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Marijuana Dispensaries Have High Climb to Bank Acceptance, Despite Treasury Inquiry
By Brian Monroe
printTasked to consider whether it can offer regulatory relief to the medical marijuana industry, the U.S. Treasury Department may have few options to persuade reluctant financial institutions to bank state-approved dispensaries. In a Sept. 10 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, U.S. Justice Department Deputy Attorney General James Cole told lawmakers that the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), federal regulators and the nation's top prosecutors were discussing how to allow banks to maintain accounts for state-authorized cannabis businesses "in accordance with the laws that we have on the books today." The hearing followed the partial relaxation of anti-cannabis laws in 21 states,...
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