Guest Post: Plane-ly Legal – Carrying Large Sums of Cash on Commercial Airline Flights

By Luigi Zamarra, CPA

Due to the banking challenges facing our industry, many business owners are working with large sums of cash. Sometimes this cash must be transported: brought to the location where payment is agreed to be made. Sometimes this requires boarding a commercial airline flight with a large sum of cash in your carry-on baggage. (I do not recommend putting cash into your checked baggage.) You should not worry.

While working with a client to plan dividend distributions to their investors, the client expressed his concern that TSA would not allow anyone to board a domestic flight with large sums of cash. This did not seem correct to me for a variety of reasons, so I decided to look into the issue further. Please remember that U.S. currency is “legal tender for all debts, public and private” and there is no law that states that VISA, MasterCard, and the big banks must be in the middle – and get a piece of the action – of every transaction. We have the right to conduct all of our business in cash if we choose, and making such a choice should not subject us to suspicions. As an industry, we should be united in defending our rights to use cash, and we should reject any assertion that using cash implies criminal activity.

It is important to draw a distinction between domestic flights and international flights. On international flights, you must file FinCEN Form 105 with the U.S. Treasury if you are either entering or leaving the U.S. with more than $10,000 of cash currency. This rule does not apply to domestic flights, either intrastate or interstate. On domestic flights, there is no limit; you are legally entitled to fly with as much cash as you see fit, and you are not required to file any form with U.S. Treasury.

It is also very important to understand that TSA is not a law enforcement agency. TSA personnel are not trained in the legal procedures of collecting evidence or conducting investigations, so such actions must be conducted only by law enforcement. TSA’s mission is to “protect the transportation system to ensure freedom of movement of people and commerce.” According to TSA policy, (a) “screening may not be conducted to detect evidence of crimes unrelated to transportation security,” and (b) “traveling with large amounts of currency is not illegal.”

Unfortunately the TSA has engaged in mission-creep recently by searching for cash and engaging in interrogation when cash is found. If you find yourself being questioned by TSA about why you are carrying cash and where you got the cash, you are entitled to refuse to answer these questions. You should state, quietly but assertively, that such information is confidential and that such questions are outside of the TSA purpose and mission. You should also remind the TSA official that such questions are beyond TSA authority, since they are not permitted to investigate evidence of crimes unrelated to transportation security and since there is no danger to air safety from a briefcase of $100 dollar bills. Finally, remind the TSA official that traveling with large amounts of currency is not illegal.

Luigi Zamarra, CPA, has been a member of NCIA since 2013. Luigi CPA is an accounting firm located in Oakland, CA, that helps all types of businesses and individuals with tax planning, tax compliance, and tax dispute services. Luigi specializes in the medical marijuana industry. He helps these businesses comply with IRC Section 280E so as to balance tax cost against audit examination risk.

Cannabis Carnival: Industry. Reform. Community.

By Brian Gilbert, NCIA events coordinator

The National Cannabis Industry Association branched out into the world of live music production this past month with “Cannabis Carnival,” presented by NCIA and O.penVAPE at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom in conjunction with the inaugural Cannabis Business Summit in Denver. A multi-sensory concert and fundraising experience, it was a night that certainly won’t be forgotten soon. NCIA brought together more than 750 people to celebrate the work of cannabis policy reform and the establishment of a legitimate, responsible industry to help fuel the continued fight toward the end of marijuana prohibition. The event buzzed with cannabusiness leaders from around the country, along with local live music fans and cannabis enthusiasts alike.

The musical acts for the evening matched the diversity of the cannabis community as a whole, featuring rock, funk, electronica, and even a percussion-centered, psychedelic electronic marching band. (Hey, why not?) Denver-area musicians were spotlighted throughout the event, with Bear Antler starting the night with their Colorado-flavored brand of unapologetic rock & roll, the premier drug policy reform producer Erothyme laying down gracious melodies, and local favorites SunSquabi carrying the groove late into the night with their high-energy, dance-inducing set featuring flow performances from Surka Noelle.

