Though marijuana has been 
legalized in one form or another in 
47 states and Washington D.C., it is 
not legal at the federal level. Thus, 
many depository institutions have 
been reluctant to engage in business 
with the cannabis industry for fear 
of getting penalized by the federal 
government. This has prevented 
many 
marijuana 
businesses, 
including those in Ann Arbor, from 
having strong relationships with 
banks.
For instance, Om of Medicine, 
a cannabis provisioning center 
in Ann Arbor, has gone through 
10 bank accounts in its 10 years 
of operation, according to Lisa 
Conine, Om Community Outreach 
Coordinator. 
“As you can imagine, that’s 
pretty stressful for business,” 
Conine said. “Essentially, it’s on the 
banks for how they want to handle 
cannabis businesses, and as of 
right now, because they don’t have 
any federal protection, they don’t 
really want to deal with cannabis 
businesses because it puts them at 
risk.”
Conine said a lot of the banks 
have a system that is triggered if 
something they deem out of the 
ordinary occurs, such as a large 
cash deposit. Based on their own 
discretion, these banks can then 
decide to freeze the account of 
a marijuana business and then 
eventually 
close 
the 
account 
altogether. 
“A lot of times, we don’t really 
even know the bank’s process until 
it’s already happened, and every 
bank might have a different thing 
that triggers it, so it’s really like 
a guessing game,” Conine said. 
“So, it’s super inconvenient and 
obviously a huge issue when that 
just randomly happens, and then 
things like rent and electricity 
that any business has to pay, we 
struggle to do if, all of a sudden, our 
account shuts down and all those 
automatic payments are trying to 
be taken out.”
Conine 
said 
if 
the 
SAFE 
Banking Act were to pass through 
Congress, Om would feel much 
more financially secure when 
conducting business.
“So, for us, the most instant 
benefit of the bill would be if we 
had a bank account that we didn’t 
have to worry about shutting 
down, and we could process 
everything through and act like 
any other business and not have to 
worry,” Conine said.
Another obstacle Om has faced 

due to its adverse relations with 
banks is difficulty in trying to 
provide donations. Om supports 
local Ann Arbor nonprofits, and 
several 
times 
after 
donating 
checks to these organizations, a 
bank has shut down Om’s account 
without the business’s knowledge 
and before the nonprofit could 
process the donation. Om then 
has to explain the situation 
to the nonprofits and create a 
new way to transfer the money, 
making the process unnecessarily 
complicated, according to Conine.
The difficulties these businesses 
experience 
with 
depository 
institutions also result in a lack 
of ability for the companies to 
take credit cards, debit cards 
and checks from patients. Thus, 
patients and customers must pay 
with cash when going to most 
cannabis businesses.
Nationwide, the knowledge of 
marijuana businesses solely using 
cash has resulted in a fear and 
increased likelihood of theft and 
robbery. For instance, TotaLeaf 
Inc, a cannabis manufacturing 
company 
in 
Sacramento, 
California, had $80,000 worth 
of product and cash stolen from 
its warehouse this past year. In 
addition, on Aug. 28, there was 
an armed robbery at a marijuana 
social club in Genesee Township, 
Michigan.
State 
Rep. 
Debbie 
Dingell, 
D-Ann Arbor, expressed in a 
tweet the security issues of 
these 
marijuana 
dispensaries 
handling business in cash and the 
importance of shifting to other 
payment methods.
“It is not safe to walk around 
with duffel bags full of cash – but 
that’s what’s happening right 
now,” Dingell wrote. “Marijuana is 
already legal in many states. Now 
let’s make it safe for legitimate 
marijuana businesses to use banks 
like other legitimate businesses.”
Another difficult aspect of only 
being able to conduct business in 
cash is the negative stigma that 
often results from it. According to 
Conine, solely using cash makes 
many people feel like they are 
operating in the illicit market. 
Many patients already come into 
the dispensary with a negative 
perception 
associated 
with 
cannabis, and having them carry 
and pay large sums of money adds 
to this mindset. 
“So 
really 
being 
able 
to 
normalize it and make it just like 
any other purchase that they 
make anywhere else is something 
subtle but can have a big impact on 
the subconscious in the way that 
people can start to dismantle that 

