U.S. Medical Marijuana Business Having Issues With Banks

From reading the article below it seems that the conflicts of laws and some not so honest people out there are causing banks to with draw any credit card types of purchases for dispensaries all across the US, so it seems for now the cash still works here. The DEA was noted as sending warning letters to the banks so I am guessing this is where it all began a couple years ago. Since this time though there has been a lot of headway with dispensaries too and they operate a lot differently and are better organized too, so time will tell the outcome.

In California we have “pot dispensing” machines and I wonder what effect this has? I can see where there are some reservations but with all the smart data we have out there today it seems that there should be a better solution. BD

ST. LOUIS, June 17 (Thomson Reuters Accelus) – Marijuana dispensaries in states that have legalized medical pot are struggling to obtain service from banks and credit-card companies, pressured by federal authorities who consider illegal the business estimated at $1.7 billion annually.
Operators and supporters of marijuana dispensaries say banks are turning away their business because they risk falling afoul of anti-money-laundering and drug-trafficking laws.

The largest U.S. bank, Bank of America Corp, said it started withdrawing services from dispensaries after receiving a warning from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in late 2007 or early 2008. The DEA said it has also told other big banks that they face potential legal liabilities if they do business with the dispensaries.

Regulatory consultant and investigator Jim Dowling, a former federal agent, said his advice to banks is that they avoid medical marijuana dispensaries. He said they sometimes masquerade as other types of businesses to obtain accounts.

U.S. medical-marijuana shops struggle to find bankers – Health Key

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