As a marketer for a brand that has a national footprint, I need to reevaluate my strategies for 2016 and look into certain publications that are subscription based,” Roberts adds. “We need to figure out how this will affect our marketing strategies for 2016.”

While this confusion gets sorted out, dispensaries and other cannabis businesses need to reevaluate their advertising and promotional strategies to stay compliant with federal and state laws.