Banking cannabis

How does one get involved in the legalization lobby? Are Marijuana Policy Project and National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws the only options, or are there groups?

—T.H. Cee

I applaud you for wanting to get involved. There are so many organizations working for weed that it’s almost funny. Sometimes I think it’s like the scene in Monty Python’s Life of Brian: There’s the Judean People’s Front, The People’s Front of Judea, and on and on.

You named the two biggies first. The MPP (www.mpp.org) is a national group that focuses mostly on direct lobbying and legal efforts to decriminalize and relegalize marijuana. NORML (www.norml.org) is probably the oldest marijuana-law-reform group in the country. It is involved in all sorts of events, protests and court-support-type things. NORML has a national office, and it is also has many smaller local chapters. Check out www.canorml.org.

There is a Sacramento branch, but it is kind of small and a little unorganized. Perhaps you can help out.

And I am going to give a shout-out to Americans for Safe Access (www.safeaccessnow.org). It doesn’t deal directly with cannabis legalization, but it has been crazy effective in ensuring that patients are allowed to use cannabis without going to jail.

You could also look into the Drug Policy Alliance (www.drugpolicy.org) and also Students for Sensible Drug Policy (www.ssdp.org). All are worthy.

Can a cannabis club have a bank account?

—Lon Durer

Apparently, now it can. The Department of Justice has just announced that state-recognized businesses doing legal marijuana trade can now use banking services.

Previously, banks had been warned away from doing business with cannabis clubs, because cannabis is a Schedule I narcotic (I know, right?), and anyone accepting money from a cannabis club could be seen as a money launderer.

There are a few catches: The banks are supposed to gather information on how the cannabis business works and report any shadiness to the DOJ. For some, it may be a small price to pay. Others may try to keep their business cash-only, but having a bunch of cash around all the time makes businesses a target for thieves and whatnot. Still, this is another step in the right direction.

Oh, and: This new policy doesn’t apply to California!

California still has no comprehensive statewide policy, and so no clubs are state recognized, and once again, California canna-businesses are left in the dust. Sigh.

Updates: Last week, I talked a bit about other countries’ drug policies (see “Dominoes falling,” SN&R The 420, February 13). Italy has just changed its drug laws about pot (Italy was equating marijuana with heroin, and up to 40 percent of Italy’s prisoners are there on drug-related charges); the country expects to release about 10,000 prisoners.

And, after my column about pot etiquette (see “Tips for good stoner etiquette,” The 420, January 16), more than a few women commented that people should be sure to remove their lipstick before they hit the pipe or the blunt. Good advice.