The city of Denver passed legislation this week that marks a major breakthrough in Colorado’s fledgling marijuana industry. The bill allows marijuana dispensaries to have normal relationships with their banks instead of having to rely on a cash only system. Now that marijuana businesses may accept checks and credit cards, it is believed that there will be fewer crimes, fewer people cheating on taxes, and will make it easier for owners to pay their employees and utility bills. Denver is the first city to pass such legislation, as many other cities within Colorado wait to see how the new system will work. Some of the key elements of the law include:
* Through Jan. 2016, only licensed medical marijuana businesses in good standing will be licensed to sell retail marijuana.
* Retail marijuana stores can share the same location with medical marijuana centers.
* Public hearings will be required before licenses are granted to retail facilities, but the hearings will be less restrictive than liquor licenses.
* Similar buffering to the medical marijuana laws will be in effect with no dispensaries allowed within 1,000 feet of a school, child care center, another marijuana facility, and drug and alcohol treatment facilities.
As Denver moves forward with the new system, the world will eagerly look on. This is a major breakthrough not only for cannabis advocates, but for the whole country as we usher in a new era of business and innovation to replace the violent and unconstitutional policy of prohibition of cannabis.
