[bouldercouncilhotline] Hotline: Banking and marijuana

[cmosupport at bouldercolorado.gov]

Sender: Young, Mary

Carl, at last week's city council meeting I suggested that as part of the city's legislative agenda with respect to Amendment 64, we support efforts that remove barriers to marijuana businesses access to banking. Below is some language that I have drafted.
 Thank you.




Legitimate marijuana businesses in Boulder are forced to operate on a cash only basis because the substance's Federal status currently bars banks from doing business with them. This inequity creates a vulnerability to several of the enforcement priorities outlined
 in the Deputy Attorney General's letter dated August 29, 2013. More importantly it creates a serious local public safety problem.

Statutory solutions are at the Federal level and there are efforts underway to try and address this, most recently by Rep. Ed Perlmutter.
The City of Boulder will support efforts to remove administrative barriers to allow access of these businesses to banking as well as efforts to remedy legal barriers at the federal level.