A tidal wave of legislation legalizing marijuana washed over the country from sea to shining sea on November 8th. When all the votes were counted on election night, voters in California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada approved recreational marijuana initiatives, while voters in Florida, North Dakota, Montana and Arkansas approved new or expanded medical marijuana laws. Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia – almost sixty percent of the nation – have now legalized medical marijuana; eight of those (plus D.C.) have now legalized recreational pot possession, sale and use, as well. But on the federal level, marijuana remains “strictly illegal.” It is still classed as a “Schedule 1 Controlled Substance” under the Controlled Substances Act, with serious penalties for its possession, sale and use. More importantly, the federal criminal net casts wide enough to catch banks, landlords and others who want to service this “growing” business. Until this divergence in the state and federal approaches to marijuana is reconciled, these would-be market participants should tread carefully.
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