New Senate Bill To Let Marijuana Dispensaries Finally Access Banks

http://dailycaller.com/2015/07/10/new-senate-bill-to-let-marijuana-dispensaries-finally-access-banks/



New Senate Bill To Let Marijuana Dispensaries Finally Access Banks
Jonah Bennett
Reporter, Daily Caller News Foundation

A new bill introduced into the U.S. Senate aims to offer protection for financial institutions that want to conduct business with marijuana dispensaries.

Since marijuana is still a Schedule I drug, banks have been incredibly reluctant to enter into business relations for fear of running afoul of federal regulators and laws concerning money laundering, Marijuana.com reports.

Support for marijuana continues to build in Congress. Four states and the District of Columbia have legalized the drug, and this legislation, backed by the Senate delegations from Oregon and Washington, would prohibit regulators from cracking down on banks in the form of terminated FDIC insurance, asset seizure and prosecution for money laundering. The Marijuana Businesses Access to Banking Act also prevents prosecutors from joining into the fray, so long as industry complies with state law.

“It is ridiculous to make any business owner carry duffle bags of cash just to pay their taxes,” Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, a sponsor of the bill, said in a press release. “Our bill will finally force the federal government to respect the decision Oregonians made at the polls and allow law-abiding marijuana businesses to go to the bank just like any other business.”