Fox Business News recently aired a story about the problems marijuana dispensaries encounter when trying to open – and keep – bank accounts.
It’s perhaps the biggest issue in the industry today, aside from the fact that there’s a confusing patchwork of ever-changing laws that vary by city. The banking industry, spooked by recent warnings the federal government sent to states with MMJ laws, has almost completely shut out pot dispensaries in the past few months.
Jill Lamoureux – who co-owns Colorado Dispensary Services, a Boulder-based MMC – said she is on her fifth bank in the past three years, making it extremely difficult to keep up on payroll.
Even more maddening, however, is the hypocrisy of it all. “The fact that we write checks every month to the state and to the local government paying our sales taxes and the banks have no problem cashing those checks, that’s probably the most frustrating part for me,” Lamoureux said.
