Pot’s Barrier to Legit Banking

Legal weed outlets, flush in cash, struggle to find financial institutions

There is an old jest that says the fastest way for a business to run off its customers is to adhere to the motto, “In God we trust; all others must pay cash.” But for Kimberly Cargile, director of the East Sacramento medical marijuana dispensary, A Therapeutic Alternative, cash and carry is her only option. And it really is no laughing matter.

“We’ve had quite the difficulty getting access to banking,” she says. “We have to pay all of our bills and our taxes in cash. Even getting change from the bank is tough, because the cash we have on hand is kept in the safe with the medicine [cannabis] and when you get it to the bank, it smells of that so the bank becomes very suspicious.”

IN 2014, THE FINANCIAL CRIMES ENFORCEMENT NETWORK ISSUED GUIDELINES THAT GAVE

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