GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Michael Tuffelmire says the momentum for recreational marijuana is growing.
"It's not backing off, it seems to be more and more...we're at 10 states, and in the next election cycle we could be at 20-25 percent of the U.S," says Tuffelmire.
That momentum got a boost this week after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sent a letter to Washington urging the Feds to open up the U.S. banking system to the emerging cannabis industry which is currently cash-only.
"It would really solve a lot of problems we're seeing in the industry right now," says Jamie Cooper of Cannabiz Connection.
Cooper says she constantly hears about safety concerns.
"We are forcing customers to come inside these facilities with cash and they could be targeted outside of the facilities as well," says Cooper.
"I don't want to walk into a business where people know everybody in and out of there is walking with cash," says Tuffelmire.
And the concerns don't just stop with customers.
"A lot of these facilities are having to pay their taxes in cash and during that transporting, there is that risk for some sort of issue to happen," says Tuffelmire.
Tufflemire believes these recent actions will cause change and he believes that change will be a game-changer for the industry, specifically having to do with loans and lines of credit.
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