panelists. i wanted to focus on banking and the tax issues. those are two of the ork.erstones of ncia's we there's a panel tomorrow with steve i'm going to turn things over to her neck speaker from washington state. fromr next speaker washington state. i got to know him eight years ago when he was really doing some groundbreaking work with the king county bar association. as a young aspiring attorney, i noticed you were pretty not position a year -- putting out papers saying the war on drugs was a failure. i got the bar association -- is

my great pleasure to turn things over to roger. >> let me stand up so i can see you guys better. it is a pleasure to be back here in denver. working with brian. the time has flown by. i kind of have to pinch myself. you don't see a lot of tie-dye people.tailed reggae i used to be the oldest person in the audience and i am not anymore. i think what i want to do is give you an update on some of the details of what is going on in washington state. i becamereform work, notorious in my area.

a seat became open in the state legislature. iran and they hit me hard. they use the keywords. roger goodman is a lawyer crusading to legalize drugs. my poll numbers shot up afterwards. cultural find. i was fighting for the truth and had the courage to talk about this as a politician. people were saying, you are saying this? i begged me opponents to hit me on the drug issue. it always backfires on them. if they say i raise taxes, that is different and i am vulnerable. but now, i find myself as the chair of the public safety committee in the state house of representatives. which used to have jurisdiction over cannabis. but it is legal now. i don't even have jurisdiction

over the substance i helped to legalize. i also practice law and service cannabis businesses in washington state. -- johnn inside view davis is a pioneer. he is talking about the acceptance of the initiative. all the soccer moms and sure to opposed the initiative said, let's do it. they are excepting it and acknowledging it. he even embracing it. despite bumps in the road, we are developing a regular us -- rigorous regulatory system that

is going to satisfy public opinion. to answer brian's provocative question, i don't think so. it is a little bit of a surprise that -- it looked like we were going to happen back in the late 70's. boy did it whiplash against us. i was with jimmy carter not long ago in atlanta. at lengthth length -- with him about his position on marijuana. he does not believe it should be legalized. marketedes it will be to children and is a dangerous substance. almost all his family members have died from lung cancer related to tobacco. opposed togly cannabis legalization. and is in favor of deke revelation. -- decriminalization.

i said, don't you want to get rid of the criminal enterprises? i kind of stumped him. to let you know, jimmy carter was never in favor of legalization. a.b. it is not a surprise that we did not make it happen way back when. now, the dam has burst. is sitting here. we are unstoppable. if you put your finger to the wind, you see public opinion continuing to go in the same direction. i compare same gender relationships with cannabis legalization. there is still a ceiling, a ceiling acceptability on same gender relationships. some people are still grossed out by it. when you talk about cannabis, it is a plant. the rapid cultural change and aceptance of cannabis as

pipette ought to be regulated is gaining acceptance. i don't because going to go back. we are there. this is a good example of what is called to continuous change. nothing happens, nothing happens, and then the berlin wall falls. for us, colorado and washington, the beeler wall -- the berlin wall has fallen. in 2019, hillary will have to bring down the wall the federal prohibition. five more years of federal prohibition is my prediction. the liquor control board, which we will rename the liquor and , but is doing the best a job they can. they are used to bottles of

vodka out. they are not used to an agricultural product. they are learning along the way. sometimes behaving like bureaucrats. hindering the development of the market. here, and wehase are letting colorado run interference for us to see what lessons you are learning him a we are right behind you. the first retail shop should be opening in the first couple of weeks of july. we are penetrating the market slowly. a statewideeady had uniform regulatory system for medical cannabis. we did not. we had a patchwork of local control, a quasilegal -- we have an initiative on the books. but the medical system is quasilegal. we have to invent something new, which is what we are doing. and then find a way to align medical cannabis with the full access market. use, and i am about to

say, recreational as a word. it diminishes the use of cannabis. i don't go out for recreational beer. tobacco,you who use you don't go out for a recreational cigarette. i would encourage you not to use that word. word forngelo use the access market. general adult use. i try to use those words. there is medical cannabis and there is general adult use cannabis. word.t to use that it comes across as something less than what it should be. we are now licensing to millions hang pete of canopy -- to million square feet of canopy.

those 2 million square feet are estimated to satisfy about 15% of the demand. only 15%. we are just getting started. 25% of the demand in washington state is people under the age of 21. there will always be in on regulated market for those under 21. 50% iser 75%, unregulated. 25% is medical. we are starting to undercut the unregulated market. it is a high-risk venture. for anyone who wants to get into business, as john was saying, it is unpredictable with the bureaucrats are doing. you are paying rent. you don't have a license. the liquor board changes the rules and you have to wait longer. for those getting into this, you

need the resources. otherwise -- and quite a number of applicants have withdrawn because they found the do not have the resources. the challenges are banking. we have one credit union in the state that is willing to provide merchant services. i am actually working on a deal where retailers and maybe other sectors of the market would join an association. would, yet to be named, service the association rather than individual businesses. huge.e bank issue is i'd rather answer questions about what is going on with washington then talk at you. we are moving in the right direction. bumps in the road. in terms of medical, we will be a few medical retail,

but it will be general use. i am concerned about truly medically needy individuals who need a lot and might not be served by the market. i want to make sure we provide for the truly medically needy who consume a lot. they probably ingest. you need a lot of material. that is my major concern. and then locals. one big difference between colorado and washington is we do not have arguably a local opt out. has saidney general locals can opt out come of it that will be litigated. i'm in favor of revenue serine -- sharing. ideologically opposed so much as they want a cut. revenueto provide local to make it a statewide market.

it is a pleasure to be here. thank you. [applause] >> thanks, roger. electedl to have officials here. we will shift and talk about colorado. i want to remind folks, we will have an open q&a. then we will have questions from the audience is. if you have earning questions, please hang onto them. i will have ugly it speak. -- elliot speak. he is the ceo and cofounder of a prominent medical marijuana and adult use dispensary. they have a reputation for being top of the class. incomes from a background oil and gas as well as agriculture. with that, i will turn it to him. and him a round of applause. -- give him a round of applause.