The highlight for many attendees was the undeniably engaging, objectively terrifying, and supremely entertaining madness that is The Itchy-O Marching Band. Featuring a large drum corps, accompanied by guitars, synthesizers, inventive electronic noisemakers, and a dancing Chinese dragon, Itchy-O’s black-masked performers put on a memorable spectacle.

CC - Hooper w/ Nadis Austin-based duo The Nadis Warriors, who have been taking the live electronic music world by storm, closed out the evening with a driving electronica-filled headlining slot, accompanied by special guest drummer Allen Aucoin of trance-fusion pioneers The Disco Biscuits. Their special set also featured aerial silk performances from the talented Ariana Airyfairy, topping off a dramatic and celebratory night.

Keeping in the carnival theme, our generous sponsors were able to gain some serious brand exposure while offering attendees fun, cannabis-themed activities to occupy their time. With promotional booths from Good Chemistry & The Farm offering giveaways & prizes, the Cannabis Camera “Bud Booth” sponsored by Surna Inc. snapping away in the VIP area, and the always popular O.penVAPE Bus holding down the sidewalk party out front all night, there were plenty of things for cannabis carnival-goers to engage in. For our VIP guests, Three Tomatoes Catering even came through with a delicious buffet spread.

In addition to our sponsor offerings, a number of local artists joined us to showcase their live painting skills in our “Visionary Arts Gallery”. Designed to inspire and uplift those in attendance and harness their collective energy for positive change, the gallery featured work from Chance Roberts, Molly Gardner, Adam Psybe, and Stephen Kruse. We were honored to have such talented artists join us for this event and hope this trend of combining art, performance, music and reform continues.

The response to NCIA’s first-ever concert event was exciting. In one night we were able to bring together the cannabis industry, the drug policy reform movement, and the live music community to achieve something greater than the sum of its parts. The power of the emerging cannabis industry can amplify the reform movement’s message of a responsible, sensible, and conscious society. With your help we can achieve that goal, so don’t think this is the last you’ve heard from these cannabis carnies! Plans are in the works to spread this event across the country, and we can’t wait to tell you more as things develop.

Thank you again to all our Cannabis Carnival attendees! You can relive the magic with a full photo album from the event here: http://on.fb.me/1m1eF5v

And a final, huge thanks to all our generous sponsors for making this event possible. We couldn’t have done it without you!

O.penVAPE
The Farm Co.
Good Chemistry Denver
Bridgewest CPA’s and Consultants LLC
The Clinic Alternative Medicine
Surna
Cannabis Trainers

Special thanks as well to Kat Rutt Design for her great work on the Carnival poster and promotional materials!

The Cannabis Business Summit, Where Commerce Met a Revolution

By Brooke Gilbert, NCIA director of education & events

The National Cannabis Industry Association’s first annual Cannabis Business Summit took place on June 24th and 25th in Denver at the Colorado Convention Center, serving as a monument to the current success of the legal adult-use and medical cannabis industry. Bringing together more than 1,100 representatives from all aspects of the cannabis industry, the Cannabis Business Summit looked like any other business conference from the outside. With an array of keynote speeches and educational panels, in addition to an exposition hall showcasing advances in the industry, attendees came to share knowledge, to network, to find opportunities, and to contribute to the rapid growth of the cannabis industry.

The exposition hall featured over 50 member sponsors. Products and services, such as automated trimming machines, cannabis oil extraction machines, accounting solutions, insurance companies, software producers, consulting services, and cannabis-infused products showed the diverse community of businesses that currently make up the cannabis industry. This hands-on display of advances within the industry complimented the educational component nicely, not only showcasing cutting edge products and services, but also offering the opportunity to talk one-on-one with those behind each company. It was impossible to walk through the exposition hall without hearing new solutions to challenges as well as new business partnerships being forged.

In addition to the exposition hall, the Cannabis Business Summit featured nearly 100 speakers who shared their experience and expertise on a wide range of topics spread across five different educational tracks. The featured educational tracks included CannaBusiness 101, Advanced CannaBusiness, Ancillary Services and Products, Cannabis Policy and Reform, and Emerging Topics & Roundtable Discussions. General sessions and keynote speeches rounded out the educational side of the summit and featured leading thought-leaders and industry pioneers.