stigma and the shame that might 
be associated with cannabis use,” 
she said. “Especially when they’re 
trying to heal an illness, you don’t 
want to be using something and 
feel like you’re a criminal doing 
it; that’s not helpful when you’re 
trying to get better.”
If the bill were to pass and these 
cannabis businesses are able to 
build stronger relationships with 
depository institutions, patients 
would not only benefit, but the 
industry would as well, Conine 
said. At the moment, according 
to Conine, the system makes 
it difficult for small marijuana 
businesses looking to enter the 
market. 
“It’s 
an 
issue 
for 
small 
businesses because, if they’re 
not able to work with banks in a 
traditional way, then they can’t 
access normal business loans,” 
Conine said. “So, the access to 
capital is really important for 
people to succeed in the industry, 
so a lot of people, if they don’t have 
access to investors, they’re kind of 
counted out already.”
According to Eric TerBush, 
LSA senior and product manager 
and staff reporter at Benzinga 
Cannabis, the growth of the 
cannabis 
industry 
has 
been 
curtailed by the lack of protections 
currently present for depository 
institutions.
“I think the ability for the 
industry to mature is stifled by 
the inability to bank,” TerBush 
said. “An important clause within 
the SAFE Banking Act includes 
insurance protections as well as 
banking protections which can be 
interpreted as opening the doors to 
institutional investment, which is 
very much needed in an industry 
that’s incredibly cash-strapped and 
in constant demand for (external) 
financing.”
Conine described the value 
passing the bill would have on 
the industry as a whole and how 
it could increase the likelihood of 
other cannabis-related legislation 
getting passed as well.
“This is so important,” Conine 
said. “The whole movement is 
really looking at this banking 
issue as the first domino that 
needs to fall. If we can get this 
passed through Congress, then 
there’s so much more of a chance 
for other bills to pass because the 
conversation will be fresh, it’ll be 
live in everybody’s minds on the 
Hill and it’s a low hanging fruit. It’s 
not controversial at all, we’re just 
asking for these already existing 
businesses to be able to use a bank 
account.”

However, 
according 
to 
Schlissel, the scientific data 
has been insufficient for 
the University to introduce 
any campus-wide ban.
“What I was concerned 
about is there is not great 
data about the health effects 
of vaping,” Schlissel said. 
“If you have the stuff laced 
with CBD or something, 
then 
that’s 
a 
different 
beast, 
but 
commercial 
vaping things, it could be 
a pathway to addiction, 
but it’s also a prescribed 
treatment to get people off 
cigarettes.”
Vaping 
has 
become 
a 
particularly pertinent issue 
to University students after 
Gov. 
Gretchen 
Whitmer 
banned sales of flavored 
e-cigarettes 
in 
early 
September. The new ban 
attempts to limit underage 
kids’ access to Juuls and 
other devices that are seen 
as a gateway to cigarettes 
and 
tobacco 
products. 
Earlier 
this 
month, 
the 
Trump 
administration 
enforced 
a 
similar 
policy, cracking down on 
e-cigarette 
companies 
marketing to children.
Schlissel 
said 
the 
University 
would 
not 
make a similar mandate 
due to problems with the 
enforceability of a potential 
ban of nicotine products on 
campus.

