Portfolio Category: Policy

Credit union runs into trouble with US agency over too-lax cannabis activities

Access to banking services has been a problem for the legal cannabis sector in the US from the beginning – and the experience of one cooperative in Michigan shows that the relationship can be problematic for financial institutions too. The US National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) issued a cease-and-desist order in February requiring the $69m…
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Selling Pot is Still Not Easy

March 31, 2021, was a historic day for New Yorkers, when Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation to legalize adult-use cannabis. Cuomo sweetened the pot for two groups of people with a lot of crossover: Over the next two years, the state will expunge the records of approximately 150,000 New York residents previously convicted on cannabis…
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Bipartisan Coalition Pushing For Federal Cannabis Reform

What has been speculated on for weeks in the nation’s capital has now become a reality. On April 4, a bipartisan coalition of 13 Democrats and 13 Republicans reintroduced bill HR 6043 in the US House of Representatives. Known as the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act, this bill would alter the…
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Hemp Hemp Hooray: Legalization Of Super Plant To Revitalize Puerto Rican Agriculture

Image of hemp and a harvester with a caption reading: "Hemp Hemp Hooray: Legalization of Super Plant to Revitalize Puerto Rican Agriculture"
Ever since the last sugar cane processing plant closed in 2000, Puerto Rico's agricultural industry has struggled mightily. Legalized hemp may change that. Puerto Rico might have one of the most underdeveloped agricultural sectors on the planet. According to statistics provided by the US Department of Agriculture, Puerto Rico farming income has decreased by two-thirds…
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