Regulation

Early Cannabis Trends in 2019

/ Alexander Banzhaf

With the new year in full swing, New Jersey Cannabis Counsel highlights some of the most impactful news relevant to the potential legalization of cannabis in New Jersey.

New Attorney General Uninterested in Legal Cannabis Businesses?

Photo of William Barr

United States Attorney General Nominee William Barr

New Attorney General nominee William Barr testified at his confirmation hearing that he does not intend to pursue cannabis businesses operating legally pursuant to state regulations.  This is an about-face from former Attorney General Sessions, who rescinded the Cole Memorandum, which was the Obama era policy document that effectively told the Department of Justice to only pursue legal cannabis businesses that were linked to cartels, children or trafficking cannabis to states where it is not legal.  Mr. Barr has also called for additional cannabis cultivation for research purposes, and understands that the new bill legalizing the growth of hemp has implication for cannabis.  Mr. Barr has not formally committed to preparing a revised Cole Memorandum, but if confirmed, Mr. Barr as Attorney General would be a potential boon for the cannabis industry.

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Sen. Scutari Advocates for a New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission

/ Alexander Banzhaf
Image of Senator Nick Scutari (D)

Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D)

New Jersey State Senator Nicholas Scutari (D), the architect of the proposed cannabis legalization bill, authored an op-ed advocating for the creation of a Cannabis Regulatory Commission.  The Cannabis Regulatory Commission has been a hotly debated topic in the legalization process.  The various legalization bills that have been drafted have included versions of the Cannabis Regulatory Commission (originally named the “Division of Marijuana Enforcement”), which would be designed to function as the state regulatory body for the adult use legal cannabis industry.  The Cannabis Regulatory Commission would establish the number of licenses to be issued to growers and retailers, process license applications and have the authority to regulate the cannabis industry.

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Attorney General Sessions Clarifies DOJ Position on Legal Cannabis Businesses

/ Jeremy Kleiman

This blog has discussed Attorney General Sessions and his recent actions to rescind the Cole Memorandum, an Obama Administration directive that federal law enforcement should not pursue cannabis businesses operating legally within a state’s regulatory framework.

Recently, General Sessions explained that, notwithstanding the retraction of the Cole Memorandum, the Department of Justice would still functionally follow the same policies based on a lack of resources:

Jeff Sessions“We’re not going to be able, even if we desired, to take over state enforcement of routine cases that might occur,” Sessions acknowledged. “Federal agents are highly paid, highly trained, and they work on cases involving cartels, international organizations, major distribution networks, large amounts of cash. And they deal with criminal organizations, RICO-type cases. And we’re not out there prosecuting those cases every day.”

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Bipartisan Group of Senators Fight Back Against Attorney General Sessions

/ Alexander Banzhaf

On February 12, 2018, a bipartisan group of senators wrote a letter (“the Letter”) to Sen. Thad Cochran (R. Mississippi), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D. Vermont) to fight back against Attorney General Sessions’ actions on January 4, 2018 which rescinded the Cole Memorandum.  The Letter supports the regulatory frameworks of the states which have legalized recreational adult use cannabis and argues that General Sessions’ actions would “deny medications to the sick, push individuals back into illicit markets, and nullify the previously-effective regulations – all while thwarting the democratically-expressed will of the states.”  The Letter otherwise strongly supports states with legal cannabis and attacks Attorney General Sessions’ actions against cannabis.

Jeff Sessions

Attorney General Sessions

The goal of the Letter is to convince the Senate Committee on Appropriations to add language to spending bills to prevent federal enforcement of cannabis laws.  This idea follows the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment, which prohibits the Justice Department from spending funds to interfere with the implementation of state medical cannabis laws.  This amendment safeguards the medicinal cannabis industry from federal law enforcement.  The Letter seeks to do the same thing for recreational adult use cannabis.  While the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment and the proposed amendment to the spending bill do not re-write the Controlled Substances Act, the effect would be (and is for medicinal cannabis) to render it meaningless by eliminating funding for its enforcement of cannabis laws.