[applause] >> thank you for the glowing review. challenges toand me seem to overlap in this industry. the things that have made us successful in colorado are also the biggest challenges going forward. it.prior panelists covered the cliché is all politics are local. in this industry, we are the political face of the commercial side of the movement as well as, for the patients and people who have helped create this opportunity. here in colorado, we have seen regular change from both legislative and revelatory sides.

every three months, once things the first law passed for the constitutional change. which open the door for the opportunity. we existed as a caregiver model. it was all still kind of four line underground. -- borderline underground. in 2008 elections happened, you saw a lot more people become openly advertising they are running a commercial style caregiver business. that triggered the city of denver to make the first move to push us into a regulated retail outlet and production model. the buildingime, departments did not know what to do. these have existed outside of traditional building codes and requirements. that level overexposure to the

regulatory bodies for the marijuana industry is what is defining the go forward path. we are regulatory management companies in colorado. we produce a product and sell it. we have to manage and provide data to the regulatory bodies to give comfort to the federal government that we are couple sharing the eight old points on their memo. points on their memo. the politics are local. regulatory agencies are the ones answering to the federal government saying we are doing our best to prevent child consumption. that is where the biggest foot dragging will come from. the bureaucracies will not want to readily assume the burden for playing interference with the federal government.

say, butig request to these guys produce a schedule the middle ofin what the federal government considers active prohibition. know who youru to local entities are so you can have comfort with them that your investments and opportunities are going to be stable. you are making good business decisions. have learnedo, we once the rules get rolling, plan 43-6 month ago mental changes. 3-6 month changes. caught sudden you can be buying something that is not available.

my answer to the challenge of what could derail this, if we don't develop good business to government relations, we will slow ourselves down. there is probably no going back, but it is our turn to show we can run a business and work with the government. the government is already there. you are trying to become a business. you need their permission to do so. theare going to have to -- activism is important, but the business relationship is where we are making the changes. have alwaysouse sought to have a strong relationship with our city. that's the person that inspects you. that tells you yes or no. you can be upset that there is a regulatory body we can figure

out how to beat participatory. participatory. the rules change any taxes are high, but here we are doing it. it is going to change. be prepared for change continuously. [applause] >> think so much, elliott. much, elliott. his brief background, he is a harvard law graduate. he was the chief of staff for the lieutenant governor of colorado. theit is the -- is first-ever director for

marijuana coronation for the state. let me talk about -- i will let him talk about challenges and successes from his vantage point. give a hand to andrew. [applause] >> thank you. it is a pleasure to be here. i want to thank everyone. they are big thought leaders in colorado, not only for the amendment, but for the people you see -- to see around corners. they are seeing the challenges they will have in the future. it is that kind of thought process and partners that make me want to come here today. my hope is we are will be -- is that we will be cultivating that spirit. i'm the governor posture of marijuana ordination. -- co ordination. which is a title my law school friends are jealous of.

with theas less to do debate over marijuana legalization and more to do with , we can have the debate is much as we want. i tend to not injure into that debate. the other thing we have to do is implement the system -- a system no one has incremented without federal oversight. we are in a new territory which requires a lot of government work. i consider my role to be a good government role. it has little to do with marijuana and more to do with the kind of business relationships and forward thinking relationships that can get us to a place where we have equitable and fair regulatory systems that protect our youth. protect public safety and public health. these are the kinds of conversations we will have to have. what will not straddle the industry but work here. it is going to be an ongoing conversation because we have never done this before. not done thiswe

for marijuana but we have never regulated and industry just on the state level without also being a federal conversation. what have we done well? i would say the amendment 64 tax ta to put together hundreds of people working onsk force all the places that needed to be regular. business interest mixed with people who are marijuana proponents. and opponents. also legal, public safety people, public health people. saying, what do we need to do? of packages kind that says, here you go, here are the bare-bones. we were ablefor -- to go on january 1. i think that is the biggest miracle so far. the skeleton of that thing and what allowed for a lot of people

to calm down, including the federal government, is we had in inventory tracking system that was ready to go on day one to read -- day one. single cloneevery all the way to maturity into the point-of-sale -- and to the sale.ioof becomes soation important. that was a skeleton. the department of revenue work on that is the home run hit we have had so far. everything we do on the regulatory basis is built off that model. the other thing that i would say we continue to do, will we monitor anecdotes and data, we

are hypervigilant at trying to get on top of things. we don't want things to escalate out of control and have to come back to them. we do it in a way that we are reaching out to industry. health.d people, public we are doing a good job of not being overly reactionary. coming up with smart solutions. the edible task force is a good way of showing it. we see anecdotes and things going wrong. we are hearing a lot about out-of-state users overindulging. everybody is working together. how are we doing? the sky has not fallen. that is the most we will ever be able to say at this point. i caution both sites. i get a lot of, this is the worst thing that is ever happened.

there is no data to to support that. another 5-10 years to work out the exact impact with public health and education. with that being said, we have not seen an increase in crime or usage. the world has not ended. data we want to get ahold of. moving atng that and a speed unseen before. we have brought in about $80 million -- $18 million in revenue through april. ththe ballpark of where we ought we would be. there have been thousands of jobs created. we are working on taking initial data.

i'm going to end with, because i want us to get to questions, we are working on edible's. there has been a task force put together with representatives from industry and public health. the concerned citizens. is, how do weise try to prevent accidental ingestion by young people. the second is, how do we make it taking in my knee consumer without any sort of cultural or public education about it. how do we make it intuitive when they are having one serving? so they should know how much they are eating, anybody -- absent anybody telling how much they said split it? his emergencyee rulemaking that says, a serving therehould line up --

should be a demarcation or stamp or physical product separation. on baking, we are concerned. i am jealous of washington having a credit union. that is not something we have had yet in colorado. i think we have been working with washington state and the goernor on trying to together to find a federal solution. every other solution will be on shaky territory. that is what bankers are saying. we will do what we can. we passed a bill last session that allows for the formation of basically a credit union style co-op that can go straight to the federal reserve and ask for access without having to get insurance, which is a roadblock. credit unions for to create marijuana only credit unions. any solution is a good union to us -- solution to us.

are workinging we hard on is use prevention. months, i hope we will come out with our youth prevention campaign. it will not be about the legalization debate. it will be about teenage use. we will be working closely with the industry. i think everyone can understand one of the things that would really stop legalization in its tracks is if we see a dramatic increase in youth use. that is not to say that is where we see the data is going, but it's up to us to make sure it stays out of the hands of people under 21. this is an incredibly fascinating field day today. thank you for having me here. [applause] >> think so much, andrew. e governor to see th

takes a thoughtful and collaborative approach. we did not see eye to eye. he campaigned against us. now that the voters endorsed it, it is nice to see we can have a conversation. two quick one or questions. we have many good questions from the audience. i want to hit on what we talked about in the beginning. i will ask each speaker to briefly address this. is there an exit stencil threat to legalization? is there a policy issue you are seeing related to this? how can we grapple with it? let's maybe jump -- andrew, are you prepared? >> can you talk about what you mean by the existential threat. >> the fact that it has only been legal for 18 months. chance that marijuana, the pendulum will swing back and legalization will

be overturned? if so, what is the issue that would make that happen? is it edibles, labeling, banking? business to government relations not being good enough? job, myecond i got this book,iend picked up the smoke signals. it a history of the legalization effort. i will always say yes. there is a complete chance that a year from now, everybody says that was nice but that is done. that is a politics question. i don't have a good read on where the politics will go nationally. i would say, the shaking as we we have iskiness

tied up in banking. as the last bastion. that is where i see the most the various influences coming in. -- nefarious influences coming in. if we can do this as far as -- that is great. if it becomes a big money laundering operation, i think there is a whole separate ground for sharing this thing down. do you have any thoughts? >> the machine that is prohibition did not just go away. there are people that make money off this. industries that rely on this. there are areas of the country where the law enforcement really sees marijuana as a tool to get away with a lot. there are a lot of people invested in the status quo.