“These things are so tiny 
and discreet that it’s very 
hard to enforce a ban,” 
Schlissel said. “Who’s going 
to be the vaping police? And 
in your class, do you want to 

spend your time scanning 
every person and saying ‘Is 
that a piece of candy you’re 
popping in your mouth or 
are you taking a puff on 
some 
electronic 
device?’ 
And if you make these rules 
that aren’t enforceable, it 
kind of decreases respect 
for the law.”
Schlissel also referenced 
efforts to improve parking 
and 
transportation 
for 
U-M health center patients 
and nursing staff unable to 
make appointments due to 
parking. Schlissel said the 
University 
has 
proposed 
several 
projects 
which 
would make parking and 
transportation 
to 
North 
Campus easier.
“There’s a construction 
project for a thousand spots 
of parking right next to the 
Wall Street garage which 
is three minutes from the 
health system, so that will 
be very helpful,” Schlissel 
said.
Another 
possible 
proposed solution was a 
new shuttle that runs on 
its own path separate from 
the roadways that would 
decrease 
commute 
time. 
Schlissel said this project 
is still in the works, but 
could begin to be developed 
within the next few years.
“We’re 
working, 
but 
not 
ready 
for 
public 
consumption, on a high-
volume, 
high-speed 
connector, that will go from 
Central Campus, right in 
front of the health system, 
up to the North Campus and 
onto the NCRC,” Schlissel 
said. “It would have a high 
enough 
capacity 
and 
a 
regular enough frequency 
that it would help a lot.”
Schlissel 
said 
this 
proposal 
was 
crafted 
in response to frequent 
congestion 
and 
slow-
moving traffic on Fuller 
Street, leading to North 
Campus. This traffic largely 
affects University faculty 
who make the commute, 
either in their own car 
or via Blue Bus, to North 
Campus every day.
Another 
point 
of 
discussion 
for 
board 
members was the use of 
electronic voting for the 
Senate Assembly, a method 
that members say has been 
adopted by multiple other 
universities.

Ivo Dinov, SACUA board 
member and bioinformatics 
professor, 
wrote 
the 
report 
on 
introducing 
electronic voting to Senate 
Assembly, and said using 
this technology to gauge 
support for certain policies 
can eliminate complications 
involved with voting in 
person.
“If you only insist on 
having people that meet 
the 
minimum 
critical 
requirement, 
that 
100 
people — Senate members, 
show up to vote — is this a 
better situation than having 
everybody have a chance 
to vote even if they did not 
hear the argument?” Dinov 
said. “So it’s one of those 
things where you have to 
be careful because a lot of 
people travel, and they’re 
just not going to be here. 
So, having the opportunity 

to vote asynchronously is a 
huge plus.”
Director 
of 
U-M’s 
Faculty 
Senate 
Office, 
MaryJo 
Banasik, 
spoke 
with a Senate Assembly 
member at the University 
of Minnesota, who claimed 
that electronic voting has 
streamlined the process of 
making faculty decisions. 
Banasik said ideally the 
University would purchase 
software such as Qualtrics 
or Simply Voting to expedite 
the voting process.
“They 
actually 
use 
it 
[Simply 
Voting] 
if 
they 
cannot 
get 
a 
quorum,” 
Banasik 
said. 
“So, 
they 
have a deliberative meeting 
in person first to discuss 
the issues and the next 
meeting they hold the vote 
in person, and if they don’t 
have enough people to make 
the quorum for that vote, 
then they turn to electronic 
voting.”

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Tuesday, October 1, 2019 — 3

Commerical 
vaping things, 
it could be a 
pathway to 
addiction, but it’s 
also a prescribed 
treatment to 
get people off 
cigarettes.

SACUA
From Page 1

SAFE
From Page 1

At 
the 
University 
in 
particular, C-SPAN wanted to 
engage with students and first-
time voters to help them learn 
more about the government, 
elections and U.S. history, 
Hemming said.
“In 
the 
classroom, 
we 
bring 12 to 15 students on 
for a 15-minute presentation 
talking about our video library, 
which 
has 
over 
250,000 
hours of content, adding 
to it every day,” Hemming 
said. “So, they walk away 
with a new resource they 
can use inside and outside 
the classroom, not only as 
a first-time voter, but to 
learn about government, 
American 
history 
and 
civics.”
Green added that, with 
its onboard studio, C-SPAN 
can film live tapings and 
interviews to be aired in its 
programming. 
“We are doing 30-second 

