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2 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Jackson County needs more space to serve OHP clients ... Thief who threatened to tase woman sentenced to three years in prison ... Fires banned in state parks ... Jackson County needs more space to serve OHP clients ... Thief who threatened to tase woman sentenced to three years in prison ... Fires banned in state parks ... OTHER VIEWS Other Views: Marijuana businesses need banking service Comment MailTribune.com Writer Posted Aug. 18, 2015 at 12:01 AM Posted Aug. 18, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News from The Daily Astorian Nationwide, many legitimate marijuana businesses continue to struggle with a lack of access to the normal channels for handling financial transactions. Key federal legislators from Oregon are making a renewed push to normalize banking services for the legal marijuana industry. This is a much-needed and overdue reform. Oregon is in the process of joining other states, including neighboring Washington, in outright legalization of marijuana, with sales set to start Oct. 1. Medicinal marijuana has been legal here since 1998 and the Legislature legalized medical marijuana dispensaries during its 2013 session. Nationwide, many legitimate marijuana businesses continue to struggle with a lack of access to the normal channels for handling financial transactions. Currently, marijuana businesses operating under state laws that have legalized medicinal or adult-use marijuana are mostly denied access to the banking system because financial institutions that provide them services can be prosecuted under federal law, according to Oregon U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, all Democrats. In Washington state, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray is also a supporter of reform. Without the ability to access bank accounts, accept credit cards, or write checks, businesses must operate using large amounts of cash. "There's a reason most of us don't walk around with thousands of dollars of cash stuffed in our backpacks. It's an invitation to crime and malfeasance," Merkley said. "But that's what we are forcing legal Oregon businesses to do because financial institutions are prohibited from providing services. That must change." Marijuana businesses are heavily regulated and monitored at the state level. This keeps drug cartels out of the legal industry, ensures compliance with rules designed to keep marijuana away from underage residents, and helps avoid federal intervention in legalization. But by denying these enterprises the ability to handle money in a modern and transparent way, federal law places them at greater risk of robbery, while essentially maintaining undesirable traits associated with the outlaw past. Legalization is a fact of life and is certain to spread to additional states. It's time to dispense with the remaining vestiges of the past that saw millions of lives disrupted or destroyed in a failed effort at prohibition. The new law proposed by Oregon's federal lawmakers would prevent federal banking regulators from: Prohibiting, penalizing or discouraging a bank from providing financial services to a legitimate state-sanctioned and regulated marijuana business; Terminating or limiting a bank's federal deposit insurance solely because the financial institution is providing services to a state-sanctioned marijuana business; Recommending or incentivizing a financial institution to halt or downgrade providing any kind of banking services to these businesses; or Taking any action on a loan to an owner or operator of a marijuana-related business. The bill, as described in a congressional press release, also creates a safe harbor from criminal prosecution and liability and asset forfeiture for financial institutions and their officers and employees who provide financial services to legitimate, state-sanctioned marijuana businesses, while maintaining financial institutions' right to choose not to offer those services. These moves all make sense and should be enacted as soon as possible. MailTribune.com Writer Posted Aug. 18, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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