A key U.S. Senate committee advanced legislation Wednesday that would write current regulatory policy into law that allows banks and credit unions to serve cannabis businesses and their workers in states where cannabis is legal.
Berkshire Bank is launching a cannabis banking unit as it tries to take advantage of an “underserved” market in Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
Connecticut’s rollout of retail recreational sales is giving banks and credit unions a growth opportunity at a time when demand for loans from other sectors is slowing down.
A new poll commissioned by a trade group for community banks finds a large majority of voters think businesses in the marijuana industry should be able to access banking services in states where marijuana is legal.
From retail stores and growers to delivery and transportation services, Connecticut’s incipient recreational marijuana industry will soon need somewhere to bank.
A Boston-based fintech has launched a new service that would bring consumer credit payments to the state’s marijuana businesses for the first time.
Connecticut is poised to become the 19th state to legalize adult, recreational use of cannabis, now that a long-awaited bill has cleared the General Assembly and Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont has said he’ll sign it into law. Here’s a look at what to expect next.
Proponents of legalizing the adult use of marijuana in Connecticut dodged a threatened veto on Wednesday, advancing a revamped bill that Gov. Ned Lamont supports by a narrow vote in the House of Representatives.
Paul Mounds, the Democratic governor’s chief of staff, issued a statement promising Lamont would nix the bill if it reaches his desk in its current form because it isn’t sufficiently focused on racial equity.
Advocates for different causes are hoping to get a second chance at passing a bill or securing funding in the new state budget as the Connecticut General Assembly prepares to return to the Capitol for a short special session this week.
Connecticut lawmakers may have closed out the regular legislative session on Wednesday night, but they’re expected to return to the state Capitol soon to vote on legalizing recreational marijuana for adults, some remaining budget bills and possibly some other bills that didn’t survive in the first round.
While the General Assembly was able to pass a new budget before Wednesday’s midnight adjournment, a bill legalizing the adult use of cannabis was not able to make it in time.
The New England Council, a business-minded organization that maintains close ties to members of Congress from the six northeast states, last week voiced its support for federal legislation to protect banks working with state-legal marijuana companies from federal regulatory penalties.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont is making a major push to legalize the adult use of recreational marijuana after COVID-19 upended the 2020 legislative session.
Connecticut lawmakers held a public hearing Monday to discuss details of a new bill proposed by the governor that would legalize recreational marijuana in the state.
A year ago, marijuana legalization looked like it was on a roll in the Northeast – it had already passed in three of the region’s states and was a priority for governors in three more, including the populous New York.
The federal regulator overseeing the credit union industry said lenders he oversees won’t be punished for providing services to marijuana businesses in compliance with state laws.
A bipartisan coalition of state and territorial attorneys general are asking Congress to pass measures that would give legal marijuana-related businesses access to the federal banking system.
The state of New York is encouraging state-chartered banks and credit unions to establish banking relationships with with fully compliant medical marijuana-related businesses.
