Bank Cancells Caregiver's Bank Account

http://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/missoula/marijuana/Content?oid=1234821

Marijuana

Bank bounces caregiver

by Jessica Mayrer

The owners of Missoula Cannabis Caregivers received unexpectedly harsh news when First Interstate Bank notified the business that its accounts would be closed because the operation violates federal law.
"It kind of puts us in a bad position," says Sara Stevenson, who started the caregiver business in January with partner Robert Ekstedt. They run a storefront clinic on S. First Street in Hamilton.
A letter received by Stevenson March 2 and obtained by the Independent details the bank's position.
"Due to a change in policy," the letter read, "First Interstate Bank will no longer be able to maintain the above referenced checking account, therefore it will be closed in ten days. If the account has a negative balance, you have 10 days to bring it to a positive balance before closing, or we will turn it over for Collection."
First Interstate Bank Vice President Sue Larew says federal privacy regulations prohibit her from answering questions about Stevenson's account. When asked the bank's position on whether it would allow a registered caregiver to open an account, Larew said she would need to obtain a statement from her superior in Billings. That statement was not available before press time.
According to Allen St. Pierre, director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Stevenson's situation with First Interstate is not unusual. Once the Obama administration announced last October that the federal government would defer to state medical marijuana laws, it created a boom in "ganja-preneurial" activity.
"That has pretty much raised a green flag, if you will," St. Pierre says.
But the decision didn't technically change the federal law. Thus, St. Pierre can see how national banks like First Interstate may be fearful of potential legal ramifications.
He added that, considering the rate at which the medical marijuana industry is growing in Montana, other banks should be eager to open a new account for Stevenson.
"The free market being what it is," St. Pierre says, "there is a very good chance someone else is willing to do that business."

Colorado Banks Get Paranoid About Marijuana Dispensary Accounts
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My note- Beginning of Federal crackdown AGAIN? Why are BANKS turning away MONEY???
Colorado Banks Get Paranoid About [URL="https://www.rollitup.org/"]marijuana Dispensary Accounts[/URL]



​Wells Fargo -- which, according to medical marijuana dispensary owners, was the only bank in Colorado which wanted their business -- has stopped opening new accounts for dispensaries.

Cristie Drumm, spokeswoman for Wells Fargo, said the bank is looking at state and federal laws to determine what risk the bank runs in working with dispensaries, reports John Ingold at The Denver Post.


"We're not actively opening accounts with these businesses at this time," Drumm said.


The bank hasn't said if it would close its existing dispensary accounts, but the news has many dispensary owners wondering if they might lose a key part of their business plans.


"We wouldn't have a bank to put our money in," said Ryan Vincent of The Health Center in Denver. "I don't know what we would do. We'd probably have to start rallying to put together a credit union."

​According to Vincent, "every dispensary" he knows of uses Wells Fargo as its bank, mostly because the marijuana industry hasn't been welcome in other financial institutions.


Vincent said shutting out dispensaries would deprive the bank of needed customers and deprive dispensaries of needed stability, possibly forcing them to operate in more shadowy, cash-oriented ways.


"It's interesting to see that there's money and no one wants to hold onto it," Vincent said. "We're trying to be a legitimate, above-board industry in Colorado."


While it's unusual for banks for turn away potential customers, legal considerations have made many banks uncomfortable working with dispensaries, according to Tim Powers, spokesman for the Colorado Bankers Association.


Federal law forbids banks from doing business with companies operating illegally, and marijuana distribution, whether or not for medical purposes, is still against federal law.


"Regulators are basically saying, 'Approach this with caution. There could be problems,' " Powers said.


"Because of that, a lot of banks are taking the ultra-conservative approach."

Paypal also froze an account of a dispensary and they needed to get a lawyer involved to get their money back.

This is one of the major side effects of states legalizing MMJ while the Fed's sit on their asses and won't even consider changing the laws on a national level. I understand where the banks are coming from, because the Fed's may decide to charge them for breaking the banking laws related to drug money. I can't really blame them for being nervous about taking on dispensary accounts under circumstances, but I sure as hell can blame the Fed's for creating this situation in the first place. Maybe if Obama and company would stop dicking around with their healthcare program that nobody likes they could find the time to deal with issues like MMJ legalization that would actually have fairly broad based public support.

EdGreyfox said:

This is one of the major side effects of states legalizing MMJ while the Fed's sit on their asses and won't even consider changing the laws on a national level. I understand where the banks are coming from, because the Fed's may decide to charge them for breaking the banking laws related to drug money. I can't really blame them for being nervous about taking on dispensary accounts under circumstances, but I sure as hell can blame the Fed's for creating this situation in the first place. Maybe if Obama and company would stop dicking around with their healthcare program that nobody likes they could find the time to deal with issues like MMJ legalization that would actually have fairly broad based public support.

Click to expand...

THAT is where the 'legality' for the FEDS argument falls short. The Federal government WILL and DOES accept tax revenues from the states that have legalized MMJ. When the state pays their federal share of taxes part of that comes from MMJ dispensaries sales, taxed sales of retail items that are related to paraphenalia, and the like. The states DO NOT break out the portion of the revenues that have been derived from the MMJ industry...it all goes into the big fat checkbook. And the FEDS readily accept it. So, in reality, it's o.k. for the FEDS to accept revenues from 'drug money' just not anyone else.
Fuck them, hypocrites!

(I should have listened to my parents and became a lawyer...)

Mac,

It's no different from them using tax evasion to nail criminals that they can't charge with other crimes due to a lack of evidence. They got Capone for tax evasion, after all. It definately is a double standard though- they insist on you paying incomes taxes, sales taxes, etc, but the laws are set up so that no matter what you do you can't claim money from illegal sources properly. If you keep books and try and pay taxes like a real business they deny most of your expense deductions, then turn around and use the fact that you have books as evidence of racketeering. If you don't keep books and don't take the write offs like a normal business, they nail you for doing the taxes incorrectly, and charge you penalities and interest. No to mention the fact that they charge you a far higher rate then you should pay since no matter how you slice it you aren't being allowed to deduct expenses that other businesses get to write off.