\nPlease like\/RT! <\/p>\n
“This video shows two suspects entering the marijuana dispensary Wednesday & holding employees at gunpoint. They’re accused of stealing money and product. Two suspects are in custody and a third was killed exchanging gunfire with #Seattle<\/a> police.” \u2013 @BvuePD<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/mllNyL3zZz<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 MJ Stock Trader (@stock_mj) March 20, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The video above shows two people entering a cannabis retailer in Bellevue earlier this month and allegedly stealing money and products with workers at gunpoint. The police department said in a statement<\/a> that there was also a third suspect who drove the alleged robbers through Seattle. Following a pursuit, two suspects were taken into custody and a third was fatally shot, according<\/a> to King County prosecutors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThus far in 2022, reports show that there have been over 50 robberies of cannabis businesses, many of them armed, in Washington State. This surpasses the number of robberies in all of 2021,\u201d LCB said. \u201cThe roundtable is an opportunity for state leaders, policy makers, regulators and law enforcement to hear directly from participating retailers as well as to share information that could help.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The police bodycam footage above shows another perspective from the armed standoff between law enforcement and the suspects in the Bellevue robbery.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese robberies are tragic but they\u2019re also preventable,\u201d Pellicciotti, the state treasurer, told<\/a> KOMO News. \u201cPeople rob where the cash is. If we get cash out of this industry there will be fewer robberies. These robberies are preventable and this is a common-sense approach to making our communities safer.\u201d<\/p>\n
The regulator-hosted roundtable<\/a> will take place on March 29 and can be viewed online or listened to via phone.<\/p>\n
At a recent National Association of State Treasurer (NAST) conference, Pellicciotti led a panel focused on cannabis banking reform<\/a> and, specifically, the bipartisan Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act that\u2019s being sponsored by Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO).<\/p>\n
\nTonight: State Treasurer Pellicciotti talks to @KING5Seattle<\/a> about the tragic but preventable armed robberies occurring at alarming rates at Washington\u2019s #Cannabis<\/a> retail stores. WATCH NOW: https:\/\/t.co\/C4dWqh6ySg<\/a> #SAFEBankingAct<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 WA State Treasurer (@WaTreasurer) March 18, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
That bill has passed the House in some form six times at this point, but it has yet to advance in the Senate under Republican or Democratic control. It\u2019s been a point of significant frustration for the sponsor and advocates, who have repeatedly talked about the public safety consequences of isolating marijuana businesses from the federal financial system.<\/p>\n
Correia, director of government relations for NCIA and a panelist on next week\u2019s roundtable, told Marijuana Moment that the organization\u2019s \u201cnumber one priority continues to be for Congress to pass the SAFE Banking Act without further delay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Senate\u2019s inaction on banking has resulted in unnecessary and senseless violence and deaths in communities across the country, including in Washington State,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery day that Senate leadership chooses to play politics rather than provide financial services to the cannabis industry and its employees continue to provide ample opportunity for criminals to prey on these compliant, legal businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThis is exactly why I am in DC this week to urge Congress to pass #cannabisbanking<\/a> this year. This was preventable and we all agree on the solution. Congress cannot delay in passing cannabis banking reforms any longer.- MP #SAFEBankingAct<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/v8hRhNrzf0<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 WA State Treasurer (@WaTreasurer) March 16, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Colorado Treasurer Dave Young also talked about the \u201chuge danger\u201d that his state\u2019s marijuana market faces during an interview with Marijuana Moment this month<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got large amounts of cash moving around. And so you\u2019ve got robberies, you\u2019ve got violence,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd even, my understanding is, there\u2019s been murder in in the midst of that. Not doing something isn\u2019t going to improve that situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perlmutter, for his part, is committed to getting something done before his retirement. He\u2019s even made a point to talk about enacting the reform legislation during committee hearings on ostensibly unrelated or wider-ranging legislation<\/a>, like at a recent House Rules Committee hearing.<\/p>\n
\nThank you! I appreciate the support and advocacy of @WaTreasurer<\/a> and @StateTreasurers<\/a> across the country who continue to push for #SAFEBanking<\/a> for their businesses and communities. https:\/\/t.co\/mdxL5QDqbM<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Rep. Ed Perlmutter (@RepPerlmutter) March 15, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
At a recent event hosted by the American Bankers Association (ABA), the congressman said that he will \u201ccontinue to be a real pest, and persistent in getting this done\u201d<\/a> before he leaves Congress.<\/p>\n
Following the bipartisan House passage of the banking bill, Perlmutter said he naively expected it \u201cto sail through the Senate, which is always a bad assumption, because nothing sails through the Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n
But he\u2019s taken pains to build support, including from current Senate leadership that has insisted on enacting comprehensive legalization with firm equity provisions in place before advancing a bill viewed as friendly to the industry.<\/p>\n
Despite recently saying that he\u2019s \u201cconfident\u201d that the Senate will take up his bill<\/a> this session, the congressman recognized that while he\u2019s supportive of revisions related to criminal justice reform, taxation, research and other issues, he knows that \u201cas we expand this thing, then we start losing votes, particularly Republican votes and we got enough votes in the Senate to do it\u201d as is.<\/p>\n
Perlmutter also brought up the fact that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has addressed the federal-state marijuana banking conflict<\/a> and \u201cshe wants to get this off her plate and get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ahead of the ABA event, the financial group released a poll that it commissioned showing that a strong majority of Americans support freeing up banks to work with marijuana businesses<\/a> without facing federal penalties.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the number of banks that report working with marijuana businesses ticked up again near the end of 2021<\/a>, according to recently released federal data.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not clear if the increase is related to congressional moves to pass a bipartisan cannabis banking reform bill, but the figures from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) signal that financial institutions continue to feel more comfortable servicing businesses in state-legal markets.<\/p>\n
Some Republicans are scratching their heads about how Democrats have so far failed to pass the modest banking reform with majorities in both chambers and control of the White House, too. For example, Rep. Rand Paul (R-KY) criticized his Democratic colleagues over the issue<\/a> in December.<\/p>\n
In the interim, federal financial regulator Rodney Hood\u2014a board member and former chairman of the federal National Credit Union Administration (NCUA)\u2014recently said that marijuana legalization is not a question of \u201cif\u201d but \u201cwhen,\u201d and he\u2019s again offering advice on how to navigate the federal-state conflict<\/a> that has left many banks reluctant to work with cannabis businesses.<\/p>\n
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