A powerful start to the two days, the opening keynote featured Troy Dayton of the ArcView Group. Dayton’s moving speech touched on how entrepreneurship and the push for social justice reform concerning cannabis prohibition have worked hand-in-hand to create the landscape for this now burgeoning industry. Following the opening keynote, the first general session, “Colorado & Washington: Successes and Challenges from the Frontier of Post-Prohibition America,” featured heavy-hitters in the movement, including Brian Vicente of Vicente Sederberg, John Davis of Northwest Patient Resource Center, Hon. Roger Goodman of Washington State Legislature, Andrew Freedman, Director of Marijuana Coordination Office of the Governor, and Elliott Klug of Pink House Blooms. The panel offered an honest discussion on the progress of the reform movement, what has been going right, the challenges the industry is facing now, and the future of the legal cannabis industry. The opening keynote speech and panel were filmed in their entirety by C-SPAN and can be viewed here.

Though the obvious subject of the conference revolved around the business aspect of the developing legal cannabis industry, two themes permeated throughout the two days. The first was the recognition of those who came before and helped pave the way politically to allow this industry to blossom. In attendance was NCIA’s special guest Charles Lynch, who in 2007 had his state-licensed medical marijuana dispensary raided in California and was subsequently sent to federal prison. A number of times throughout the Summit, speakers emphasized the incongruity of nearly 1,200 industry professionals coming together for cannabis business opportunities while many around the country sit in jail and continue to be persecuted under unjust prohibitionary policies. “We have to acknowledge those who came before us,” said Aaron Smith, executive director of NCIA, during his keynote speech. “Before we were an industry, we were a movement, and we are still a social movement. The growth of this new industry will drive the final nail in the coffin of marijuana prohibition, so that no one is put in a cage for using a beneficial, extremely therapeutic herbal product ever again.”

The second through-running theme was that, with two states opening up legal, adult-use markets, and more states poised in the coming years to also implement adult-use or medical programs, the cannabis industry must continue to put forward the best practices and image possible. In the keynote panel “Getting the Message: Effective and Responsible Marketing Strategies for Cannabis Businesses,” Taylor West, deputy director of NCIA stated, ”This is a cultural movement in the midst of an enormous wave, and we have the opportunity to define an idea on the rise, to be responsible, and to do the education around that,” West said.

“We are building an industry from scratch, and we have to take this opportunity to make this an industry that’s not like every other industry. Responsible branding is important. Don’t screw it up for everybody. We don’t have a rock-solid foundation, and we’re still very vulnerable from a public opinion and policy stand-point. Don’t market to children and don’t market like children,” she said. These points stressed the importance of needing to be both strategic and responsible in the promotion of cannabis businesses, as the industry works under tight scrutiny to continue moving forward.

The outstanding success of the first Cannabis Business Summit shows that as an industry we can move – and are moving – in a responsible, legitimate, and innovative direction. NCIA is honored to have brought together this community with such an incredible turnout of movers and shakers, all contributing to creating an industry we can be proud of. We invite you to join us at one of our many educational & networking events scheduled during the remainder of the year in California, Massachusetts, New York, Nevada, Illinois, Florida, and Colorado. We here at NCIA are proud of the direction this industry is moving, and we sincerely thank all of those who are doing their part to advance an industry based in responsible business practices. Thank you once again to the many generous sponsors and speakers who helped make this such a success, and we’ll see you at the next NCIA event!

Guest Post: Oregon to Vote on Adult-Use Legalization in November

By Anthony Johnson, OCIA executive director

It’s official! Oregon voters will have the opportunity to join Colorado and Washington in regulating, legalizing and taxing cannabis like beer and wine this November. Oregon has wasted too many law enforcement and judicial resources arresting and citing thousands of Oregonians every year. Nearly 100,000 times over the last decade law enforcement officers have taken time out of their day and the day of cannabis users to either write tickets or actually place someone under arrest. Those arrest and citations, in addition to the added judicial, jail and prison costs are a huge waste of Oregon’s limited resources.

