For the 98 percent of Americans who live in states or jurisdictions with some level of cannabis legalization – whether recreational or medical – it is far past the time to have some legitimate banking options. There are now thousands of cannabis-related businesses that buy and sell goods and services, estimated to be worth over $50 billion nationally. However, […]
Banking for the people
As professional marketers and designers know, digitally savvy millennials are some of the toughest customers out there. As early adopters and influencers, millennials have become a key demographic for companies and agencies across Europe just begging to attract their clicks and euros. This is something designer Maurizio Poletto knows how to do, and at Erste […]
The case for dismantling North Carolina’s liquor monopoly
Consumer Choice Center Deputy Director Yaël Ossowski joined Joe Catenacci on 106.7 FM to discuss democratic socialism (1:45), net neutrality (7:10), and why North Carolina’s age-old liquor monopoly and its ABC stores have got to go (14:10). 06. March 2019
Dental therapists not free market solution to dental woes
When healthcare reform is invoked in politics, there’s one area left out too often: our teeth. According to the CDC, only 64 percent of adults had a dental appointment last year. In Broward County, 19 percent of adults didn’t see a dentist in 2017 because of cost. That’s appalling. And in more rural parts of the country, dentists are hard […]
End North Carolina’s archaic monopoly on liquor sales
When it comes to alcohol policy, North Carolina is more an outlier than exemplar. Though ours is among 17 states with an alcohol control system, where the state retains monopoly control of part of the alcohol trade, it stands out as one of the most restrictive. Private liquor stores are banned, prices are fixed, and […]
Dental therapists are no free market solution to dental woes
The current state of dental care in Florida is a mess. Florida lawmakers are right to address it. However, the proposed solution of midlevel providers called dental therapists in SB 1498 misses the mark and is anything but a market solution. Dental therapists require less training and education than dentists and can perform a fraction of […]
Kickl seeks detention of ‘dangerous’ refugees
In a press conference Monday afternoon, Austrian Interior Minister Herbert Kickl (FPÖ) outlined his plans for “Sicherungshaft,” a legal change that would allow preventative detention for refugees deemed to pose a danger to Austrian society by the government. The measure comes in the wake of a knife attack in the Vorarlberg city of Dornbirn, in which a Turkish […]
Cannabis stocks climb ahead of congressional hearing on bank access
Yaël Ossowski, deputy director at the cannabis advocacy group Consumer Choice Center, urged lawmakers to push for banking reform, outlining the risks facing companies forced to operate as cash-only businesses. “Higher risk means cannabis companies face additional costs,” Ossowski said in a statement. “They have to hire security guards for transporting cash and paying local […]
Legal Cannabis Is Here to Stay, and Consumers and Entrepreneurs Deserve Safe Banking Options
For hundreds of millions of Americans across the country, cannabis is no longer the “reefer madness” street drug it once was. Much like alcohol before it, the cannabis plant has evolved from a narcotic trafficked across borders and sold on the black market into one of the most sought-after products in legitimate commerce, bought by consumers who […]
Praising Santa Barbara County’s innovative cannabis regulations
The nascent cannabis sector is alive and well in California. While many other California counties have shut the door on the legal cannabis market, Santa Barbara County has ensured both consumers and entrepreneurs can profit from cultivation and trade –– and that remains a huge boon to the local economy, taxpayers, and residents. Out of […]