New York regulators launched a resource to help connect marijuana-related businesses to banks willing to provide financial services, despite the federal prohibition.
On Wednesday, the state Office of Cannabis Management announced that they have created a Cannabis Bank Directory. The directory currently includes 10 financial institutions who claim to be serving marijuana businesses. They are also open to accepting new clients in New York as their market grows.
OCM announced that this initiative was part of its strategic effort to lower regulatory barriers for cannabis business and increase financial stability. The lack of compliant, accessible financial services is a long-standing challenge to licensed operators. It complicates essential operations, and can also be a barrier for transparency.
It said that the Cannabis Banking Directory addressed these issues, by closing the gap between banks and credit Unions and cannabis entrepreneurs who are familiar with the specific needs of this industry. We encourage anyone who is a licensed cannabis company looking for banking services to take advantage of this useful resource.
New York’s governor signed a law in 2023 to ease the process for financial institutions working with clients who are licensed by state authorities.
This law allows OCM to share information with financial institutions about licensees and applicants for marijuana businesses. It is intended to make it easier to comply with reporting obligations. Licensees, and those who apply for licenses would have to first consent to the sharing of information.
It was on this day, that U.S. Senates of both political parties addressed the problem of lack of access to banking for the marijuana sector at a congressional hearing.
Congressional researchers also recently released a report detailing the subject of debanking—while making a point to address how the marijuana industry’s financial services access problem “sits at the nexus” of a state-federal policy conflict that complicates the debate.
While the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act to address the issue is expected to be filed again this session—that introduction is “not imminent” as some recent reports have suggested, a spokesperson for the GOP House sponsor of the last version told MEDCAN24 last month.
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Similarly, in New York recently, senators introduced a new bill that will decriminalize all drug possession.
Several psychedelics bills have also been filed in New York for the new session—including one calling for the legalization of certain entheogenic substances such as psilocybin and ibogaine for adults 21 and older.
New York officials also recently announced that the state’s legal marijuana market has now surpassed the $1 billion sales mark. Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) statement said that the landmark was “a testimony to the hardwork of those who have helped build the most powerful cannabis industry in America: one which prioritizes equity and ensures public security, while empowering communities”.
The figure reflects total sales since the cannabis market’s launch more than two years ago, in late 2022.
After a slow rollout in marked by lawsuits and other delays, legal marijuana sales in New York have picked up significantly in the past several months. The regulators say this is due to more licensed shops opening and what they call a successful crackdown against unlicensed stores.
Separately, in November, Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D) called for the state to extend financial aid to retail operators operators struggling under high-cost loans from a social equity fund created as a core part of the legalization program.
Later in the month, Hochul signed two new cannabis-related bills into law—one to revive the Cannabis Growers Showcase program, where producers sell products directly to consumers at farmers market-style events, and another clarifying that cannabis is categorized as an agricultural crop in the state.
The governor argued in June, meanwhile, that there’s a direct correlation between stepped-up enforcement and “dramatically” increased legal sales. A report by state officials earlier this year found both “growing pains” and “successful efforts” in New York’s marijuana market launch.
Texas Lt. Governor. Texas Lt. Gov.
WeedPornDaily. Photo by WeedPornDaily.
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