The New Approach Oregon measure will also create a new regulated industry that will allow Oregon’s cannabis industry to follow in the footsteps of the state’s successful microbrewery and winery industries. Under the measure, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) will provide wholesale, retail, producer and processor licenses to qualified applicants for $1,250. This relatively low barrier to entry will allow for small businesses and Oregon mom-and-pop shops to enter the market and compete.

A reasonable one-time tax of $35 per ounce ($1.25 per gram) for flower, $10 per ounce of leaf and $5 for every plant sold will keep prices affordable, letting regulated businesses to compete, and eventually diminish the unregulated, illicit market. The OLCC will collect the tax after the first sale after production, keep enough funds for enforcement and then disperse 40% to education, 15% to state police, 10% to cities, 10% to counties, 5% to drug prevention and 20% to mental health and substance abuse treatment services.

Marijuana use must remain out of public view and cannot be delivered within 1,000 feet of schools. The measure doesn’t impact the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program and allows for limited home cultivation (similar to home brewing of beer). The proposal doesn’t change current driving under the influence laws, landlord tenant relations or workplace rules.

Polls show that the New Approach Oregon measure can win at the ballot box and an experienced campaign team has put together a plan for victory. However, prohibitionists like Kevin Sabet and vested interests such as Big Pharma are going to put up a fight. Please go to www.newapproachoregon.com to donate, volunteer and help spread the word about this important measure that will improve the lives of Oregonians and help set the stage for more states to legalize cannabis in 2016.

Anthony Johnson is executive director of the Oregon Cannabis Industry Association and the chief petitioner of the New Approach Oregon ballot measure.

D.C. Update: Victories in House Show Momentum for Cannabis Legislation

As Washington State celebrates its first retail sales of marijuana, and one state after another continues lowering the burdens to accessing medicinal marijuana, across the country in the “other” Washington (D.C.), Congress continues to lag public opinion polls and is slow to embrace the marijuana movement sweeping the nation.

But even as stand-alone legislation to address issues like banking access and unfair taxation has remained bottled up in Congressional committees, two recent victories show that positive momentum is gathering and progress is being achieved.

Every year Congress appropriates funds for the government to operate in the upcoming fiscal year. This is usually accomplished in 13 separate appropriations bills, each of which affects different departments. Each appropriations bill has to pass the House and Senate before it’s signed by the President, and in some years Congress consolidates multiple appropriations bills into one large bill. Gridlock and partisanship have gotten so bad in recent years that the “normal” budget process has not worked and government has been shut down. But this year, the appropriations process has presented an opportunity to offer amendments affecting the marijuana movement.

The specific appropriations legislation funding the Department of Justice was debated on May 30 in the House of Representatives, and Congressmen Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Sam Farr (D-CA) introduced an amendment that would forbid the Department of Justice from using federal funds to interfere with medical marijuana patients or caregivers who are compliant with state and local laws. A similar amendment has been proposed in Congress before but never met with success. This time, the amendment was approved by a 219-189 vote, including the support of 49 Republicans.

Although there are still several challenges to surmount before the amendment’s language can become law, the vote was nonetheless historic as the first time in history the House of Representatives passed pro-marijuana legislation and agreed that individual states should be allowed to determine its own marijuana laws.

In the Senate, a bipartisan amendment introduced by Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) would accomplish the same goals as the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, but Republican and Democrat Senators can’t even agree on debate procedures, so the legislation languishes and we continue to wait until Senate leaders bring appropriations bills up for a vote.

This month, the House debated the Financial Services Appropriations bill, which funds the Department of the Treasury. During that debate, Representatives Denny Heck (D-WA), Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), and Barbara Lee (D-CA) offered an amendment that would forbid the use of federal funds to penalize financial institutions for serving cannabis businesses that are operating in compliance with state and local laws. In a vote that sent a strong message of support for opening up banking access to the legal industry, the House passed the amendment 231-192.

That amendment faces the same challenges of a gridlocked Senate that the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment does. But the combination of these two votes in the Republican-controlled House shows that the work of NCIA and our allied organizations to educate federal legislators about our issues is having a very real impact.

NCIA Member Profile: CannLabs

NCIA Member Profile: CannLabs, Inc.

