US Federal regulators take high ground on Colorado’s marijuana
Two years after Colorado fully legalised the sale of marijuana, most banks in Denver still don’t offer services to the businesses involved.
Financial institutions are caught between state law that has legalised marijuana and federal law that bans it. Banks’ federal regulators don’t fully recognise such businesses and impose onerous reporting requirements on banks that deal with them.
Without bank accounts, the state’s burgeoning pot sector — 2500 licensed businesses with revenue of $US1 billion ($1.3bn) a year, paying $US130 million in taxes — can’t accept credit or debit cards from customers, Colorado officials say.
Marijuana-related businesses instead use cash to pay their employees, buy equipment or pay taxes to the state. Reports abound of business owners refurbishing retired armoured bank trucks to transport money and hiring heavily armed security guards.
“I am concerned and we do hold our breath from a public-safety perspective,” said Colorado Attorney-General Cynthia Coffman....
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