the pendulum is clearly swinging in the direction of legalization, but if you don't think those people on the other side are going to try, no matter what happens, spin it as failure, you are wrong. they will spin it as failure. what can we do to help them? we can be lexa days ago about our mix -- lacksadasical about arm exiting -- our messaging. irr responsible -- esponsible. the baking is a challenge. a lot of people are working in an all cash environment. for those who were here for the keynote, the words that were

written by steve d angelo about industry needing to have a soul and social conscience, that is because it is the right thing to do. but also because the downside risk in this industry is not just losing your investment money. it is federal prison. [laughter] clients,er i said with i am obligated to say, what you are doing is an unambiguous violation of federal law. we smile and move on. but i would not be a competent lawyer if i did not warn them every time. swung sharply from the 1970's to the 1980's. there's a major distinction today. since the 1980's, 30 years, the grassroots have taken hold. the people have been heard.

constitutional, in colorado, framework has been established. it was not just cultural and personal references. we have established an infrastructure that is going to be very difficult to dismantle. it is also based on rationality, which is not necessarily what drives politics. i do not think we are going back. we will have bumps in the road for economic reasons. reasons of public safety. reduced alcohol consumption, duis. teens reporting it is harder to get. teen use down, from what i understand in colorado. we will have some incidences. the rapid response on the edible issue is a good example of addressing an issue. it if the industry is not responsible, you will so your

sow your own demise. i have been encouraging cannabis to distinguish themselves from tobacco and alcohol and not market to children. [indiscernible] safety ishealth and

our job as an industry to prove we can do it before the regime and we get into the next wave of legislative battles. i have a bunch of excellent questions. i would add my two cents on the existential issue. the edible issue is a tough one. as someone who wrote the legalization measure and codirected the campaign, we did not see be edible is she -- industry leading to the high-profile incidents. people eating a cookie this big and has 10 doses and they do not realize it. really bringing a thoughtful dialogue that perhaps airs on the side of overregulation, if

we want to have a long-term sustainable industry, we have to look at how this looks right now. in terms of how to keep your business option name, -- functioning, the guidance on this industry from the federal government laid out eight things. always taking the time to look back at that. we did have an audience member share their thoughts on whether there is an x essential thought -- whether there is an existential thought. the individual says, i am concerned about these cannabis businesses going public. a lot of them have had stock trade orders by the sec. you seem to be scams that are fleecing investors -- there seem to be scams that are fleecing investors. tomorrow, there is a panel on

the sort of going public. how public company can operate. the check that out tomorrow. check that out tomorrow. will have toes legalize cannabis in some form for the federal government to start to act? basically, what is your prediction on how soon we see action on the federal level? we will start with andrew. >> i have no great insight into this. pass, except last name.ked for my freedman. >> i think there is going to be serious discussion about it in 2016. 016 is the lip --

the world convenes and discusses her national treaties. -- international treaty. the federal government can't just say, yeah, washington and colorado are behind you. it is a validation of treaty. it has to be handled on an international level. you are going to see become position start their and hopefully will make some progress. my prediction is, it doesn't matter how me states. it is about the treaty. >> i will stick with my seat of the pants prediction that five years from now the federal law of prohibition will come down. i can't believe it is possible. but look at where we are now. there is no movement in congress, so it will be up to the executive. the executive does have the

power to reschedule and introduce enough policy initiatives so the controlled substances act becomes meaningless. >> it is anybody's guess. i wouldn't want to say the power is where you want to follow. the people with the votes, they are the people that will make the shift. my vote is new york and florida will make it happen. i i would note, too -- apologize if i don't get to your question. onre is a panel tomorrow which states are primed to legalize or move forward with medical marijuana. two-minute -- do not miss that panel. a couple of washington specific questions.

changes do you hope to see in the 2015 washington legislative session? >> i actually killed a bill at the end of the last session which was not going to serve patients well. which is premature. amending both initiatives in the next session. the medical marijuana initiative, which was enacted in 1998, and initiative 502. aligning them so patients will be able to -- they will probably have a state card that will allow them to purchase significantly more than a general adult use consumer. retail outlets will need special training if they are going to be providing to medical. just trying to think of some of the others -- trying to

accommodate those who are medically needy. as far as the general use market, there are little tweaks as far as giving liquor control board. but in general, the system isn't laced. we are watching it roll out. but in general, the system is in place. we will watch it roll out. >> we will need to address washington taxation. there will be 2-3 stores open on july 1. the liquor control board wants that. they want to show progress. the prices you will see, you people in colorado are going to chuckle and say, my god i am glad i'm in colorado. the prices in washington are insane. we will have to come back. our taxation is too aggressive. being written

more by academics made assumptions about how easy it would be to make. it would just be pennies a gram to produce which is not the case. to go ining to have and deal with distance relationships. the relationships in the dayiative have to do with care, child care centers. in the federal government, the u.s. attorneys came out and said, when the liquor control kids don't fly. feet. -- a thousand thousand feet. it is governed by a property law. it references title 21. that doesn't mention anything

about day care, child care centers. i want to change the distance relations. we need some sort of regulation for medical. andigure out how medical recreational are going to survive together in the near term until we can get this notion of legalization up. the adult use, general adult use market, needs to first be able to supply the general adult use market before it can be assumed it would be able to serve patients. >> i want to comment on the distances. 1000 feet. the state requires that liquor establishments be 500 feet from a school. politically, that is tough. in a legislature to say we want shops to -- pot

be closer. >> i have high hopes. >> we will work on it. >> thanks roger and john. a couple of colorado questions. this is a point of clarification. you said that through april, the state has brought in about $18 million in taxes. does that include medical marijuana? is that your adult use? licensing fees? >> that is just from proposition taxes. excise taxes and sales taxes. >> this is for only it -- e lliot. what are the pros and cons of integrating legal marijuana with adult use facilities. >> for us, the pros are being able to serve a wider customer base.

the restrictions of the medical market also give you advantages. there are a lot of tumors who don't want to go through the process. are it costs more. you are paying for essentially two licenses at both state and city level, which push your acensing any range of 20 k store, 40 k a store. it is not cheap. every year. thank you. a question concerning hemp. what is the status of industrial hemp in colorado? i can speak to colorado. is the forgotten issue of the legalization measure. we legalized hemp simultaneously. was one of those

things where, hemp became very mainstream overnight. everybody was like, what is the big deal with hemp? the state department of agriculture has thrown themselves into regulating it. there are people growing acres of hemp right now. it is phenomenal. that brings up a possible business opportunities. here we are at the event. hemp is a pretty viable crop for all sorts of things. with the new laws passing, which are fascinating, like cbd only laws in florida. growere an opportunity to low thc hemp? hemp?ow thc could beve that crop.via a hemp can you speak about hemp in washington?