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Cannabis Businesses and State Banks: a Possible Solution to a Difficult Issue

/ Alexander Banzhaf

One of the more frustrating aspects of the cannabis industry for business owners is the lack of available banking services.  Many banks are hesitant to provide banking services to the cannabis industry because of the conflict between state legality and federal illegality, not to mention the obligation of banks to file Suspicious Activity Reports for transactions that may violate the Bank Secrecy Act.  While the number of banks providing services to the cannabis industry is growing, obtaining banking services is still very challenging for cannabis entrepreneurs.  The standoff between banks and the cannabis industry manifests in many frustrating ways, including but not limited to strictly cash businesses, banks who charge excessive services fees to cannabis business clients and the need to use credit unions in lieu of traditional banks (who themselves are fighting their own legal battles).

Iconic image of a bank.

Recently, California proposed an idea that could very well reshape the entire cannabis industry: a state sponsored bank for cannabis businesses.  California State Treasurer John Chiang and Attorney General Xavier Becerra are planning to conduct a feasibility study to test whether a California state bank would help California’s many cannabis businesses.

“We are contending with the emergence of a multi-billion dollar cannabis industry that needs banking services, and a private banking industry that is stymied by federal law in meeting the needs of the new industry,” Chiang said.

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Jeff Sessions Rescinds Cole Memorandum

/ Alexander Banzhaf

On January 4, 2018, Attorney General Sessions unveiled a new policy that effectively rescinds the Cole Memorandum, which set forth the Obama Administration’s position that the federal government would not generally not enforce cannabis laws in states where it is legal.  This is an about-face from General Sessions’ recent testimony where he suggested he would maintain the Obama Administration’s position.  General Sessions’ new policy comes at a time where support for legalization has never been higher, as a recent Gallup poll suggested 64% of Americans favor legalization.  Unlike the Cole Memorandum, which discouraged enforcement of cannabis laws, Gen. Sessions’ policy allows US Attorneys to exercise their own judgment as to whether to enforce cannabis laws.

Jeff Sessions

Clearly, General Sessions’ announcement has the potential to have a major impact on the legal cannabis industry.  His new policy, though, has already started a political battle.  Cory Gardner, the Republican Senator from Colorado, immediately took to Twitter to oppose General Sessions’ action, arguing that cannabis policy should be a states’ rights issue.  Sen. Gardner stated that he was “prepared to take all steps necessary, including holding DOJ nominees, until the Attorney General lives up to the commitment he made to me prior to his confirmation.”  Presumably, the commitment Sen. Gardner spoke of was adherence to the Cole Memorandum.

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Attorney General Sessions and Marijuana Laws

/ Alexander Banzhaf

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the nation’s top law enforcement officer, is an outspoken critic of marijuana.  How Attorney General Sessions approaches marijuana, both medical and recreational, has the power to shape, enhance or destroy the industry.  One of the core issues for legal marijuana businesses is the federal illegality of marijuana: state legalization does not change the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. 13, which still classifies marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance.  The conflict between states where marijuana is legal and the federal laws criminalizing marijuana creates a legitimate federalism concern.

Portrait of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Before Attorney General Sessions was appointed, marijuana businesses could rely on some limited federal guidance.   Former Obama Administration Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole issued a memorandum to all U.S. Attorneys on August 29, 2013 (the “Cole Memorandum”) explaining the Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) position on the limited scenarios where federal law enforcement should enforce federal marijuana laws, which primarily address the availability and/or provision of marijuana to children and the diversion of marijuana across state lines.  Soon thereafter, the Department of the Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a memorandum to financial institutions about their role in marijuana businesses (the “FinCEN Memorandum”) which, for all intents and purposes, adopted the positions taken by the DOJ as set forth the Cole Memorandum.

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