Pub. 10 2019 Issue 1

www.wvbankers.org 26 West Virginia Banker E leven states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for adult recreational use in small quanti- ties, while the Controlled Substances Act (the “CSA”), a federal law, continues to treat marijuana as a controlled substance that is “dangerous” and illegal to possess. On November 6, 2018, Michigan voters passed a measure for Michigan to join this group. Thirty-three states, as well as the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico, have enacted laws that decriminalize medical marijuana. Most observers think that only comprehensive federal legislation (maybe in combination with eventual case law decided by the Supreme Court of the United States) will begin to resolve these tensions and contradictions, for better or worse. Substantial sales revenues are being generated in states that have passed such decriminalization measures. Taxable sales Community Banking and Marijuana Decriminalization By Terence Cawley, ABA Insurance Services