there was a bill introduced that made it to the house but not the senate to create a hemp market. is legal but a new regulated -- unregulated. the republicans in particular are very excited about the hemp market. they represent the eastern part of washington state which is more economically hard-hit. it was a republican bill. it is interesting to see, years ago republicans tended to be against this. tremendouse economic opportunities in their communities. we were going to vote on a bill, but there was a weather problem and republicans could not make it. i thought it was interesting that we had to put on hold the billon a marijuana vote --

two-week for republicans to get to the legislature. we will get him done. >> -- hemp done. follow-up, speaking about the cbd specific marijuana bills. being passed in various states. there is some thought these could be a box canyon. as a place like florida passes the bill, they have done enough and will not do more. they have helped the sickest of the sick. could you give your thoughts on those bills? >> is exactly that. you are seeing these used as reviewed --you when you read the

polls, medical marijuana poll slightly destined people that have a favorable impression of thanlls slightly higher apple pie. that is a fact. the republicans and democrats are seeing this. even those people that are invested heavily in the status quo, as many politicians are, they have been propping this up for 30 years. they have financial backers. people that like the status quo. they are using the cbe only only thing to say, you don't need medical marijuana. we have cbd. marijuana in itself is not just cbd.

it is not just thc. lots of research has to be done on it. bills are ways to prevent the inevitable, which is medical marijuana. >> the short version is we are trying to freebie plant, -- free plant, not one tiny fraction. if we allow cbd only, we are talking about big pharma and molecular grade science versus legalizing a plant. theuestion concerning backdoor threats to legalization. by that i mean, we see things like water. the water reclamation board not haveing marijuana grow to

water because the water is being held in federal facilities. or threats against power companies. i have a number of clients in the columbia river basin were freaking out about the bureau of reclamation's position that water cannot be used for -- to grow a federally prohibited product. the bureau of reclamation -- this is one example -- is not an enforcement body. they can say all they want that they will take your water right away. is the u.s. justice department that initiates those actions. there is a match going on within the federal government between bureaucrats who don't like this and i am not concerned about the bureau of reclamation threatening to limit water or to take water rates way.

-- rights away. it would be up to the justice department, and they have given us guidance that they will let it go ahead. i'm sure the other backdoor i am trying to think of other backdoor threats. >> there is speaking and taxes -- banking and taxes. >> we have indian nations in colorado. akima tribe has filed suit to prevent cannabis businesses on its trust lands, which includes a third of washington state. it will not be successful. writing and crying -- griping and crying. our attorneyknow

general and governor will go straight to the federal government. they might be backdoor threats, but i do not see them bringing down the system. the real cutting edge of the war right now -- if you ask sam patrick kennedy's group what they are working on -- banks. . they have their heels dug into that. they don't want to give on banks. once we have banks, we have legitimacy. that is one of a lot of their strategy is. yhere have been man statements made to that effect. >> the final question i would like all the speakers to speak on -- if you look at the talking points of the opposition to marijuana reform, is interesting to see of a shift.

for a long time, this is your brain on drugs. now the talking point is, this is big marijuana. just like big tobacco. they are trying to hike up the thc rates to get your kids addicted. they are marketing this incoming bears and trying to destroy the fabric of american society. is,uestion for the panel how do we as an industry avoid of a net calling this big marijuana? withith elliott -- start eliott. >> some of the legislation has driven it to be bigger money. i don't know about the big per se. as in the push for, vigils, normalization. we are people who choose cannabis over wine or maybe with

wine. we are choosing something. it is adult choice, adult use. medical is one aspect of that. tois about freedom of choice use a plant as part of your lifestyle. that normalization is what is going to push back. and do you can show up your job and still consume cannabis is going to help much fear.p this we are not bad people. we just like cannabis. >> that should be on your gravestone. [laughter] >> i think messaging is really important. citing evidence. i am assuming that there -- beer consumption will go down. that kids find it harder to get and use it less. that people have access to medical treatment they did not have access to before.

thisting that good news -- is what i am doing. i am running for reelection. people are telling him he, what about this legalization? i say, so far is working out and we are bringing in revenue. reporting that good news hopes to dampen concern. jen i was with amy carter -- the invited washington state and colorado folks. they were taking us to task for take -- destroying america's children. i kept saying, this is about regulating a market. it don't you want to regulate the market? they got uncomfortable. they knew it was a rational argument. another thing is to put the burden on you as industry members. not to market to children. to message properly.

to be big marijuana. in washington state, we have legislated not to allow for big marijuana. we do not have vertical integration. you can only have a certain number of licenses and grow certain amount. that is the legacy of the liquor control system from 1933. a three tier system. where we encourage small businesses rather than large businesses. >> big marijuana. coming to get your children. let's talk about big prohibition. when we got into this preparationss alongside with heroin were available without prescription at pharmacies without age restrictions whatsoever. smoked cannabis was almost unheard of.

citing homicidal maniac, marijuana was made illegal. prohibition begun. in that time, from when cannabis was almost unheard of and widely available, we have grown to a society in which we are a little population% of the and use 25% of the supply. sow was prohibition doing -- i prohibition doing? in countries like holland, where adults can get a regulated supply, their youth rates are less. portugal as well. when they decriminalized drugs, the usage rates for children went down. that is in itself a good thing. let's look at what else went

down. youth use of other drugs went down. youth availability of other drugs went down a lot. addiction rates, overdose rates, you name it. they went down. we regulated. business is regulation. you want to talk about big marijuana? let's talk about big prohibition and what has not worked. to put are going to do some regulation in. we are actually going to decrease youth use. thank you. [applause] >> >> we have a very nice woman in the back who has been waiting a stop sign. i am going to be quick here. our goal on this one is youth prevention, which we measure by healthy kids colorado. in the last 30 days, we have public safety which we are going

hospitals,by accidents. people losing their jobs from alcohol, tobacco, marijuana substance abuse. those are the things we are going to measure. we don't have to call it anything. we just have to have statistics. >> let's give a round of supplies to a fantastic panel. [applause] great way to start the conference. thanks so much. >> take a look at your agenda. we have a half-hour break and then we are moving into track sessions. tracks two through four are on the other side of the hall. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014]