interviews 
asking 
the 
question: 
‘What’s 
an 
issue that you want the 
candidates 
to 
address 
in 2020?’” she said. “So, 
what’s important to you. 
We air these on C-SPAN 
almost like commercials 
highlighting the University 
of Michigan students and 
staff here and the state of 
Michigan as a whole.”
Robert 
Krasny, 
a 
University 
professor 
of 
mathematics and a C-SPAN 
viewer, 
was 
excited 
to 
interact with the bus after 
hearing it was on campus. 
He agreed with Green, 
saying 
C-SPAN 
is 
an 
important public service.
“They say it right on the 
bus, it’s your unfiltered 
view of the government,” 
Krasny said. “The great 
thing about C-SPAN is that 
they’re 
balanced. 
They 
have call-in programs, for 
example. People can call 
in and give their opinion 
about 
the 
events 
that 
are going on. One phone 

number is for Democrats, 
one phone number is for 
Republicans, 
and 
the 
third phone number is for 
independents 
and 
they 
really get very balanced, 
round point of view of the 
whole population.”
LSA senior Pamela Sobze 
had heard of C-SPAN, but 
wanted to interact with 
the bus to learn more about 
them. Sobze said C-SPAN 
could help college students 
engage more with politics 
and 
the 
government 
through interactive events 
like its bus tour. 
“Young people, a lot of 
them do follow politics, 
but a lot of them don’t,” she 
said. “It’s hard to balance it 
with school, so I think this 
is a good way to get people 
exposed to it. And if there 
are things they don’t know, 
like I didn’t know a lot of 
the minor details, it’s fun 
to learn about why certain 
events are so important 
and why things get so much 
coverage.”

CSPAN
From Page 1

For the last three years 
of 
Alexander’s 
illness, 
Valentine became his full-
time 
caretaker. 
Valentine 
said it was an honor to 
help 
Alexander, 
after 
the 
compassion 
Alexander 
had 
shown him. 
“He 
fought 
for 
the 
underdog, he fought for the 
people that couldn’t fight for 
themselves, the people that 
didn’t get justice,” Valentine 
said. “There was something 
magical about him.”
Renardo A. Bowles, who is 
studying to be a social worker 
in 
Detroit, 
participated 
in Alexander’s drama and 
creative writing workshops 
while still in prison. Bowles 
said Alexander is the reason 
he decided to continue his 
education when he got out of 
prison in 2013.
“He gave me a different 
perspective and he impacted 
my life by wanting me to 

continue 
with 
education,” 
Bowles said. “Right now, I’m 
working with a lot of troubled 
youth, I’m working with the 
same people who have been 
in the same situation I was in 
… that, right there, inspired 
me to do more of that of 
giving back. That’s what he 
exemplified.”
Darryl 
Woods, 
whose 
prison 
sentence 
was 
commuted 
by 
former 
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder 
last year, also felt Alexander’s 
influence through his PCAP 
workshops. 
Woods 
said 
a 
creative 
writing 
workshop 
improved his writing skills 
and helped him earn his GED. 
He also recalled Buzz’s ability 
to bring prisoners of different 
identities together, which was 
a rare occurrence according to 
Woods. 
“He brought us all together, 
we 
all 
came 
together 
to 
create,” Woods said. “That 
was a magical thing, that was 
a powerful thing to do inside 
the prison.”
In 
spite 
of 
his 
work 

delving into serious, systemic 
problems, 
Alexander 
had 
a silly side too, Janie said. 
Laughing, she told a story 
of Buzz entering a theater 
workshop dressed up as a 
woman. 
“He wore stockings, and 
high heels and a wig. And he 
was six-foot-four. And when 
he walked on stage, the women 
in the audience just collapsed 
with laughter,” Janie said. 
He loved hiking, biking and 
reading, Janie said. Woods 
said he would miss Alexander’s 
“infectious” laugh and smile. 
Other people interviewed for 
the story chuckled about his 
flyaway hair. Everyone felt his 
legacy would live on. 
Valentine 
said 
he’s 
hoping someone else in the 
community with Buzz’s magic 
appears.
“I just hope somebody else 
can carry the light the way he 
did,” Valentine said. “I mean, 
every once in awhile someone 
comes along, but we need 
people like that in our in our 
society and in our culture.”