About: CannLabs, Inc., is a solutions provider with intellectual property, proprietary cloud-based analytics, and scientific methods to serve the cannabis industry. Through Carbon Bond Holdings Inc., CannLabs provides laboratories with the necessary business intelligence technology and other solutions required to serve the cannabis industry, and these include the first state-licensed laboratory in Denver, Colorado.

Cannabis Industry Sector: Analytical Testing

NCIA Member Since: 2011

Membership Status: Sustaining

Led by: Genifer Murray

How has CannLabs evolved since you founded the business?
CannLabs has made leaps and bounds since we founded the company in April 2010. I started in a lab space that was 150 square feet with one instrument. We recently moved into our new lab space that is 4000 square feet with 2500 square feet of office space. We currently have 20 employees and continue to rapidly grow. We just signed a lease in Connecticut and we’re excited about expanding our services there. Testing in Colorado is mandatory for adult-use only, and we were the first state-certified lab in the country. The industry is changing fast and I’m extremely happy at the way CannLabs is positioned to support it.

Why did you choose to go into cannabis testing, and how does testing and analysis fit into the future of the cannabis industry?
It was literally started on a napkin in Arizona when I was visiting my Dad at the beginning of 2010. My first business partner had the idea and after returning to Colorado I did my due diligence and absolutely loved the idea. I have a B.S. in Microbiology and I love science. It seemed like a perfect fit for me as it allowed me to bring together my business brain and my natural desire to do something different.

CannLabs started as a lab offering a full range of testing services, but we have found that our expertise, experience, and quality of our service has allowed us to be heavily involved in other areas beyond testing.

For example, if a grower finds that the quality of the product is not good during testing, we can advise them on how best to deal with the issue. This allows for improved quality of the product all around which means a better and safer product for the consumer. We also have medicinal chemists who research deep into cannabis and look for ways to reformulate for better products. The science and technology behind cannabis is an area we excel in at CannLabs.

We also have a proprietary, cloud-based technology that feeds real-time data via our web portal. This allows clients to post their test results instantly on our ‘Product Finder’ or our other partner sites (MJ Freeway and WeedMaps) which allows consumers to find CannLabs-tested and -certified products fast and easy. This not only gives customers reassurance that the products they are finding are certified by CannLabs, but it also drives traffic to the dispensaries we test for as it is a fabulous location-finder. We also offer statistics so our clients can push one button and see trends. For example, the Colorado MED process requests a 3-month average for potency. Our clients do not need to take the time to do that. Instead they simply push a button and our system does it for them. Whatever our customers want to see, we can customize it.

What was the licensing process like?
Comprehensive. The CDPHE (Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment) was at our lab for about nine hours going through methods, SOP’s (Standard Operating Procedures), testing our lab director and lab staff, and thoroughly going through the lab. Heather Despres, our lab director, was very prepared, so we were able to get our license without many changes. We were very happy to finally get certified, as I have been waiting for the opportunity for four years.

Why did you get involved with NCIA?
Why wouldn’t CannLabs? I remember in the very beginning of 2011 when it started, I wanted to join so badly but I was barely making enough to keep afloat. Once I could, I joined immediately; I believe at the end of 2011. It is very important to support the industry not only locally but nationally. NCIA is the ONLY one out there working for us. NCIA has been so wonderful to be a part of and you meet some amazing people leading the industry in this group. If only the entire industry felt this way, we might have banking issues solved by now.

NCIA Board Plans Future for Industry’s Trade Association

By Aaron Smith, NCIA executive director

The National Cannabis Industry Association’s newly-elected Board of Directors met last week in Seattle to receive presentations from staff and provide strategic direction for the organization’s core efforts.

One of the primary responsibilities of the board is to oversee NCIA’s financial affairs, which are very healthy as membership rolls have reached nearly 700 cannabis businesses midway through the year. NCIA’s revenues are 10% over the projections for Q1 and Q2 and spending is on target. The success of our national conference and growth in membership have allowed NCIA to hire an additional events coordinator who will assist the organization in building out a robust agenda of educational and networking events for members.