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> washington journal recently spoke to a group that wants to outlaw marijuana in this fate. -- in the state. rom an industry group. perspective,er gina carbone what the group smart colorado joining us from denver. welcome to c-span. much.: hi, thank you very host: could you tell our audience about your group, how it was formed, what is your purpose, in particular in the topic of her relational marijuana? smart colorado was formed after the passage of amendment 64 which legalized marijuana in colorado. main concern really is how the legalization of marijuana is going to affect our youth

hearing colorado. we have -- here in colorado. we have an awful lot of people in the state who are just at to make money in this is this and make this industry as big as possible. but we feel that there has not been due consideration to what this is going to do to our communities and particularly our kids. so that is really our purpose. we have been working at the state level, the local level on legislation to tighten restrictions and to really try and prevent the unintended consequences that would adversely affect our youth. whatat an -- host: intended consequences, such as what? guest: primarily more youth use. the concern is, even before legalization happen here, we had a robust medical marijuana industry. denver's youth use in particular is much higher than the rest of the country. for example, eighth-graders in

denver, almost 20% in the last healthy kids survey that was done, almost 20% of our eighth-graders are using marijuana and that compares to the national average which is about 6.5%. so across all of the age spectrum's, denver's youth use where we have had a lot of commercialization with first medical marijuana and a recreational marijuana, we are going to see those numbers change, too. but we are concerned already that so many of denver kids are using marijuana. previousa carbone, our guests said that the new rules put in place, first and foremost, you have to be 21 to buy. there are other restrictions and rules put into place. wouldn't that cover concerns you might have? guest: again, you have to look at the medical marijuana industry and how long that has been going. we have seen a big spike in youth use since 2009.

infractions at school, expulsions, suspensions, that type of thing. when you look at these actual surveys and you look at the areas where there is a terminus amount of commercialization like enver, -- like denver. have 343 hot shops in denver alone. the state has chosen only to have 21 shops. the sheer fact that we have so many stores that are selling it, it is very accessible. and medical marijuana is available to 18-year-olds. so that is really the avenue of how it is getting into the hands of our adolescence. we have recent stories since the legalization of fourth graders selling it on the playground. --have had a huge increase

in fact, there really haven't -- several years ago, when you look that adolescents getting a hold of marijuana. now at children's hospital, it is a huge concern because kids are being admitted for accidental ingestion. it is mainly the edibles that they are finding. we are also seeing adults being admitted. about,ity hospital talks recently, dr. zane who is the head of the emergency room, there are 20 of adults who are checking themselves in because -- there are plenty of adults who are checking themselves and because these drugs are very potent and very easy to access because we have so many stores in denver in particular. host: michael elliott talked about the governor, working along with others, are working on finalization of some roles regarding thc and other products found in animals.

are you part of that -- in edibles. are you a part of the process? guest: yes. what we have in our stores are bite-size pieces. if you can imagine a small rhesus piece -- a small reece's piece. they don'ters come, know that they are supposed to cut that into 10 individual pieces. edibles don't start to work for an hour or sometimes two hours after you adjust it. so the real problem is that the stuff is far too potent in individual servings. we have had these tragic deaths due to edibles. a student from the congo who was ate oneng came over he cookie and started hallucinated and jumped over a balcony.

the only thing he had in his system was marijuana from the one cookie. there was a man who ate and edible and ended up shooting his wife. she was on 911 saying that he hallucinating because he ate and edible. so the state is turned to do something about it. how many more deaths do we have to have before things really change in colorado? because right now, there is really no restriction on -- go-ahead. host: what would you like to see? would you like lower content, better packaging, more disclosure? guest: the idea is that it is going to be 10 milligrams for each individual serving. so shrinking down the amount of thc in an individual serving will help tremendously. smart colorado is also pushing that each individual serving

could be packaged individually. i think people, especially if they have to open another package, they realize, oh, i am having a second serving of marijuana if they choose to do so. but right now, you can get a pack of gummy bears. you put 10 of them in their. if it is not a marijuana product, most people who see a small packet of 10 gummy bears assume you eat all 10 gummy bears. that's why we think extra cautions need to be taken, that each individual piece would be wrapped and that might help consumers, guide consumers, that they should not ingest too much. we really need to do everything we can. people not the marijuana of my generation or older saw decades ago. this is very strong marijuana. everything from the actual buds that people are smoking to now we have all of these concentrates that can be put in the e-cigarettes.

baking is very popular here -- vaping is very popular here. i think 40% of the medical marijuana market is in the edible market. it is far more potent. people need to be educated about this and primarily our youth. i will get back to our youth because that is our organization's primary concern. our youth use is very high. and now we are starting to see these studies saying how damaging marijuana is to a developing brain. that is really the concern. have 14, 15, 16-year-olds using this because they think it is medicine, it will help them concentrate, it will help them with depression and anxiety, these are some of the reasons that high schoolers are telling us why they are using marijuana, but it is very confusing for our kids and we have not done an adequate job informing them of

the facts and how this is a very harmful product for adolescents, for the developing brain. and people -- and kids really need to stay away from marijuana. that is our main message. host: gina carbone talking about recreational marijuana here to answer your questions. the phone lines are divided by region and you will see them on the screen. if you live in colorado and you want to give your perspective, here is a line for you. the first call is from felicia. say from aanted to 15 years ago, well, my auntie was dying from cancer and

marijuana was a demon drug. 15 years later, she is a strong survivor of cancer. marijuana is maybe for the use. -- people get sick off of candy. have overdosed on meth and pharmaceutical drugs in your country -- in your county? and i want to say people are so busy taxing marijuana. how about the war on drugs and how it has devastated the african american community? host: gina carbone, do you take anything from that? guest: i guess i would just like to say, too, i would like to discriminate -- distinguish between criminalization,

legalization and commercialization. commercialization is where we see the stars in the advertising and the tactics we have seen from big tobacco throughout the years that are really influencing our young people. and making marijuana seem extremely mainstream in our communities. for people that have cancer, certainly,y, if -- if their doctor is prescribing a certain strain of marijuana and it makes them feel better, you know, that is not my business. again, we are really concerned with the commercialization of marijuana and how it is affecting our communities and our kids in colorado. that is really what we are seeing. host: carl from crownsville, maryland. caller: good morning. i keep hearing that there has never been a study, there has never been a study.

president nixon authorized a two-year in-depth study to find out the detrimental effects of marijuana. when he found that there were no detrimental effects, he classified the study. i would suggest that these two people have deep-seated psychological problems prior to the ingestion of marijuana. actually, to your latter point, i don't know exactly about that study that nixon did. that is interesting. but the latter point, i am here in colorado and from everything that i understand it talking to the families and friends, these two individuals actually did not have psychological problems prior to this. really, really, really tragic, tragic accidents. host: so is it in both cases they simply ate too much of the product? is what -- yes, what

the investigation and the toxicology report is pointing out. i know for a fact that the 19-year-old did not have anything in his system aside from the marijuana. of marijuana is a lot of marijuana for someone that has never ingested it. guest: jeremy from catskill new york. good morning. caller: good morning. this is already in line with the last question. the federal government holds a on -- what is it, patent 663057, which is a cure cureuana and cbd as a for various diseases. and the second part to my , here in new york, we

just had the medical marijuana bill passed. one of the things on the news was cuomo had actually suggested from confiscated marijuana arrests as a source for the medicine that they would provide for the patients, which is obviously in my opinion absurd confiscated,d take unregulated medicine and then hand that out to cancer patients. so if you have any comment about that. host: we will finish it there and let our guests respond. guest: yeah, i would agree. really, for those few people that are really using medical marijuana for medical purposes, i mean, sure, it needs to be monitored more carefully. it needs to be administered like a regular pharmacy. we don't have that going on in

colorado. there are a lot of abuses in colorado. are seeing a huge spike -- even though we have recreational marijuana here in largedo, we are seeing a increase in people getting red cards which allows people to get medical marijuana, print to gillooly the 18 to 20-year-olds -- particularly the 18 to 20-year-olds. they are finding a way to get marijuana via our medical marijuana system. tose kinds of abuses do have stop because the cancer patients or hiv patients, the very few patients that are actually using it for truly medicinal purposes and not just to get high like the vast majority of people in colorado that have red cards, that is what the recent audits said. many, many people are using it for general pain. we do have a recreational market that is taxing it and those people should go to the recreational market if they just want to get high.

