Alaska Credit Union Launches Pilot Program To Serve Marijuana Firms

An Alaska credit union has joined the growing ranks of state-chartered financial institutions to announce plans to serve the legal cannabis industry.

Credit Union 1 – a 66-year-old, Anchorage-based business – announced Thursday it is kicking off a pilot program to provide financial services to the state’s approved marijuana-related businesses – otherwise dubbed MRBs in the state.

“Since 2014, when marijuana was legalized in Alaska, the lack of financial services for MRBs has flooded local streets with cash, resulting in a community safety issue,” the credit union explained in a news release.

“Credit Union 1 hopes to help relieve this is issue by providing financial services to MRBs.”

Only legally operating MRBs will be served, the credit union noted – adding that those firms’ accounts “will be under constant, comprehensive monitoring by our compliance team to ensure all aspects of their businesses stay legal.”

Earlier this week, Ohio-based Wright Patt Credit Union announced plans to offer limited financial services to licensed medical marijuana operators in the Buckeye State.

Original Article Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/alaska-credit-union-launches-pilot-program-cannabis-firms/

Comments

Mormon Church Faces Potential Lawsuit Over Medical Marijuana Opposition

Political committees concerned with marijuana law reform in four states have waged an information war over the past year, first to qualify cannabis initiatives for the ballot, and then to support or oppose those measures in the lead-up to last week’s midterm elections. In total, over $12.9 million in cash and in-kind services was spent attempting to convince voters about these marijuana ballot measures. Now that voters have had their say, Marijuana Moment decided to calculate how much each “yes” and “no” vote cost the committees on either side of the debate. Our calculations are based on dollars raised and disclosed before the election, since final totals of actual expenditures won’t be available until December or January reports required in the states that voted on cannabis. Michigan In Michigan, where voters approved marijuana legalization , our calculations show that the two anti-legalization committees spent about $1.28 per “no” vote, as they raised $2.37 million for ...

Mississippi Lawmakers Put Competing Medical Marijuana Measure On Ballot, Frustrating Advocates

A congressional committee approved two bills focused on marijuana and military veterans on Thursday. The action is the first markup of cannabis-related legislation on Capitol Hill this year. The bills approved by the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee are geared toward expanding access to medical cannabis for the veteran population and increasing research into the plant’s therapeutic benefits for conditions such as chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Veterans Equal Access Act, sponsored by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), would allow doctors at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to recommend medical marijuana to their patients in states where it’s legal. It was approved in a vote of 15-11. “Today was a monumental day for our veterans. We have been working for years to reform this counterproductive policy that forces veterans outside of the VA to receive legal medical cannabis treatment for chronic pain and PTSD,” Blumenauer said after the vote. “This is...

NY Dem Chair Warns Against Passing Voter-Supported Marijuana Legalization Bill

The head of New York’s Democratic Party said on Thursday that if the state Senate votes on a marijuana legalization bill, his party’s lawmakers run the risk of alienating voters and losing reelection next year. Jay Jacobs, the state party chairman, claimed that several “far progressive” measures, including cannabis legalization, lack popularity in certain areas across the state such as Long Island and upstate New York. He cautioned lawmakers against putting the issue to a vote, arguing that voters would “throw us out of office.” “It could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back,” he told Newsday. Polling doesn’t support that conclusion, though. According to a March 2019 survey from Quinnipiac, 65 percent of New Yorkers are in favor of allowing adults to legally possess cannabis for personal use. That includes 63 percent of respondents in upstate New York and 65 percent of those living in the suburbs. Sixty-six percent of independents statewide also back ending marijuana prohibit...

Norma Pence

Search This Blog