Senators from states with legal marijuana are pressing financial regulators to clear up the federal guidelines on banking for weed businesses.
“Many marijuana-related businesses are experiencing difficulty accessing financial services and must operate all-cash operations,” the senators wrote in a letter sent Thursday to top financial regulators. “Operating on an all-cash basis for these businesses makes it difficult for them to function, as well as for states to collect tax revenue. Forcing them to operate in all cash also creates a serious public safety risk for the businesses and the neighboring community.”
Signing the letter were senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden of Oregon, Patty Murray of Washington, and Michael Bennet of Colorado, all Democrats.
Oregon, Washington, and Colorado are the only three states that allow sale of marijuana for recreational purposes.
Federal law, however, makes banking a headache for those institutions since pot is illegal under federal law. Since Colorado and Washington changed their laws in 2012, businesses have complained that they are not able to access the banking system although they are operating within state law. And companies doing business with them, in some cases, have seen their own bank accounts shut down by regulators.
The letter asked the agencies to issue joint guidance spelling out the rules for banking for marijuana businesses to avoid those circumstances.
It was addressed to the heads of the Federal Reserve, National Credit Union Administration, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Treasury and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