gina carbone, there is a story in the paper today about a recent sweep by denver place of shops to make sure they are not selling to those under 21. the story suggested that it seemed to be ok or everything seems to be on the up and up. does that come for you at any level? guest: again, our young people are not going to walk into a store and try to get medical marijuana. a lot of these places now have security guards standing right there. as i said before, many high schoolers have the right cards and that is how it is getting into the hands of teenagers. neighbors, siblings, whatever, it is extremely easy to get a medical marijuana license in colorado. 46%, well over a 40% in the last year alone, of 18 to 20-year-olds who are now getting medical marijuana cards. so that is how our youth, our

teenagers are getting it. date is from other siblings. sometimes it is the parents marijuana. not storing it properly. a lot of these are -- a lot of these items have to be refrigerated. we really need to educate kids about the harms of marijuana for young people with a developing brain. that development goes into your mid-20's. 18, 19, 20-year-olds need to understand the harm that can come, the cognitive deficits that can come from using marijuana as an adolescent. adolescents are more prone to becoming addicted. are theone in six numbers we have seen versus one in nine for addiction for an adult. so i get back to kids and parents need to be aware that this is a very unsafe product for young people. host: we had a chance to go

through the medicine man dispense rate while we were in colorado a few weeks ago. we had a chance to talk about, for those leaving the store with candies and other types of products, the kinds of levels of regulation that deal with the products and the packaging and how they leave the stores. i want you to listen to a little bit of the interview and respond to it. >> this packaging is a completely white pill bottle, tamper-resistant on the top. you cannot see the candy like product that is in their. it might be sweet and tasty but it contains a point as well. you definitely don't want anybody under the age getting a hold of this. >> so this is a childproof cap so to speak. thehis company has taken extra measure to put a chucker of cap, but the regulation is to absolutely make sure you cannot see through that bottle. they would not know it's candy by looking at. inwhat about candies

packages? >> this is a pageant you cannot see through. instead of a plastic see-through, they are making is no telling a child looking at that candy that it would think it was candy. .nce you have a pill bottle >> when people walk out of here, they walk out with these white envelopes. what is this? >> it is required now by state packets child safety law, it needs to be in a resealable, tamper-resistant container. >> you can hold up for folks to show. >> the zipper sits on that tab. when it is closed, it is not moving at all. host: you probably did not have the benefit of seeing it, but he did say that there are child and when they leave

the stores, the white bags have some type of locking mechanism. guest: i am very familiar with that. host: can you respond to it? guest: i am actually familiar with what he is talking about because that is part of the regulations that smart colorado was involved in last year in the legislative process, trying to ensure that it was invisible. that particular company that we you -- that you are talking about might have childproof packaging on their product. not all of them do. there is something called exit packaging, childproof averaging that, if someone buys six different items at the store, it will go into -- it is similar to a ziploc bag. but it is more difficult to get into. after i think two or three openings, then it he comes -- then it just becomes a ziploc bag.

but it is supposed to be more secure than other packaging. that is a great start. we pushed for that. we wanted that. we will -- we think the labeling is very important. booke also confirmed -- what we are all stashed what we are also concerned about is we do not have a public education campaign. there are banner ads and social media telling youth not to use this product and that it is damaging to developing brains. and, i might add, washington state has not quite opened their stores yet and they already have that campaign going. we have 340 stores your. we just haven't gotten a rolling it. guest: we will take a call from sam in iowa. i am glad they are protecting juveniles from this.

my problem is the 18 to 21-year-olds. they can hold a gun and fight for our country at 18 years old. but they are not allowed to smoke a plant because they are still considered children. we have had the edible marijuana in california for years. crazy't have any of those things you're talking about where people kill themselves over it. host:. i will let our guest respond. guest: -- host: the age of 18, basically, an 18-year-old still has a developing brain. with that agent that person shouldn't be using it because they are entitled to fight or they can carry a gun or anything.

an 18-year-old is still developing. their brain is not fully developed. that is just the way it goes until their mid-20's. that is the reason we are saying that, even 18-year-olds need to be cautious about. they, too, can suffer from cognitive abilities, cognitive deficits, should say if they are early and persistent users. caller: good morning to both of you. i have a couple of points. forgive me if i misquote you. you mentioned something in the that thiswhere, now has taken effect in colorado, we have people that just want to make a buck. and i have to say that is a bit prejudiced-sounding to me. when anything new in america everybody wants to

get on the wave and make a buck, especially if it is legal. guest: sure. like toalso, i would say that i really appreciate what you are doing for the children as well. guest: thank you. i appreciate that. i just think we do need to look beyond money. we really need to look at how this is going to affect our communities, our public health policies, our safety going forward. drugs and driving has gone up in colorado. unfortunately, we have seen that. we have seen marijuana being diverted outside of colorado. we so have a lot of issues to work on. the industry likes to say we are getting rid of the black market yet colorado has become the black market at least for the rest of the country. a gentleman called from new york earlier. i was just recently in new york and i know that colorado pot is

going to new york. it is going to florida. it is going all over the place. it is very potent and people want the high thc. so colorado has become the black market. but thank you for the compliment about what we are doing for the kids. caller: jodi talks about thc. would you say that thc levels, if they remain high, would education be enough to cover it rather than lowering thc levels? >> there are even people in the industry that have talked about proofing marijuana come if you will, similar to alcohol, so that people know how strong this is. just -- because marijuana has become so much stronger over the years, there ,s an education for, again

people my age and older to realize that this is a very strong product. there are concentrates -- this is what a budtender told me today. you can take one hit and you are high all day long. that is not how it was several decades ago. but when kids are using these vaper pens in the classroom and having these edibles that are like regular food items -- any food item can become a medical product in colorado now. it is hard for schools and hard for parents to identify this. that is something that colorado is looking into, to make sure that the marijuana product is identifiable and looks different. unfortunately, those rules probably will not go into effect until 2016. the vaping is very popular in high school and with kids cook, too. very, very is

strong. host: we have been showing some of these edible products. --y have a can of our look they have a candy bar look. do the rules with amendment 64 talk about the style of packaging involved with the edible product? guest: the packaging itself has to be opaque. you are not supposed to be able to see through it. the item itself though, like i said, anything pretty much under sun right now can become a marijuana product. so it is beyond the brownies in the cookies and the candy and soda. get pizzao, you can and ice cream, salad dressing, pasta sauce. the list goes on.

