Michigan attorney general pushes for marijuana banking

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is taking measures to move the marijuana industry in the state forward by trying to troubleshoot legal issues and supporting federal legislation that would make it easier for weed businesses to bank their money.

This week she announced she’s started a legal work group on medical and recreational marijuana issues to regularly review and analyze laws and regulations that affect the Michigan market.

“We are working hard now to avoid the years of uncertainty, lawsuits, appeals and uncertainty that followed the enactment of Michigan’s Medical Marijuana Act in 2008,” Nessel said in a statement. “With new laws and regulations on the books, particularly concerning recreational marijuana, I am confident this diverse group collectively has the knowledge, experience, and thus credibility to make recommendations that will be accepted and implemented by all involved.”

The state of Michigan has also faced numerous lawsuits over its implementation of the 2016 law — the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act — in the past year. Most recently in April, Court of Claims Judge Stephen Borrello chastised officials in the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs for being “ill-equipped” to handle the licensing process in a timely manner — which has led to a market of unlicensed businesses.

Also this week, Nessel joined a group of attorneys general from 38 statesin bipartisan support of a proposed federal law — the Secure And Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act (H.R. 1595). The measure would allow legitimate marijuana businesses to use the federal banking system.

“All legal and legitimate businesses should have a safe place to put their revenue and not have to rely on under-the-floorboard safes to store their legally earned money,” Nessel said in a statement. “Michigan expanding its market to include legal recreational sales of marijuana this year compels us to join this effort to ensure we protect Michigan businesses from becoming unnecessary targets of bad actors, keeping everyone safe in the process.”

The bill received the approval of the federal House Financial Services Committee in March, and now awaits the vote of the full House.

Nessel has brought a new approach to marijuana to the attorney general’s office since starting her tenure in January. By February she announced she had dismissed charges against four people in two pending marijuana cases.