The board also received presentations from Deputy Director Taylor West and Director of Government Relations Michael Correia on NCIA’s communications and lobbying efforts, respectively. NCIA and the cannabis industry have garnered more media attention in 2014 than ever before, raising awareness of the positive contribution responsible cannabis businesses make to the national economy and growing public support for the federal and state policy reforms needed to advance the regulated industry across the country.

The addition of a full-time staff lobbyist at the end of last year has allowed us to provide more political representation in Washington, DC than ever before. NCIA’s director of government relations has already made contact with every congressional office and has personally met with over 200 House offices and 30 Senate offices to build support for amending the 280E provision of the tax code as well as reforms to banking regulations so that the cannabis providers will someday (hopefully soon) have access to basic financial services all other industry’s take for granted.

A former Republican Hill staffer himself, Michael Correia, has focused primarily on building relationships with conservative members of Congress and appealing to them on issues of states’ rights and limited government. This effort helped lead to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives voting for the first time to block federal resources from to be used to undermine state medical marijuana laws or penalize financial institutions for doing business with state-legal cannabis providers.

The board also collectively donated over $8,000 to NCIA’s federal PAC during the meeting so that the industry can further support candidates that support our issues in the months ahead.

Before concluding the meeting, board members re-elected Ean Seeb of Denver Relief as the board chairman and elected John Davis of Northwest Patient Resource Center as vice-chair.

The future is bright for the cannabis industry and its trade association but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done before our members are treated fairly under federal law. As NCIA grows, we will continue to dedicate resources to important government and public relations work as well as building a culture of responsibility and political engagement within the industry.

ServSafe® & SELL-SMaRT™: NCIA Partners with Cannabis Trainers for Pilot Training Series

The National Cannabis Industry Association is pleased to announce an exciting new partnership with our member Cannabis Trainers™!

In a pilot project reflecting our commitment to high industry standards for quality, safety, and responsibility, NCIA will host a series of training courses focused on food safety and responsible selling, open to all cannabis industry professionals but heavily subsidized for NCIA member-businesses.

With cannabis businesses under a microscope, NCIA wants to help our members continue developing the kinds of best practices that define a professional, sustainable industry. That includes the safe handling of cannabis edibles and the responsible, knowledgeable, and safe sale of cannabis in any form to their customer base.

NCIA’s pilot series will include both ServSafe® Food Safety Basics courses and Sell-SMaRT™ Responsible Cannabis Vendor training courses produced by member business Cannabis Trainers™. The first trainings will take place in Denver, Colorado in August, with additional trainings to be scheduled in the coming months.

Maureen McNamara, the founder and chief facilitator with Cannabis Trainers™ has 20 years of professional training experience, with an extensive background in food safety and responsible alcohol service training. She has served as a consultant and facilitator for courses and course design with the National Restaurant Association and has partnered with the Colorado Restaurant Association to deliver their trainings since 1999. In that time, she has trained and certified over 10,000 employees, managers, and owners in these national certification programs. Additionally, she worked with the Colorado Department of Revenue’s Liquor Enforcement Division to develop the Responsible Vendor Act that was passed in 2005 and will be working with the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division to design the Responsible Cannabis Vendor Program this year. Maureen and the team at Cannabis Trainers™ deliver highly interactive, compelling workshops and now are ready to bring this expertise and customizable training for professionals in the cannabis industry.

The first ServSafe® food safety training program will take place on August 6th from 9 am – 12 pm at the Colorado Restaurant Association in Denver.

The nationally accredited ServSafe® program provides food safety training, exams, certifications, and educational materials to professionals in the food service industry. Blending the latest FDA Food Code, food safety research and years of food sanitation training experience, this will be the first-ever ServSafe® course solely for makers of cannabis infused edibles. Employees and managers alike will learn to implement essential food safety practices and work within a culture of food safety. This course is in full compliance with and fulfills the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division’s requirements to demonstrate an understanding of basic food handling safety practices or attend a food handler training course prior to manufacturing any Edible Retail Marijuana Product.

