Banks Say No To Medical Marijuana

Arizona Journal

As counties and cities in the state make decisions to either allow or seek methods to avoid having medi-cal marijuana dispensaries in their jurisdictions, another issue has arisen for dispensary operators. State dispensary operators are finding out that banking institutions and credit unions are not willing to provide checking accounts and credit card machines for their facilities, forcing dispensaries to operate on a cash-only basis. The problem is that even though medical marijuana is legal in Arizona, it is illegal under federal law. As a result, federally insured banking institutions become leery about involving themselves with the federally banned industry. Arizona isn’t the first medical-marijuana voter approved state to face such an issue. In February, Colorado lawmakers considered, and rejected, a proposed bill setting up a state-run special cooperative banking institution. Lawmakers from both parties worried that because marijuana is illegal under federal law, states should not step in to help dispensaries and growers store and borrow money.

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