Politicians benefit from ‘weed washing’ donations

You’d automatically think,” Hey, that’s illegal” !&nbsp,

Then swap out Escobar for his large-scale businesses and trade associations, and exchange his white cocaine bags for bushels of tiny natural marijuana buds.

The finish ought to be the same. In other words, if it’s illegal for a cocaine reseller to employ a lawyer in Washington, D.C., and contribute to politicians or their PACs on a national level to improve regulations that would legalize what they are doing, then it should be just as illegal for the cannabis industry to do the same.

In truth, it would be money laundering—possibly also corruption. People in the industry refer to the pouring of illegal marijuana money through political donations to sanitize its dark roots as “weed–washing.” According to&nbsp, the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986, money laundering is defined as a federal offense under 18 U. S. C. § 1956 and 1957, as it involves deliberately using or attempting to use monetary transactions to proceed, funding, or report illegal money.

Those last two words, illicit funds, are the important ones. This includes transactions that involve property derived from illicit activities, such as the sale of controlled substances like drugs. After all, until there exists a federally compliant marijuana enterprise, marijuana is&nbsp, still classified&nbsp, as a Schedule 1 prohibited substance at the federal level — the same classification given to drugs such as heroin, LSD, bath salts, and even peyote.

These kinds of contributions also violate campaign finance regulations, as it is clear that campaigns are unable to accept contributions from particular types of organizations and individuals. Namely, illegal ones. Considering that the marijuana black market is still responsible for&nbsp, 70-80 % of all marijuana sold &nbsp, in legalized states such as California, where&nbsp, marijuana was decriminalized in 2018, there’s no way to guarantee the money is even clean at the state level.

Large marijuana-focused cannabis companies such as Cresco Labs, Trulieve, and marijuana trade associations, including the National Cannabis Roundtable and U. S. Cannabis Council, have repeatedly lobbied and donated at the federal level without consequences. According to OpenSecrets. org, the National Cannabis Roundtable has spent$ 311, 000 in Lobby expenditures so far in 2024, the U. S. Cannabis Council$ 250, 000, while Cresco Labs is at$ 820, 000 for the year and is well on its way to surpassing its 2023 spend of$ 920, 000. Collectively, the sector has given millions of dollars to federal politicians, including Vice President Kamala Harris, the most recent Democratic presidential candidate.

Despite the clear illegality of “weed-washing”, federal politicians seem to completely overlook these serious federal offenses. Infractions to the federal money laundering statute typically result in severe penalties, including fines of up to$ 500, 000 and possibly 20 years in federal prison, while corporations also face fines and additional civil penalties. While&nbsp, one man was convicted&nbsp, of “weed-washing” several million dollars in 2023, none of these legal consequences seem to apply to the larger marijuana industry &nbsp, giants.

How quickly do you think the feds would prosecute the illegality of these acts and declare a crime if Pablo Escobar were still alive today and tried to do so with money earned from his cocaine business?

One wonders what will happen if campaign finance and lobbying regulations are enforced without giving a second thought to the threat that might lurk beneath the surface.

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Perhaps politicians merely considered the existence of the more frightening-looking cocaine sharks and dismissed, out-of-hand, the less obvious but equally dangerous creatures in the drug-filled waters. &nbsp,

Only time will tell.

Political strategist Tiffany Marie Brannon is the host of the TMB Problems podcast.