If they've taken money from the SEIU's Prison Union, vote them out

If the voters would just take the time to find out if their representatives were taking money from the Unions that along with the Lawyers Guilds give a huge amount of money to both Democrat and Republican to keep Cannabis classified a #1 drug along with such as heroin and cocaine. If they take the money that puts honest people in prison for guards that make $100,000 per year in California; Vote Them Out, its the only thing they really understand. If your Rep. doesn't take money, ask them for the names of those that do, it'll get around very quickly that taking that type of money end careers.
http://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news/295419-172853-senate-approves-banking-for-pot-businesses

"Senate approves banking for pot businesses
Created on Friday, 26 February 2016 18:35 | Written by Paris

The bill now awaits Gov. Kate Brown's signature.

The Oregon Senate approved legislation Friday that removes criminal liability for providing financial services to marijuana-related businesses.

Entrepreneurs who have taken advantage of the state's new legalized recreational pot laws have had to rely on cash transactions, raising security issues and concerns about how to collect taxes on sales without the convenience of a checkbook and a bank account.

State and federal laws largely restrict banks and credit unions from providing financial services to pot-related businesses because the federal government still classifies weed as a Schedule 1 drug. That classification is defined as the most dangerous drugs at high risk for abuse in the Controlled Substance Act of 1970.

The emergency bill passed Friday in the Senate 18-to-6, and Feb. 16 in the House of Representatives, 56-to-3. It will remove criminal liability for providing banking services under Oregon law, though it gives no protection against federal prosecution. The bill now awaits Gov. Kate Brown's signature.

HANDOUT - Rep. Tobias Read, D-Beaverton

HANDOUT - Rep. Tobias Read, D-Beaverton
The bill by Rep. Tobias Read, D-Beaverton, also allows the Oregon Liquor Control Commission and the Oregon Health Authority to provide financial institutions with confidential information on license and permit holders in the marijuana industry. The information would otherwise be exempt from public disclosure.

OLLC regulates recreational pot, while the Oregon Health Authority oversees the medical program.

Read said the bill would reduce the risk and liability to financial institutions and direct the Department of Consumer and Business Services to study other ways to overcome obstacles to accessing financial services.

Some financial institutions, such as Maps Credit Union in Salem, have already taken the risk of serving marijuana businesses. Maps serves cannabis dispensaries, said Kevin Cole, the institution's chief financial officer.

The legislation still can’t protect banks and credit unions from lawsuits leveraging federal statutes against organized crime. Such lawsuits have sought to stop the cannabis industry in other states such as Colorado.

The Legislature passed a resolution last year urging Congress to lift restrictions on providing financial services to the marijuana industry and to declassify marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug.

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, and Rep. Earl Perlmutter, D-Colorado, last year introduced the Marijuana Businesses Access to Banking Act to allow legal marijuana businesses to access banking services. The legislation found some support in the House but has yet to receive any action in the Senate."

https://cannabisnowmagazine.com/cur...a-banking-bill-provides-no-federal-protection

This new Oregon legislation does nothing to protect against the Federal overreach which can send you to jail for 20 years. This rule/regulation or law was put together by a Democrat House and Senate and signed into law by President Roosevelt in the 1930's and has sent 100's of thousand to prison for smoking something that was considered sacred by many peoples, the Democrats passed the law so that there would be no protection for hemp which was widely used in the United States for paper and thousands of other products even fuel. It was shut down because William R. Hearst wanted no competition with his pulp mills which made paper for the newspapers. This law was passed by Democrats and now they are once more trying to stop its usage for the benefits that the sick and lame can benefit from. Obama could have downgraded the use of the Cannibas plant to a grade #2 but he did not even though he has smoked a ton of it himself and probably continues when he's golfing or setting on the pot in the White House. Let your elected officials know that you will vote against them in the next election if they don't help pass useful legislation to legalize Cannabis; vote them out.


Cannabis Now Magazine


Oregon’s New Marijuana Banking Bill Provides No Federal Protection
By Mike Adams on March 2, 2016@adamssoup
309 shares


Banking services may soon be made slightly easier for those involved in the Oregon cannabis industry. The State Legislature has pushed through a bill that will make the state the first in the nation to eliminate some of the criminal liability for those banks wanting to work with marijuana businesses.

On Friday, the Oregon Senate put their seal of approval on a piece of legislation (House Bill 4094) intended to give banks the freedom to do business with members of the cannabis trade without concerns of legal repercussion. The House of Representatives also approved the measure, sending it to the desk of Governor Kate Brown for a signature.

At its core, this emergency bill, which was introduced by Representative Tobias Read, “Exempts financial institutions that provide financial services to marijuana related businesses, researchers and laboratories from any criminal law of this state that has element that may be proven by substantiating that person provides financial services to person who lawfully possesses, delivers or manufactures marijuana or marijuana derived products.” It also gives the Oregon Liquor Control Commission and the Oregon Health Authority the right to share information about marijuana license holders with financial institutions.

The bad news is while this legislation would create additional protections at the state level, it does nothing to stop the federal government from marching in and slapping banks with money laundering charges. Although the Justice Department issued some guidance in 2014 for the banking industry to work with marijuana businesses, there are no concrete laws on the book to prevent the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration from swooping in to shut down any bank that accepts deposits from any organization that deals in weed. This has prevented many larger financial institutions from so much as considering allowing pot entrepreneurs to open accounts, forcing most dispensaries to operate on a cash-only basis.

However, if Governor Brown signs the bill into law, which she is expected to do, the cannabis industry would likely reap the benefits of smaller banks and credit unions stepping up to offer banking solutions. All any of these organizations would need to do is adhere to the key points of the Justice Department’s guidance, as outlined in the Cole Memo, and they should be able to keep the Feds from stepping in to harass them. But don’t expect any of the major banking institutions to embrace the cannabis trade – that isn’t about to happen until the marijuana laws have been changed at the federal level.

But even this kind of marijuana reform is not likely to happen anytime soon. A couple of proposals aimed at establishing solid policies pertaining to marijuana banking were introduced in both chambers of Congress last year. The goal was to provide a “safe harbor for depository institutions providing financial services to a marijuana-related legitimate business,” granting these organizations “immunity from federal criminal prosecution or investigation.” Neither the House nor the Senate measure has received any action since their introduction. The issue was also addressed in 2015 in the form of a proposed amendment to the federal budget. It, too, failed to gain any traction.

What do you think? Could this banking legislation offer some relief for Oregon’s marijuana marketplace? Let us know.