BUZZ
From Page 2

Lesko 
did 
not 
respond 
to multiple requests for an 
interview, and Stulberg directed 
The Daily to Weider. Kuhnke’s 
office declined to comment for 
this story.
In response to the FOIA, 
Lesko, Stulberg and Weider sued 
to stop their records’ disclosure. 
Kuhnke stated in her ruling that 
because the messages in question 
concerned city business, they 
therefore constituted part of 
the public record and could be 
subject to FOIA.
However, 
Weider 
said 
he 
believed 
it 
was 
more 
complicated. Weider said he 

thought citizens should have 
the right to raise an issue with 
their public officials without fear 
that their neighbors may FOIA 
those communications and use it 
against them.
“There’s 
no 
reason 
that 
citizens can’t have confidential 
communications 
with 
people 
to the government,” Weider 
said. “In fact, there are good 
reasons why they should. … It 
could keep people from actually 
communicating with their own 
counsel people.”
Weider 
also 
said 
that 
according to his understanding 
of FOIA, the city does not 
have to release the records of 
communication between private 
citizens and public officials — 
they are allowed to do so, but the 
act does not compel that action. 

Weider said he and the others 
brought the suit against this 
FOIA hoping the judge would 
point this out in her ruling, but it 
was never referenced by Kuhnke.
“I don’t think any of the three 
of us really care very much about 
the substance that’s going to 
be damaging or embarrassing,” 
Weider said. “It’s just a matter of 
principle.”
City 
Attorney 
Stephen 
Postema has previously stated 
the 
city 
of 
Ann 
Arbor 
is 
compelled by statute to fulfill 
FOIAs of the nature of that filed 
by Vazquez.
Griswold and Nelson each 
said they believe the judge ruled 
correctly and the records of their 
communication 
with 
private 
citizens is applicable to FOIA 
regulation.

“I don’t want to be having 
secret 
conversations 
with 
anyone,” Griswold said.
Mayor 
Christopher 
Taylor 
said FOIA should function as a 
“window into the workings of 
government.” He said he does 
not get offended when people 
FOIA his records and others who 
wish to influence governmental 
proceedings should be prepared 
for the same scrutiny.
“It’s the right of every person 
to make such a request,” Taylor 
said.
However, 
Griswold 
and 
Nelson each voiced a concern 
that FOIA rules may be becoming 
more out of touch as technology 
evolves. 
Nelson 
noted 
that 
people who are not as active in 
Ann Arbor politics may not know 
how to take advantage of FOIA 

capabilities.
“For people who want to 
be informed, who want to be 
involved, we need to make it 
easier for them to understand 
how our government is working,” 
Nelson said.
Nelson also raised concerns 
regarding how this ruling will 
affect communication obtained 
through FOIA which revolve 
around 
campaigning, 
not 
governing. Griswold, likewise, 
indicated the only outcome she 
predicts this ruling will render 
will be an uptick in FOIAs 
coming election season.
The records have not yet been 
released and will remain sealed 
so as to allow the plaintiffs the 
opportunity to continue their 
case in the Michigan State Court 
of Appeals. Weider told The 

Daily he and the others will not 
be continuing with the case. 
Vazquez promised to publish the 
records as soon as they are made 
available to him.
However, Vazquez admitted 
he does not believe there to be 
any inflammatory information 
included 
in 
the 
documents 
obtained through FOIA. He too 
believes primarily in defending 
the principle of his position: the 
preservation of transparency.
“I’m 
not 
expecting 
any 
smoking 
guns 
or 
anything 
because if you look through the 
documents that were given to 
me, they’re all pretty tame,” 
Vazquez said. “But for Lesko, 
Stulberg and Weider to stand in 
the way of full disclosure tells 
me and many people they’ve got 
something to hide.”

FOIA
From Page 1

Having the 
opportunity 
to vote 
asynchronously is 
a huge plus.

