Date: March 15, 2017
Moderator: S. Marshall Martin, CPA, Esq
City National Bank of Florida
Executive Vice President
General Counsel
Speakers:
Rachel K. Gillette – Shareholder – Greenspoon Marder
Tony Gonzalez – Assistant United States Attorney
Melissa Atkins – Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, First GREEN Bank
This past Wednesday, March 15th, Marijuana, the Law & Banking made for an eye-opening panel.
The Marijuana industry has been a touchy topic regarding the several stigmas on whether the Federal government should become involved and even if Marijuana should be legalized completely.
California and Colorado are ahead of the curve in implementing regulation throughout their states for the marijuana industry. Since there has recently been public support for legalization of Marijuana in the State of Florida there has been a lot of debate on what it would look like for the marketplace.
As stated by Rachel K. Gilette of Greenspoon Marder, there is a huge cash problem in Colorado. This has been leading to potentially false cash reporting to the IRS and even companies burying their money because they have nowhere to put it.
Another huge problem that has been addressed within this panel is that the Marijuana industry currently find themselves without financial institutions, or under very strict guidelines within their financial institutions.
Now the question stands, what does the future look like for already established Marijuana-friendly states such as California and Colorado? Would Florida be a competitive marketplace, merit-based, limited? What license qualifications would be required? These topics are currently being debated within the legislative branch of the government.
Special thanks to this month’s sponsors Greenspoon Marder and Sandler, O’Neill & Partners, L.P. for facilitating this event.
