Business
Oregon is the New Political Arm of the Legal Cannabis Industry
With recreational cannabis becoming legal in Oregon on July
1, cannabis businesses are taking shape. Money is power, and the leg
Rep. Blumenauer cutting the ribbon for the East Side Streetcar in 2012.With recreational cannabis becoming legal in Oregon on July
1, cannabis businesses are taking shape. Money is power, and the legal cannabis
industry in Oregon is looking to make its presence known. The Oregon Cannabis
Political Action Committee (PAC) has
strategically selected Rep. Earl Blumenauer as the representative of choice.
Rep. Blumenauer, D-Oregon, received over $100,000 in contributions from a
fundraiser organized by the Oregon Cannabis Political Action Committee. Blumenauer,
along with Senator Ron Wyden, will be working with the changing laws in Oregon
and plan to write “tax
fairness” legislation that would allow cannabis businesses to take
standard business deductions, like any other business.
Blumenauer
is open about his support for rescheduling cannabis.
Early this June, the Oregon Cannabis PAC fundraiser netted six figures for the
pot-friendly politician. The Oregon Cannabis PAC is comprised of cultivators,
business owners, and entrepreneurs. Blumenauer told Oregon Public Broadcasting,
“People that I’ve been working with—in some cases for years dealing with trying
to modernize our marijuana laws—came together and they threw me a little
party.” The event drew in a crowd of 300. The Oregon PAC has been busy
this month, also sending 25 of its members to Washington DC to support the Marijuana
Business Access to Banking Act (S. 987/H.R. 1855.) Oregon has been struggling
with FDIC insured banks turning away canna-businesses. Blumenauer added “They
should have a bigger political footprint. . .because it’s insane that the
federal government interferes with doing things like having a bank account or
being treated fairly in the tax system.” Blumenauer
penned an essay entitled The
Path Forward: Rethinking Federal Marijuana Policy.
It’s ironic that FDIC insured banks will not
cooperate even with laboratories that provide state-mandated testing on cannabis.
They operate in cash just as a dispensary would. From a national perspective a
$100,000 political donation is forgettable, however it’s already made the industry
visible- while in its infancy. And in any case, if shaping up how money will be
handled becomes an issue, there’s always cryptocurrency.