there really is no limitation in that regard and that is troubling because it is just becoming so prevalent. a lot of people that supported amendment 64, we hear from people all the time that said i had no idea it was going to be like this. it has become so commercial here in colorado. part of our denver post newspaper has its own section dedicated to marijuana. our colorado symphony is hosting talk concerts -- pot concerts. we have the denver fair. events,have marijuana plantn grow the best pot and joint-rolling contest and things like that. it is becoming such a way of life here in colorado and frankly people that even voted for amendment 64, the legalization, had no idea that it would look like this and it

would become so commercialized. a lot of people felt like it was just for small amounts of marijuana for adults in the privacy of their own home. yet we have open and public use all over denver. whether it is in our parks -- they are try to get a handle on it but it is very difficult. host: plainview, texas. this is james. caller: first and foremost, i believe that it is the parents responsibility to be able to monitor their children. i am a psychiatric patient. marijuana, use of they would cause me to go out -- homicidal and it's a frantic. host: james, appreciate the

call. gina carbone. guest: first, i wish you good luck and i hope that you are in the care of a good doctor. regarding the responsibility of the parents, sure, parents have to educate their children and look after what they are doing. but one we live in a society where the marijuana industry is hosting events and we see people openly smoke in the parks and having these huge for 20 events, food trucks that are driving with foodh marijuana like they did that weekend, there comes a point where, if we are going to be selling this and it is going to be available in our community, it also is the responsibility of elected officials to ensure that it is implemented the way it was sold to voters, which is it won't be used in public. it is for private consumption.

it is to be used only by adults. it is not to leave the state. coloradoose issues really needs to still work on. we are having issues with all of those points. host: ultimately, as far as the rules are today, what more would you want to see? guest: there is still clearly the regulations on the edibles. i thinktypes of edibles is an issue that we need to look at. really, should we allow every and any kind of food to become an edible? we don't have the fda looking after these food products. we still have problems like salmonella and botulism -- well, various health problems with these foods just because they aren't refrigerated. they are past their shelflife. there are others at -- other issues besides the thc. so that would be an area, the

edibles. is like i said, this vaping quite a big deal particularly for our young people. it has become very ocular. the -- very popular. and make concentrates are very potent. desperately need this application program that the governor is working on to rollout. we should get a curriculum in our public schools go, to. schools, too. well, the data collection is extremely important. we really haven't been keeping great statistics on marijuana use in terms of people going into the er. they are starting to do it now. but to really create sound public policy, we need accurate data.

i would argue that is very important going forward also. host: gina carbone with smart colorado. there is a website if you want to find out more abo >> tomorrow, conversation on immigration with daniel stein and benjamin johnson of the american immigration council. a conversation on the idea of american exceptionalism with charles murray of the american enterprise institute. onhington journal is live c-span every day at 7:00 a.m. eastern. >> my first reaction was surprise because i had worked for mr. sterling. i coached the clippers in the year 2000. he invited me to his daughters wedding. i had no idea what exactly was

going on. i know elgin baylor and i know what he was complaining about. i was confused not knowing mr.tly which set of facts sterling stood behind and where his words came out, it was so obvious, shocking, just disgusting, all of those things wrapped in one of. but the surprise of it to find that type of sentiment and relies on black americans for so much of his success and public profile is amazing. i just could not believe that someone could have that much bigotry inside and think that it's ok. at racism in sports just after 11:00 a.m. eastern.

later, at 830 p.m. eastern, discussion on gun rights and the caponal recovery of giffords difference. like the labor department today announced the unemployment rate dropped to 6.1% as the u.s. 288,000 jobs. the house has passed dozens of job bills that would mean more paychecks and more opportunities for middle-class families, but in order for us to make real progress, the president must do more than criticize. lacetrade work flexibility, there is no shortage of common ground where leaders in the senate to work with us -- john boehner. from steny hoyer --

her comments at the imf and

comments made by the managing her. like to welcome you all to the inauguration of the lecture series. become an annual event. it's a privilege to open this

lecture series and the actual presence in the presence of the person whom this is dedicated to. thank you, michel. [applause] it is a tremendous privilege to open the lecture series in the actual presence of the person to whom this series is actually dedicated. it is indeed a momentous occasion to welcome here at the imf the chair of the u.s. federal reserve, the distinguished janet yellen. [applause] indeed, all of your distinguished guests are also recognized collectively and very much welcome. i applaud you. [laughter] this lecture is at the heart of what we do. the fund has a core mandate of overseeing the global financial system, and over the years, the mandate has evolved with changing global conditions.

we initiated this lecture series to meet two important goals. the first one is to reflect on the current crisis, what we have learned from it. the second goal is to build stronger bridges among those preoccupied with central banking, and that includes central bankers indeed, but it grows beyond that circle. let me start with why we need to reflect on the recent crisis period and take stock of the lessons learned. at the global financial crisis has been a bit like an earthquake. it has shaken the financial system, afraid many of our assumptions and traditional policy prescriptions. it has changed the policy landscape.

the central banking world was formerly flat. little bits of about 25 basis point at a time, but otherwise, no major changes. on this new terrain, central bankers are quickly learning to be mountainous. they've been busily developing new ideas and new tools. central banking has suddenly become a very exciting sport. so much so as to attract a global audience. not as much as what the world cup is attracting at the moment, but still. you would be very surprised to hear that whenever you give a press conference in this institution, you have a group of total aficionados who get

together in front of the screen, watching with great impatience -- i'm even told they bring coffee and popcorn. monetary policy and central banking has come to the forefront of the policy landscape because of the role they have played in fighting this crisis and returning us to stability and because of the role they continue to play today and the role they will probably continue to play in the future because it will not be business as it was. they recognize this, and they question us more and more regularly on those issues. the questions are getting more and more technical and sophisticated. we need to provide answers. we need to provide directions on

paths yet untrodden, which brings me to the second objective of this lecture, the need to bring stronger bridges between those who have a stake in the important issues of central banking. we need to re-examine, refine, and modern -- and modernize our policies. this is a task that is too large for one single institution to undertake alone, and this applies as will to the imf, notwithstanding the fact we have those 188 members. the knowledge on these issues does not exclusively reside in one central bank, however big it is. it doesn't reside in one single institution, even though it is the vis or fsp. it results in multiple conference rooms altogether. it is all of those with knowledge about it that need to be together. at the same time, our goal is to join hands with academics, to join hands with central bankers, to explore together, and to move forward together to build

