CA Treasurer Wants Armored Cars To Help Cash-Only Pot Industry

CALIFORNIA -- State Treasurer John Chiang on Tuesday issued recommendations to help the marijuana industry with banking.

Among the recommendations that Chiang said would help the industry that predominately operates in cash would be having armored couriers transport money.

“It is unfair and a public safety risk to require a legal industry to haul duffle bags of cash to pay taxes, employees and utility bills,” said Chiang, who is also running for governor. “The reliance on cash paints a target on the back of cannabis operators and makes them and the general public vulnerable to violence and organized crime.”

The recommendations seek to provide cannabis businesses with basic banking services, such as checking accounts and credit cards, available to other entrepreneurs. The report comes after six public hearings of the Treasurer’s 18-person Cannabis Banking Working Group, whose members included representatives from local and state government, the cannabis industry, financial institutions and law enforcement.

The recommendations include:

• State and local public agencies contracting with armored courier services to collect tax and licensing payments made in cash
• Creating an online portal to collect data from local governments and state regulatory agencies
• Conducting a feasibility study on creation of a state-owned bank to provide financial services to the cannabis industry
• Organizing a multi-state consortium, including representatives of cannabis-legal states, local governments and the cannabis and financial services industries

Recreational marijuana will become legal in California beginning on Jan. 1. The industry is expected to generate annual sales exceeding $7 billion and an estimated $1 billion a year in tax revenues.

--Photo via Shutterstock