Repeal of Cole Memo Raises Concerns, Opportunities for Cannabis Industry - ChineseInvestors.com, Inc. (CIIX)

Shortly after cannabis enthusiasts and investors celebrated California’s January 1, 2018, rollout of legal recreational marijuana sales to adults, the federal government reversed its course on marijuana policy, calling for tighter enforcement of marijuana laws. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Cole Memorandum, a 2013 policy that offered some protections from federal prosecution for the cultivation, distribution and possession of cannabis in states where the highly regulated plant is legal. Sessions’ decision ushered in a deeper freeze to the banking dilemma facing cannabis retailers, who have found themselves relying primarily on cash transactions since cannabis remains illegal under federal law. Although the rollback of the Cole memo created serious questions and sent marijuana-related stocks lower, there continues to be positive movement in the cannabis industry as companies such as ChineseInvestors.com, Inc. (CIIX), Overstock.com, Inc. (OSTK), MGT Capital Investments, Inc. (MGTI), Riot Blockchain, Inc. (RIOT), and Xunlei Limited (XNET) invest their attention and resources on alternative financing options and the technology behind them.