stronger bridges. this lecture series is intended to be a pillar on which these bridges will rest by creating space for avid fans of monetary policy, a meeting that would bring the central banking community and the fund closer together year after year. before i leave you to the wisdom of our speakers, allow me to highlight three of the main questions on the future of monetary policy. first question -- the crisis was a stark reminder that price stability is not always sufficient for greater economic stability. should central banks put more weight on growth and employment? should central banks mandate to cover not only price stability but also financial stability? what role should monetary policy play in preserving financial

stability and how to make sure that central-bank independence is preserved? second, with increasingly complex financial interconnections, many small, open, and emerging-market economies have found a challenging to deal with large changes in exchange rates. how can these economies retain monetary policy independence in such a policy-setting, and what tools should they use? finally, the crisis has galvanized a broad effort to reform the global regulatory framework. there has been progress on various aspects, but much still remains to be done. how will financial regulations and the new structures of the financial system affect the

functioning of monetary policy domestically and abroad? to all of these questions, i'm sure some of you have the beginning of the answers. i know that our speakers will offer their proposals, but i hope that it begins here. before i give the floor to chair yellen, it is my real pleasure to introduce the person to whom this lecture series is dedicated and who has kindly agreed to be with us today, michel camdessus. [applause] his legacy is well known to us all. michel, you presided over the fund for 13 years. you were its longest-serving managing director, and your stewardship was transformational for this institution. soon after you took the helm in 1987, the world as you knew it, as we all knew it suddenly went

into shambles, and it was undone radically and unexpectedly. you managed the fund through the fall of the berlin wall, the unraveling of the soviet union, the mexican crisis, the asian crisis, and the russian crisis. yet when you announced your intention to retire and some frivolous reporter asked you, what should your successor have as a main attribute, you said immediately without thinking about it, a solid sense of humor. [laughter] throughout these difficult and dynamic times, you steered the fund with a remarkable vision, vigor, and tenacity, but also humanity.

your interactions with country authorities were characterized by a unique skill in galvanizing different forces towards favorable outcomes. you were so invested in helping members of the soviet bloc through their transition, for example, that you became a household name from moscow to bishkek, providing an element of continuity amid a continuous turnover of political and public figures. your untiring efforts brought a more human face to the fund. indeed, it was your compassion for the poor that took the fund and its most important direction towards poverty reduction through the establishment of lending through the enhanced structural adjustment facility, and its successor, the poverty reduction and growth facility. your compassion extended well beyond the fund. i'm supposed to show you

something, which some of you will recognize. it is the seven pledges of michel camdessus. i have to pay tribute to our guest in the back who was kind enough to let me have his card of the seven pledges. the seven pledges on sustainable development that became part of the 15 principles of the u.n. millennium development goals. michel, you were and still are a staunch supporter of multilateralism and cooperation, of openness and friendship between nations, and under your leadership, a decisive effort was made to curtail exchange restrictions. as a result, by the mid-1990's, making a public commitment to openness was no longer controversial in many countries.

with openness came the need to better integrate. you witnessed the globalization of financial markets, and as a central banker yourself, you had the foresight to recognize that there was needed better integration of monetary exchange rate policies. it is those products on which we cooperate very well. thanks to your efforts, the imf was able to transform from fiscal two also monetary and financial. thank you, michel. finally, you and your wife always harbored a deep respect and genuine defection --

affection for the staff of the institution. you were deeply concerned with their well-being and stood up for them. we thank you for it. as a music lover, you referred to the fund staff as the world orchestra. there were plenty who made up this huge orchestra, which today, michel, you have another opportunity to engage with. we cannot wait to be part of it. thank you. [applause] >> you could imagine that i am a little bit overwhelmed by what i've just heard. i had the impression you were talking about somebody else.

[laughter] let me tell you -- thank you for this kind introduction and also for the pleasure of being here, back at the fund. it is a little bit like coming back home, very warm and welcome. [indiscernible] she is not here waiting here for more. [laughter] yes, it's true that the time i've spent in the imf, 30 years, is exactly the same as the time which went from today when i am

back here, but it is my good pleasure to see many familiar faces, not only in the first row, but many more in this huge audience. of course, i will be happy if i can see those over there some time later. [applause] what i perceive also is plenty of moments coming to my mind, all of these moments of very high pressure, and you have mentioned a few of them. moments of high pressure, high excitement, i should say, and

all of that contributing to create this great atmosphere of this institution. dynamic, professional, focused, people never satisfied with what they have just done and looking forward for finding a way to do better. this is my judgment of the imf. thank you again for this great pleasure and for the great honor, undeserved honor, to get my name for this lecture. totally undeserved. this is something you and i will have to discuss further later on. [laughter] i am proud of that.

the presence with us today, the chair of the federal reserve, brings prestige to the series of lectures. i will have to get used to seeing my name on that. ok. [laughter] it makes great sense to devote further intellectual efforts to the issues around a central banking. even if many of you know that i have not been all my life a central banker -- i started as minister of finance in my country. at the time, the bank of france was not yet independent yet. in the words of napoleon the bank must be in

the hands of the state, but not too much. i did everything i could to comply with the second part. [laughter] the bank of france finally got independence. the change is certainly one of the most profound changes in central banking during the last decade. today, perhaps even more than in the past, we recognize that the economic well-being of nations depends on the quality of their monetary policies. one couldn't imagine a more important topic for new luck cheers here at the imf -- new lectures here at the imf. why is central banking so

crucial? obviously, because the monetary stability is a key component of the common good, the global commons, as they say in new york. yes, and by stability we mean low and stable inflation, and we know from bitter experiences in the archives of the imf about the damage that high and volatile inflation can do. we no much better now also the effect of deflation. -- we know much better now the effect of deflation. we also understand clearly now that in order to achieve price stability, we need some policy framework directed towards the financial sector, something

which was not that all that familiar when i joined the imf. the financial sector was an area where we were were not allowed to go. i remember a tremendous conversation about that when we started discussing about suggestions i wanted to make to the banking community, and then she told me, never lecture the bankers. never! of course, we continued lecturing a little bit, but nevertheless, we were wearing difficult gowns. there are more reasons for the necessity of central banking. something which is very unique, their ability to respond quickly.

fiscal and social policies are important, but they are not able to change course as quickly as monetary policy. of course, we have just had a very good demonstration of that with the crisis in 2007. we saw the timely and decisive actions of the united states federal reserve and all the central banks around the world. the crisis could have been much, much worse. to justify within principal of the lectures, and if we go back

to the history, you have rd helped us, christine, we see many examples of the changes which have had to be introduced in the central banking universe. we had this huge transformation in eastern europe and former soviet republics. there, of course, the imf staff had to do an extraordinary job, providing technical assistance and coordinating efforts to create central banking in a universe where monetary policy did not have the same meaning. as a matter of fact, it had no meaning at all. that had to be created from scratch, creating the central banks, along with the supporting