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B A N K I N G / F I N A N C E F O C U S N OV E M B E R 2 5 , 2 0 1 9 20 Atlantic Cannabis Collective CEO Cliff Miller agrees. He's been running a small medical mari- juana business in Windham. With partners, he's now developing larger cultivation facilities in Auburn for the adult use wholesale market. "e only time you get in trouble with cash is when you don't report it," says Miller. "When I put cash into a bank, my accountant sees that cash. When we make a payment, we account that as an expense. e number you've provided as income is what you're taxed on. I want everyone to know we're an investable company. Because, eventually, these rules will change." 'Suspicious activity' For banks, the regulations around cannabis are daunting. Transactions of $10,000 or more must be reported. Cannabis remains a "suspicious activity" to the federal government, so financial institutions are essentially deputized to investigate and report on that as well. Even if SAFE passes, those reports would still need to be filed. But the bill is a step in the right direction, says Mason. It still doesn't mean all credit unions or banks would be receptive to the industry, he adds. "I think there will be some that choose not to provide services because marijuana remains a fed- eral illegal substance and the stigma often associ- ates with it," Mason says. "ere might be others that don't want to take on the extra regulatory and reporting requirements, which are significant and can't be underestimated. However, many credit unions will want to step in to help provide needed financial services to cannabis businesses" Others point out that one additional step — making cannabis legal at the federal level by remov- ing it from the government's list of controlled drugs — would solve the banking problem all together. "Whether you agree or disagree that the industry should be here, it is here and we need to deal with it," says Silsby. L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r , M a i n e b i z s e n i o r w r i t e r , c a n b e r e a c h e d a t l s c h r e i b e r @ m a i n e b i z . b i z » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E All of us probably have customers that are in some form or other using their accounts for this activity. If we become aware of that, we would need to investigate. We would have to deal with that activity and it does mean closing accounts. And because the cash is not bankable, it goes underground. — Andrew Silsby Kennebec Savings Bank

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