King County Sheriff Urquhart pushes banks to accept WA pot money during DC trip

Attorney General Eric Holder has said the federal government will not get in the way of Washington’s new legal marijuana industry, but King County Sheriff John Urquhart went to Congress Tuesday to make sure lawmakers understand just what’s happening here.

Sheriff Urquhart was asked to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee by chairman Patrick Leahy as Congress looks to understand the new playing field developing recreational marijuana.

Sheriff Urquhart supported I-502 and has long thought that current marijuana policy doesn’t work. “My experience shows me that the war on drugs has been a failure,” Urquhart told lawmakers. “We have not significantly reduced demand over time but we have incarcerated generations around the world.”

Urquhart wants Congress to know that this will not be a free-for-all in Washington. He said his message will be very clear. “We are still going to be actively enforcing people that do not respect this law,” he said.

He said there are several important issues that need to be discussed as the nation changes its attitudes about legalizing pot and how a legal pot industry will work.

At the top of that list is allowing banks to work with these legal marijuana businesses. “Right now, the way things are set up banks cannot, under federal law, open bank accounts for these retail sales,” Sheriff Urquhart said. “Any time you have a cash-only business, you open yourself up to robbery. Any time you have a cash only business, it’s much more difficult to audit and collect the tax dollars that are due the State of Washington.”

Urquhart also talked to Congress about the work the state has done to handle many of the concerns over legalizing marijuana and adhering to the guidelines set by Attorney General Holder.