This three-hour course is $10 for each NCIA member employee and $45 for each non-member employee. Registration for the ServSafe® training program is available online here: http://ServSafeAug6.ezevent.com/

The first Sell-SMaRT™ training program will take place on August 19th from 12 pm – 5 pm at the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado non-profit space.

The Sell-SMaRT™ course is a responsible vendor training program aimed toward owners, managers, budtenders, and all front-line store staff to prepare for safely and effectively handling complex situations in operating a business. The responsible vending program will cover such topics as educating consumers about potency, dosage, and effects of different forms of cannabis. In addition this course will encompass issues regarding ID verification and following the numerous and varied legal regulations around selling cannabis.

This five-hour course is $97 for each NCIA member employee and $147 for each non-member employee. Registration for the Sell-SMaRT™ training program is available online here: here: http://SellSMaRTAug19.ezevent.com/

NCIA strongly believes that the knowledgeable, responsible production and sale of cannabis products is a cornerstone to the success of our industry. Educating yourself and your employees is one of the most important things you can do to build a sustainable future for your business.

If you aren’t yet a member of NCIA, please consider joining today! Membership starts as low as $100 a month or $1,000 a year and not only do you receive benefits such as discounted prices for these trainings, but you support the cannabis industry’s only unified and coordinated national campaign to change laws and public opinion.

URGENT ACTION NEEDED: Contact Your Member of Congress Today!

Around 2pm ET today, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on two amendments to the Financial Services Appropriation bill that could affect the ability of cannabis businesses to access banking services. We need your help. Please call your Representative’s office and urge him or her to vote NO on the Fleming amendment and YES on the Heck/Rohrabacher/Perlmutter/Lee amendment.

The Fleming amendment would block the guidance issued by the Department of Treasury in February that began to open the door for banks to provide services to our industry. Urge your Representative to vote NO.

The Heck/Rohrabacher/Perlmutter/Lee amendment would allow cannabis businesses operating in compliance with state law to access the banking system. Urge your Representative to vote YES.

You can find your Representative’s contact information by going to this link and entering your zip code.

Here is some additional information to help you share your story with your Representative:

23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized the use of either medical (21 states) or adult and medical-use (2 states) marijuana.
Because marijuana remains classified as Schedule I drug, individuals who grow, possess, use, sell, transport, or distribute marijuana remain subject to federal criminal prosecution, even in states that have legalized those actions.
Consequently, financial institutions providing banking services to legitimate marijuana businesses are subject to criminal prosecution.
Earlier this year, DOJ and Treasury released guidance for banking regulators on how banks can provide services to legitimate marijuana business. While the guidance has not fully solved the problem—many banks are still reluctant to offer financial services to marijuana businesses—it has created a framework for allowing marijuana businesses to access the banking system.
As cash-only businesses, marijuana businesses are targets for crime and robbery, which puts employees, customers, bystanders and law enforcement at risk.
The inability of marijuana related businesses to access the banking system also makes it harder for regulators and law enforcement tomonitor transactions and prosecute crime.
Restricting marijuana business’s access to banks forces them to operate as a cash-only business, which results in a serious public safety and law enforcement concern. In the last two years, marijuana businesses in Denver have suffered from an annual burglary rate of about 50 percent.

The Heck-Perlmutter-Lee-Rohrabacher Amendment will allow legitimate marijuana-related businesses operating according to state laws to access the banking system in an effort to reduce the risks and public safety concern of operating as a cash-only business. The Amendment stops banking regulators from penalizing financial institutions for providing services to marijuana related business that operate according to state law.

Guest Post: Commercial Cannabis Compliance – The Key to a Golden Age

By Mark Slaugh, Founder and CEO of iComply, LLC

As I call another contact in Colorado, the knowledge of the latest Denver Post article is still fresh in my mind. The headline reads, “Denver approves plan to increase staff to enforce marijuana regulations.” Our client, busy as usual managing plants, product, and people, sighs in desperation as I tell her about the additional $3.4m in Denver being added to the $25m budget of State regulators.

Exasperated, she says, “man, it seems like they want to regulate as few of us as possible.” She knows the horror stories etched on the tombstones of businesses now shut down due to regulatory enforcement. Forfeit in the grave are dozens of jobs, thousands in investment, and millions in opportunity.

I know the struggle of marijuana businesses to reach the high bar of compliance that has been set in Colorado for commercial cannabis operators. When I started iComply in 2011, it was with the operational understanding of early rules at an initial stage of medical marijuana regulatory framework. At the time, my work had been facilitating the operations of new dispensaries and directing a Southern Colorado industry group making its way through local laws and state legislation.

Back then, we all knew about cameras, about locks, about badging, about tracking sales. What we didn’t know was how long the arm of the Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) was. Up until last year, the industry and regulators we still figuring it out. Many people viewed enforcement like a Sasquatch; sightings and rumors abound but with very few inspections ever conducted and even fewer enforcement actions taken.

Typical in new markets, about 60% of the industry went out of business in the first 18 months and the Division had over-projected revenues and under-projected budgets. In short, they were down to 12 employees and very little bandwidth in the field to regulate over 1,000 facilities.

To no real surprise, a scathing audit of the MED found they were inefficient and ineffective. However, shortly after Amendment 64 passed, legislators took action. The Division was robustly funded to make up for years of enforcement gaps. The industry, for the most part, rejoiced over the possibility of removing bad actors from the playing field and leveling the standard for compliant cannabis commerce in Colorado.

The only reason anyone in the national industry is allowed to blatantly violate Federal Law is if they can show clear, unambiguous, compliance with State regulatory regimes. These regulations cover the eight Department of Justice Guidelines outlined in the 2012 Cole Memo. As new states bring regulations online from CBD only, to medical and retail marijuana, the signal is clear: expect enforcement to hold businesses accountable to the law.

For experienced and novice operators alike, compliance is a challenge that is difficult to take on alone. Qualified labor shortages are the nature of the market place and budtenders and growers seldom read legalese and are able to fully comprehend the regulatory expectations of the industry. Managing compliance details is crucial and standardizing best practices is far from complete. As the industry matures in Colorado and expands nationwide, owners and operators must keenly hone in on what the future will look like:

State-wide seed to sale tracking using RFID technology, real-time analytic reporting to law enforcement, standard operating procedure requirements, laboratory testing, manufacturing safety protocols, and product homogeneity under certified processes are just a few of the high level expectations likely to govern any cannabis market in the US.

As operators expand the marketplace by opening more facilities amid multiple states, we must contend with a slew of regulatory nuances. Colorado owners are hiring a scarce qualified workforce as compliance officers to internally manage reporting, tracking, and deadlines. Rules change frequently, and interpretations vary from attorneys to individual enforcement agents in the field – making a complex operation even more difficult.

We have clients who, due to missing the filing of one form, have had over 20lbs of product sanctioned by enforcement. For 6 months, they have simply awaited action by regulators with no clear end to empty shelves and disappearing customers in sight.

States who miss the reality of rubber hitting the road are faced with the question of establishing reasonable enforcement procedures inherent to licensing. In Colorado, a record number of application denials, enforcement actions, and administrative hearings has taken the industry by force and surprise since Retail sales came online Jan 1 this year.

A few words to the wise for the Responsible and Compliant vendors of the future.

Do everything you can to mitigate the risk of non-compliance.
Document, whenever possible, the activities of your facilities.
Be pro-active rather than reactive to changing regulation.
Support industry organizations to negotiate your rules based on best practices.

Preparing against non-compliance is the first step to ensuring a compliant operation and to reducing scrutiny from Law Enforcement. How we operate will determine our fate and the whole world is watching. Our brave new world still hangs in the balance and any single operator is either an asset or a liability to the overall industry and movement. Compliance is key to unlocking the golden age of commercial cannabis as expectations rise and the industry grows.

Mark Slaugh is the founder and CEO of iComply, LLC, and has more than four years of experience in the regulated cannabis industry development, consulting and compliance business. His successful startup provides valued services to clients on starting operations, production/manufacturing/retail management, and compliance consulting, training, and certification. Additionally, he served as the Colorado Springs Medical Cannabis Council (CSMCC) industry membership and executive director, and as the Southern Colorado Regional Coordinator for the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol (Amendment 64).